We have to get back to winning ways against Stevenage

Pierce Sweeney of Exeter City during the EFL League One match between Blackpool and Exeter City at Bloomfield Road Stadium, Blackpool on 14 September 2024. Photo: Jake Manuell/PPAUK
-Credit: (Image: Jake Manuell/PPAUK)


PIERCE SWEENEY IS THE CLUB CAPTAIN OF EXETER CITY FC

Having succumbed to an injury-time winner in our 2-1 defeat at Blackpool on Saturday, it’s important we get back to winning ways when Stevenage visit St James Park this weekend.

With the game live on Sky, it’s a 12.30pm kick-off, which isn’t something I’m a big fan of. However, we’ll be tweaking our preparations accordingly and touch wood can take the early start in our stride.

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Boro have begun the season pretty well under new manager Alex Revell. Emphatic 3-0 winners over Barnsley at the weekend, they’ve taken seven points from their opening five games. However, they haven’t won away from the Lamex Stadium since beating Wigan in January and we’ll be doing all we can to ensure their wait for an away victory continues a little longer yet.

What is more, having celebrated my 30th birthday last Wednesday, I’ve got a few friends and family coming over from Ireland for the game, ahead of a night out in town, and three points would set things up nicely!

With the game being on TV, I imagine a few of the boys will be getting a haircut between now and the weekend. I’d be the first to admit I’m not blessed with the greatest head of hair, so have little option but to make a bit of an effort. That said,

I haven’t (yet) reached the same point as my former teammates Jake Taylor and Nicky Law, both of whom have had thousands of hair follicles tattooed onto their heads so as not to appear bald!

We were under no illusions about how difficult it would be for us at Blackpool on Saturday and so it proved. The Seasiders will expect to be there, or thereabouts, come the end of the season and while they’ve made a slow start to the campaign, it was only to be expected that the appointment of a high-profile figure such as Steve Bruce as manager would prompt a positive reaction.

We weren’t anywhere near good enough in the first half of Saturday’s game at Bloomfield Road, when we didn’t deal at all well with the threat posed by the home side, and were indebted to Joe Whitworth for going in at the interval only a goal down.

As you might imagine, there were some harsh words said in the dressing room at half-time. Fortunately, they had the desired result and we were probably the better team in the second half. Certainly, I thought we were good value for Ed Francis’ 88th-minute-equaliser from a free kick wide on the right, so it was a real kick in the teeth to concede again four or five minutes into stoppage time.

-Credit:Jake Manuell/PPAUK
-Credit:Jake Manuell/PPAUK

Gary Caldwell said in his post-match interview that we’d been naïve in our attempts to close the game out and it’s hard to disagree. The only mitigation is that we had an awful lot of young players on the pitch come the end of Saturday’s game and, while that doesn’t excuse our shortcomings, I’ve no doubt they will learn from the experience and be better equipped to deal with similar scenarios in the future.

Disappointing as it was to make the long journey home to Devon with nothing to show for our efforts, I thought at least a couple of City players performed with distinction. For sure, Joe had another great game in goal, carrying on where he left off against Bolton, while Ed also impressed in the short time he had on the pitch.

It’s easy to forget that Joe isn’t even 21 yet, and to go on loan to a league club and be their No 1 at just 20 is a big ask – all the more so when you’re not the biggest.

But, believe you-me, he’s a fantastic shot stopper, who’s outstanding with the ball at this feet, has a great mentality, and in my opinion we’re very lucky to have him. Come May, I can see Joe being every bit as popular as Vil Sinisalo was 12 months ago.

-Credit:Jake Manuell/PPAUK
-Credit:Jake Manuell/PPAUK

Ed has gone under the radar a little bit so far this season. I’ve no doubt he’d have liked a few more minutes than he’s got over recent weeks but, as he demonstrated again on Saturday, when he’s given the opportunity he doesn’t disappoint. Having joined us from National League Gateshead, it was always likely it would take Ed a little bit of time to get fully up to speed, but there’s no doubt he’s got the talent you need if you’re going to avoid getting rinsed for wearing your socks around your ankles, and I can envisage him being a key player for us over the next two to three years.

Away from SJP, it was great to see a couple of old pals bagging braces over the last few days.

Ollie Watkins returned from a short spell on the sidelines to score twice as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Everton 3-2 at
Villa Park on Sunday, and Jay Stansfield did likewise as Birmingham came from a goal down to beat Wrexham 3-1 at St Andrews on Monday night.

While it was a bit of a surprise that Ollie had to wait until September to bag his first goals of the season, now he’s up and running I’m sure plenty more will follow. And it was fantastic to see Stano off the mark on his first start for Birmingham since his record-breaking transfer to our League One rivals.

Such was the size of the transfer fee, there will be a huge weight of expectation on Jay’s young shoulders but I’m sure he has what it takes to deal with it and two clinically taken goals on his return to the Midlands can only help.

On the subject of former team-mates, it’s been good to see Kevin McDonald back at the Cliff Hill Training Ground. Having been released by Bradford a few weeks ago, Kev’s been training with us while he weighs up his options. I don’t pretend to know whether there’s any possibility of him rejoining City but, such is his quality, I’m sure Gary will at least have asked the question.

It was good to see our youngsters beat Norwich U21s 2-I in the Premier League Cup last Wednesday and, while birthday celebrations meant I wasn’t at the game, I understand the margin of victory might easily have been greater.

Goal celebrations for Theo Cutler of Exeter City u21s during the Premier League Cup Match between Exeter City u21s and Norwich City u21s at St James Park, Devon on 11 September 2024. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Goal celebrations for Theo Cutler of Exeter City u21s during the Premier League Cup Match between Exeter City u21s and Norwich City u21s at St James Park, Devon on 11 September 2024. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK

Be that as it may, it was a great result for us and I’ve no doubt the likes of Ed James, Jake Richards, and matchwinner Theo Cutler will continue to flourish under the watchful eye of Dan Green.

I’m sure some of our young players will get another opportunity to impress when we take on Tottenham U21s in the Premier League Cup at SJP this coming Tuesday evening.

I appreciate the competition ain’t everyone’s cup of tea but, quite apart from it’s value to the youngsters, it provides those on the periphery of the first team with an opportunity for some minutes and, what’s more, culminates in a Wembley final.

With that in mind, we’ll be looking to make it back-to-back wins as we seek to progress from our group to the knockout stages.

With Taggy taking centre stage next week, I’ll look forward to catching up with you after our trip to Wigan. In the meantime, let’s hope that we can start climbing the League One table and put Spurs to the sword in the Premier League Cup!