There was a moment back in January when I looked at the League One table and had a little squeaky bum moment.
We’d lost to Blackpool on New Year’s Day, making in seven games without a win in all competitions. We had been beaten four games on the spin, and looking down, we were nine points from Exeter City in 21st place, having played two more matches. I didn’t post anything, but for one night, my head hit the pillow with the dreaded ‘R’ word spinning around.
The big hope was new players; could we sign a striker to make a difference? Maybe recall Freddie, get Ben House and Reeco fit and firing? They were ifs and buts, and plenty of the doom and gloom merchants were already calling for Skubala’s head and were confidently saying we needed a lot more than just a couple of players up front to become a success in the division.
We were 11th and looking down, and here we are, seven games later, 10th and looking up. The bottom four are 13 points away, and the top six are just 11 from our grasp. We’re on 45 points, which I don’t think will be enough to stay up this season but is certainly enough to have in League One in February to confidently say we’re safe. Only a 2011-style collapse would see us drop out of the third tier this season, and with this Lincoln City side, that isn’t going to happen. There, I said it. We’re staying up, and with a couple more wins, we might even be looking up the table as well.
Funny, that of those things we needed to fall into place for us to be a success, some still aren’t quite there. Reeco missed out as a precaution yesterday, but he should be back come the weekend’s trip to struggling Port Vale. Freddie Draper is out and could be for a couple of weeks. Adam Jackson is injured, a stalwart and warrior at the back. This isn’t a full-strength City side and, with the greatest of respect to Exeter, we never really looked in danger of losing yesterday’s game. We looked in danger of not winning it, but never losing.
This isn’t a bad Exeter side, either. During the seven-game spell we’ve been unbeaten, they have taken three points from Carlisle (2-1), Bristol Rovers (1-0), Barnsley (2-1), Peterborough (2-1) and Wigan (2-1). Over the Christmas period, they held Pompey to a draw and beat Wycombe 1-0, underlining that they’re a decent side with plenty of threat. Yesterday, young Dion Rankine, on loan from Chelsea, proved to be a real threat, and up top, Wldschutt and Aithcinson were both lively, if not entirely effective.
We had the usual moment of disappointment when the team dropped – no Reeco, arguably our most creative player. Ted Bishop sat out for part of the game, and there were just six subs to pick from. It’s always either an abundance of talent on the bench or a scratch side with a couple of square pegs seemingly in round holes. That’s perhaps unfair on Duffy, coming in at left wing-back, and Hamilton, playing in the Bishop role early doors, but we were far from full strength.
The first half wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t scintillating either. Exeter like to have the ball, but as the home side, we were perhaps expected to see a bit of it. Possession was split evenly between the two teams, but quality was low in truth. We were always a snatched shot away from creating something. We put plenty of crosses into the box but without a huge amount of success. If we got a shot, it was often a miss hit or something scuffed. That’s not a damning reflection of our quality but more an outcome of two committed teams not giving the other any time or space.
One early moment that I missed was a free kick to City on the edge of the area eight minutes in. A long Lasse throw caused a bit of havoc, and O’Connor was taken out by Sweeney. I think the ref looked to play on, but Duffy and House could get the ball from under their feet. He blew for a free kick, but having watched back, the foul was in the area. Also, it’s a much worse foul than the one Alex Mitchell was booked for at Burton (before his second yellow). Sweeney wasn’t booked, but later in the half, he smashed into Duffy with a crude body-check firmly intent on playing the man and not the ball. For that, he was booked, but he should already have been on a yellow. We won, so I’m not apoplectic with rage, but a little consistency would be nice. The truth is they should have been down to ten men on 34 minutes, and we’d probably have been 1-0 from the penalty we didn’t get.
That really was the story of the first half. Hamilton sliced one wide from range; they had an effort lashed over the bar, but neither side really created that much. If either of us deserved to lead, it was us, but in truth, there wasn’t a lot between us in a game that at times looked like it might explode into action but never did. It felt like an encounter between two teams not going up or down, but we shouldn’t be getting that vibe in February. I’m sure that wasn’t on the player’s minds, but it certainly felt like it in the stands.
Nobody stood out as having a poor game in the first 45; I think Rankine gave Roughan a tough time in patches, but our young Irish talent battled hard. Ben House, Ethan Erhahon, and Conor McGrandles were all looking fired up whilst at the back a word on Paudie – it’s been tough for him under Skubala, suspended when he arrived, wrongly sent off at Christmas for an ‘elbow’ that we see at least once a game every week (thrice if Stockley is playing), and when he has played, he’s been overshadowed by Mitchell and Jackson. Yesterday, I rarely saw him lose a header. He won 61% of his aerial duels, his highest number since the 0-0 draw with Wigan. We’ve also seen him getting forward a bit, and the incident with Sweeney showed him being a threat in the attacking box. I was pleased for him in that respect.
It was all about that final moment, that little slice of quality that we need to unlock a defence. Hamilton, McGrandles and Erhahon are all grafters, no doubt about that, but they’re not usually the ones with the killer pass. That’s perhaps harsh on McGrandles, who hasn’t had time to produce that as yet, but Hamilton and Erhahon are engines rather than artists. They had control of the middle of the park, but ahead of them, Taylor and House were feeding on scraps despite the number of crosses we produced.
Close to me, as the ref blew for half time, one idiot booed. There’s no words.
At half time, I made two predictions – one was that a single goal would win the game, and the other was that it had 0-0 written all over it.
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