Exeter City boss Matt Taylor claimed Sonny Bradley made it ‘all about him’ and triggered the ugly scenes that followed the Imps’ 1-0 win in Devon last night.
Bradley removed his shirt at the final whistle, which Exeter players took exception to. There was a bit of a melee, with two players booked by referee Carl Brook. An FA charge of failing to control players is sure to follow, which will come with a fine and a telling off.
It was suggested that tempers ran high as a result of their celebrations at our place earlier in the season, when Kevin MacDonald gave them a late win after a hugely one-sided game. However, in Devon, it was noted that Bradley is a one-time Plymouth Argyle player, a club Exeter have an obvious rivalry with.
“I saw the lad take his shirt off, which I don’t understand,” said Taylor. “He’s not at Plymouth anymore. I didn’t feel the game. It didn’t sound like the atmosphere was directed at him at any stage.
“He made it about him in that moment. And when you do that on an opposition pitch, then there’s going to be a reaction.”
Taylor admitted that while they felt provoked, Exeter players did overreact. The scenes were described as ‘ugly’ in some quarters, but there weren’t really any punches thrown, just a bit of a scrum moving across the pitch before it all broke up.
“We probably overreacted,” added Taylor. “And then it’s obviously gone on to sort of the scenes we saw at the end, which we don’t want to see. I’m not quite sure why it got to that point.
“It didn’t feel like it needed to be like that.”
Taylor wasn’t in charge when the Grecians won at the Bank earlier in the season, so he probably didn’t understand the context.
Nor was he in charge when tempers ran high last season, as red cards for their coaching staff marred the game at theirs, and a red card and a late disallowed goal also featured in the game at the Bank. In fairness, neither was Sonny Bradly, but that’s football.
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