Exeter City earn a creditable draw

Report: Newport 1 Exeter City 1

Exeter City earned a creditable draw from their trip to South Wales as their trip to Newport County AFC ended 1-1.

City had gone ahead shortly after the interval when Exiles defender Harry Worley turned Tom Nichols’ cross into his own net, but Lee Minshull forced the ball over the line from a corner just a minute later.

And ultimately a toughly-contested battle ended honours-even as all other chances went begging before the referee sounded the final whistle.

Manager Paul Tisdale made three City changes for the visit to Rodney Parade – Sam Parkin, David Wheeler and Matt Grimes all began on the bench with Danny Butterfield, Matt Gill and Eliot Richards all given the nod.

There were also a couple of well-known names in the Newport side – former Torquay, Plymouth and Bristol Rovers striker Chris Zebroski was named in attack, and former Gulls man Rene Howe began on the bench.

A high-tempo start saw chances at either end – Ryan Burge’s shot was charged down in the first minute as he looked to break free, before a good bit of skill by Liam Sercombe saw him find space to cross and Newport were lucky to survive after Ian McLoughlin spilled his catch.

The first half was contested in something of an ugly nature, with both teams contesting the battle full-bloodedly and occasionally crossing that thin line into unsportsmanlike behaviour. But there were chances for either side – Zebroski dragged a chance just wide of Krysiak’s goal and Sercombe’s shot, hit on the volley, needed blocking by Andrew Hughes.

City were also lively on the counter, particularly through the pace of Richards, Sercombe and Tom Nichols. Matt Oakley found Nichols with a neat outside-of-the-boot ball and Nichols backheeled into Sercombe’s path, but the midfielder just overran with his first touch.

Richards also went on a solo foray down the left and had Ismail Yakubu turning inside and out with City breaking in numbers – however McLoughlin got down well to the powerful effort.

Half-time: Newport County AFC 0 Exeter City 0