Exeter City 'naivety' costly as Grecians suffer stoppage-time loss
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell said that the Grecians squad will have to learn from the naïve errors which they made which cost them defeat at Blackpool. City looked to have battled back and snatched a point at Bloomfield Road, only to concede deep into stoppage-time.
The Grecians were slow out of the traps and it was no surprise when Blackpool took an early lead. A long throw wasn’t dealt with and CJ Hamilton pounced to fire the Tangerines ahead.
City were perhaps lucky to only be 1-0 down at half-time, but after the break, were the better wide, and seemingly got their just desserts for that in the 88 th minute when Ed Francis curled home a stunning free-kick for remarkably what was only the second goal City have ever scored away to the Tangerines.
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But Caldwell’s men couldn’t hold on and were beaten. Steve Bruce’s men won a flurry of corners in added-on time, and from the fourth of them, James Husband poked home a winner. It is now nine defeats and two draws for City at Bloomfield Road, as Exeter dropped down to 16 th in the League One table, while Blackpool rose to 19 th after their first win of the season.
“You never want to lose any game of football, it's disappointment and frustration with certain actions within the game,” Caldwell said. “We knew it would be difficult, they had a new manager, and we added far too much fuel to the fire with how we played the first 20 minutes.
“We were loose from what we have been, but I thought we kept going, were the better team in the second half, dug in second half, Joe makes some great saves, and when the equaliser goes in I am thinking we might win this. But we make some poor naïve actions that allow them to get a flurry of corners, some great deliveries, and we cannot see the game out. We have to learn from it and young players have to understand what to do and we will learn from it.
“Football teaches you lessons, there are high and lows, but I am confident in the group of players, but certain actions in the game we need to be better. We just had poor actions. We didn’t use the momentum of the game and some poor clearances, gave away the ball and we are too naïve, they are clever, and the ref bought it and invited pressure when we should have been turning the momentum on them.
“But we have to be honest. In terms of performance we have to be much better. It is a lesson we have to learn. We have to learn, it is a disappointment, but we can work and build the group."
Caldwell named an unchanged eleven – an indeed – an unchanged squad from the side which won 2-0 away at Bolton Wanderers a fortnight ago. But City were slow out of the blocks and the hosts’ early dominance paid off with 19 minutes on the clock as they took the lead.
A long throw was launched into the box, the City defence stood like statues and allowed the ball to bounce. It broke to Hamilton, and he lashed it now through several Grecians legs to make it 1-0 and for his first goal of the season.
It soon should have been two. A long ball over the top allowed Dom Ballard to break through one-on-one, but Joe Whitworth produced a brilliant save to deny the striker. Joseph then fired just wide as City were under the cosh and under pressure Ballard missed a golden chance to double the lead, but again the Crystal Palace loanee was equal to the task and kept it out.
City improved after the break and started to threaten. Just after the hour, Caldwell made a triple change, and soon after Tristan Crama came close from a corner but his header drifted just wide of the post, before Ilmari Niskanen blazed just over the bar.
Reece Cole then forced Harry Tyrer into a good diving save before in the 88 th minute, City got an equaliser which they had deserved. Crama had been brought down on the edge of the box. Up stepped Francis, who whipped the free-kick into the back of the net from the tightest of angles to send the away fans wild.
Five minutes of stoppage-time were added-on and in the first of them, Bruce’s men nearly won it. Jordan Rhodes was brilliantly denied firstly by Whitworth. But after a series of corners, the goal finally came. The fourth corner in a row was swung in, Oliver Norburn flicked it on, and Husband poked home the winner.
“We have to support the players and show them that support,” Caldwell added. “It is not a want of trying or effort and they are a fantastic group and we have to make them better.
“We are disappointed, we play to be winners and be successful. We will be back on the training pitch and will work hard for Stevenage, we will have the odd moment like this, but we will be better for it.”
Exeter City are back in action next Saturday when they host Stevenage.