More tenuous links to pick up a title for this game’s piece. As Exeter City are known as the Grecians, my mind automatically goes to the eighties adverts for Grecian 2000, which was the treatment to restore grey hair back to its ‘original’ colour. And so, this Visage 1981 top ten hit sprang to mind. (And in retrospect, it sums up the second half.)
Three days after the somewhat below par performance on Boxing Day away at Leyton Orient, we are back in away action, this time in the far southwest at Exeter City. Which is interesting to the ten-year-old me, as it was one of the answers in another of the common football questions back in the late seventies and early eighties. Following on from the three teams starting with O which had Orient in it, the other question was name the five league clubs with an X in their name. There are only four in the league now (Halifax Town having gone many years ago), and three years ago there were only the three, but we’ve seen Wrexham come back up. We played the trickiest of the answers in the playoff final, as the other kids always forgot the Alexandra part of Crewe’s name, which then just left Oxford United, who were the common answer in both of those teasers of the time.
There were no Topps or A&BC cards with Exeter City players, but there is a default fallback position for most sides who were around in 1991, as Proset did a collection that year which had at least one player from each side in the league in 1991-92. One of the two Exeter players included was Vince Hilaire, who I didn’t even realise had played for Exeter.
This will be our nineteenth game against Exeter City, the first three were FA Cup ties when we were a non-league side, which saw a draw and two losses, and our last game was a first-round loss away to them in the League Cup. In the league we have four wins, four draws, and six losses. At St James Park (not to be confused with Newcastle United’s St James’ Park (it’s all about the apostrophe) we have two wins, two losses, and three draws.
We go into the game in the relegation places, whereas our opponents sit just inside the top half of the table, nine places and eleven points ahead of us, having won their last two games, including a come from behind win on Boxing Day against Bristol Rovers.
There are a couple of ex Crawley players in the Exeter squad, with Caleb Watts who played one game for us on loan from Southampton back in 2022, getting a hamstring injury after eighteen minutes in his first and what turned out to be last appearance for us. And Mustapha Carayol was on loan to us back in the 2007-08 season when he played twenty-five games for us.
As days of the week don’t matter at this time of the year, it is a Sunday afternoon fixture, and it is a bit of a trek down to Exeter, so we came down on the Saturday and are spending a couple of nights here to have a look around the historic city.
In doing after following the city walls trail, we get to the ground earlier than planned as Google Maps are lying again about how long it takes to get anywhere.
We pick up a programme from some nice friendly and chatty sellers outside the ground. It was only £2.50 and is a double header one covering their game on Boxing Day against Bristol Rovers, and our game today. It is rich in content and easily well worth the money.
Nipped into the club shop, which isn’t as big as some of the others I’ve been in recently on away trips but is well stocked and has a vast array of items, and I managed to pick up a fridge magnet and pen to add to the ridiculous collections I already have.
It was also interesting to see that Exeter City is a fan owned club, and the graphic on one of the walls of the fan zone area showing what they have down, but laid out as a starting eleven, was a good one to see.
Sat having a chat with a couple of home fans before the game in the fan zone area, both of whom were part of the two thousand owners the club has. They were feeling as uncertain about how their team was going to do as we were about ours. The stewards on the way down to the away fans turnstile and inside the ground were all friendly and chatty as well. Right up until we got to our chosen seat, and I started to take photos. Got barked at by one telling me I couldn’t take photos using a camera (which has less pixels than the phone), and no sooner had he told me that then there was an announcement in the stadium saying ‘take lots of photos and put them on social media’, so I just switched to the phone and took some photos whilst the steward glared at me.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but definitely not for it to look as if someone had stolen large parts of the stands in the northeast corner of the ground. With that missing, and balls flying over the west terrace where most of our fans are in the warmup, I would say the chances of no balls being lost out of the ground as being zero.
Exeter City are in Red and white striped shirts, red and white socks, and black shorts, whereas we are in the all blue third kit. There are quite a few changes to the starting line up again. And early on Armando Junior Quitirna is causing issues for them down the right and wins a couple of free kicks for fouls on him.
We have good possession and most of the play is by us and in the Exeter half. Toby Mullarkey has a shot over the bar. There is decent play out from our own right corner flag, with Mullarkey, Bradley Ibrahim, and AJQ, and the latter takes the ball into the centre and drives through to the edge of their area and has a shot, but it is easily saved. We win a corner on the right soon after, and it is taken long but headed behind for a goal kick. Another corner on the left is flicked on and then headed back in from the back post and cleared.
Once again there is decent work down the right and AJQ cuts inside and passes across to Will Swan, he slips the ball into the box towards Panutche Camara, and he pokes it in, and we lead 1-0. And the chanting from the away fans starts with ‘how shit must you be, we’re winning away’.
More attacking, down the right wing again and AJQ beating people, and he plays it back for Mullarkey who crosses it in, and Swan’s header is just over the bar. Ball one disappears out of the ground, but not over one of the missing areas, or the low west terrace, but impressively clearing the main stand we are in from an Exeter keeper clearance. An Exeter player picks up a yellow card after a coming together will Mullarkey, it looks a bit harsh but given some of the stinkers against us this season, we’ll take it.
More decent play, and Jeremy Kelly plays a great ball out of midfield to Swan, and his ball into the box for Max Anderson is just too strong. At the other end, a misplaced pass sees Exeter through on goal, but Charlie Barker makes a great saving tackle at the expense of a corner. It is punched, then headed out and the pressure is relieved as we get a free kick for a blatant push on Tola Showumni, and an Exeter player is down injured.
And out of nothing the Exeter number 11 gets the ball down the left wing, beats a player and cuts inside running along the edge of the penalty box before taking a shot which sneaks into the corner of the goal, and it is all square at 1-1.
