Match Zone

Match Preview – Exeter City (A)

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Saturday afternoon sees the first of 2 long away trips pre-Christmas with a trip to Devon to face Exeter City.

Looking at the hosts, so far this season they have 8 victories, 7 draws and 6 losses in the league as they sit in 9th place. They have beaten Carlisle United, Morecambe, Cambridge United, Notts County, Mansfield Town, Cheltenham Town, Stevenage and Swindon Town, they have drawn against Newport County, Port Vale, Yeovil Town, Grimsby Town, Crawley Town, Northampton Town and Colchester United while they have lost to MK Dons, Lincoln City, Forest Green Rovers, Tranmere Rovers, Macclesfield Town and Bury.

In cup competitions, they lost to Fulham in the EFL Cup 2nd round after beat Ipswich Town on penalties while they lost to Blackpool in the FA Cup. They had some success in the EFL Trophy, winning back-to-back games against West Ham United’s Under-21s and Bristol Rovers after beating Yeovil on penalties in the opening game, topping their group, but lost at home to Peterborough United in the second round.

Looking back in the archives, the two teams have met 46 times with Exeter leading the head-to-head with 18 wins to 16 with 12 draws. Crewe’s biggest win came in a 4-1 victory at St James Park in August 1967 while Exeter’s biggest win came at the same venue with a 4-0 win in February 2017. Last season saw the Grecians do the double, a 3-0 win in the corresponding fixture before a 2-1 scoreline in Cheshire.

Who are the officials for the game?

The officials for this game see Craig Hicks as the man in the middle where he is assisted by Andrew Laver and Steven Plane with Christopher Wade being the fourth official. During the last 5 seasons the following Crewe games have been refereed by Hicks:

  • Crewe Alexandra 1-4 Lincoln City (11th November 2017) – Raynes
  • Cambridge United 3-1 Crewe Alexandra (30th December 2017) – Dagnall
  • Stevenage 0-1 Crewe Alexandra (20th October 2018) – Bowery

I asked Exeter supporter Rodney Boulton for his thoughts going into the game.

What do you think of Exeter’s season so far?

Considering we’ve got a relatively inexperienced new manager in Matt Taylor, we’re sitting just outside of the playoffs after a poor recent run so I’m happy with how the season has gone so far.

What do you think of Exeter’s transfer activity over the summer?

Very impressed with the signings. Two of which, Nicky Law and Aaron Martin, are early contenders for player of the season. Jonathan Forte has also done very well, while the others (Tristan Abrahams, Lee Martin, Dara O’Shea and Chiedoze Ogbene), while not being regulars, have looked good when they have played.

What do you think the team will be for Saturday’s game?

It’ll probably be Pym, Sweeney, Moxey, Aaron Martin, O’Shea, Holmes, Tillson, Law, Taylor, Stockley and Forte.

Who would you say is the one player that we should look for in the Grecians’ team?

Definitely Jayden Stockley, our top goalscorer. If he gets the right service and is the in the right place he can be lethal in front of goal.

What do you think would be a respectable season for yourselves and who do you think will be promoted and relegated at the end of the season?

With a new manager, I wouldn’t be too disappointed if we didn’t make the playoffs and I’d be happy with a top-half table finish. I’d be happier if we made the playoffs again of course. MK Dons, Lincoln and Bury, to go up and Macclesfield and Cheltenham to go down.

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