From the restart we win the ball and Dion Conroy plays it over the top and Swan gets on the end of it, he rounds the keeper, and his shot just about goes over the line despite the best efforts of their defender to prevent it and we retake the lead straight away, 2-1.
Exeter attack and get a corner, and we clear it and play out down the right, work the ball across to the left and a Camara cross gets deflected behind for a corner. The keeper claims it the third time it is in the air, and then inexplicably makes a howler and presents it to Showumni ten yards out, and he says thank you very much and taps it in and we lead 3-1.
There are four added minutes at the end of the half, and we attack again, AJQ passes it across to Swan, and he plays a return ball to AJQ, and he slots it past the keeper, and we lead 4-1. It is so much that the scoreboard can’t believe it either and starts to go on the fritz, blinking off and back on a few times.
Exeter get a corner before the end of the half, and we clear it easily enough and the whistle goes for half time with us leading 4-1. There is a sense of both euphoria and of disbelief as we wander around at half time, like what the actual fuck just happened?
The second half kicks off with Exeter having made three substitutions at half time. We attack early and have a clear shout for a penalty as Showumni is pulled back as the ball is played to him after decent work down the left between Anderson and Swan, but the ref waves the claims away.
But Exeter are noticing the effect their three subs have had and are getting back into the game. They are claiming a penalty themselves as one of their players goes down in the box, only for the ref to blow and book the Exeter player for diving (again it looked a bit harsh). We have a free kick in midfield and bang bang bang, it is Conroy to Anderson to Showumni to Swan and his shot is just over the bar.
The change in formation and pressing from Exeter is causing us problems now and we play ourselves into trouble at the back and concede a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. It hits the wall, and the second effort flicks the outside of the post. A bit of possession follows, but more sloppy play almost sees Exeter in again, and Barker has to get another last-ditch challenge in to clear well. More kamikaze back-passing sees JoJo Wollacott hack a clearance out over the big stand we are in for ball loss number two of the day. An Exeter shot is tipped wide by Wollacott, and the corner is cleared.
Exeter are definitely on the front foot now and are the ones applying all the pressure. We make a couple of substitutions, with AJQ and Showumni coming off with Joy Mukena and Tyreese John-Jules coming on in their places. And almost immediately Exeter attack down the right, switch the ball over to the left and their players cuts inside and curls a shot into the top corner, and it is 4-2.
We pick up a yellow card (couldn’t tell if it was Anderson or Ibrahim) and give them a free kick thirty yards out on the left. It is floated in, and bounces and Exeter get a shot which goes over the bar. Another free kick is given away on the left wing, we clear it and break and Swan’s run in on goal is stopped by a good tackle. But it is mainly Exeter now, they are the first to every ball, they are getting crosses and shots in, and time appears to be going backwards, there are ten minutes after their goal which seemed at least half an hour long if not more. I keep glancing up at the screen and the time doesn’t seem to have changed at all.
There is another substitution made, with Swan being replaced by Rushian Hepburn- Murphy. And another Exeter attack follows, there is a cross, and a shot, and a save from Wollacott. We try to play out down the left and give it away and Mullarkey picks up a yellow for a pull back. Another free kick in a dangerous area, it is long and headed well wide for a goal kick for us. Then a free kick down the right side which is put behind for a corner. It looks as if the corner went straight in, but it may have had the slightest of touches from one of the Exeter defenders up for it and it is 3-4. The Crawley players are complaining bitterly for a foul in the six-yard box when the ball came over, but nothing is doing, and there is reaction from both dug outs and the ref comes over and books both managers.
We make our last substitution with Anderson being replaced by Jack Roles. It is fucking nerve shredding now. In fact, since the first goal of the second half went in there has been a heavy dread feeling rippling through the away support, and to a large extent to the players. Even the scoreboard is feeling it, and it gives up the ghost completely with about six minutes to go. All the confidence and nice passing from the first half has gone. It is like a demented game of hungry hippos or something. There is no composure, and the ball is getting hooved up in the air at every missed opportunity.
The board goes up to say there are five added minutes at the end of the game. And a minute in there is a stunning save from Wollacott. But we just can’t get the ball out of our own half. There is another attack down the right, and it goes into the box, and another beautifully executed curling shot beats Wollacott again and goes into the top corner and it is all square at 4-4.
For the first time in about quarter of an hour we have a couple of half hearted attempts at an attack, but it is hearts in mouth time when Exeter get the ball back, and it is somewhat of a relief when the final whistle goes with the scores still level and we finish with a point for a 4-4 draw. Seriously not a line I could have imagined writing during that euphoric half time period.
The crowd was announced as being 6,805 with there being 210 hardy away fans. 210 people who couldn’t believe just what the hell they had seen in the second half. I’m sure there will be the usual negativity towards the manager and the substitutions, but with the illnesses and recovery from injuries they were needed. But you have to wonder what the hell they were doing having all the bromine in their half time cuppas. Before the game if you had offered me a point in a tricky away game such as this, I would have snatched your hand off, but only having a point at the end of the game after being 4-1 up at half time makes it seem like a loss instead.
The point keeps us in the relegation places. Above us, Northampton Town got a point, and Bristol Rovers lost 3-0, so both sit two points above us on the same goal difference as us, and we have a game in hand on Northampton. Cambridge United lost, Shrewsbury Town drew (against Northampton), and Burton Albion lost.
It is another three days before our next game, a home encounter on New Year’s Day against Charlton Athletic, who we beat at The Valley at the beginning of the month in one of our best performances of the season. Since then, we haven’t won, and they can’t stop winning. We really need the same performance and result next time out.
Come on you reds.