Exeter City's thrilling opener
A thrilling afternoon of football saw the Grecians hold Portsmouth to a well-earned 1-1 draw at St James Park.
A goal from Tom Nichols saw the home side take the lead in the middle of the first half, but a Jed Wallace equaliser ensured that both sides shared the points in this exhilarating start to the 2014/15 campaign.
An electric atmosphere greeted the players as they took to the field, with both sets of supporters evidently anticipating the first competitive fixture of the season.
Due to a raft of injuries and illnesses, Paul Tisdale named himself as a sub in the Grecian’s opening game of the season, while centre-half Jordan Tillson also got his first home start, owing to a metatarsal injury to Jordan Moore-Taylor.
Scot Bennett had his first competitive outing wearing the captain’s armband since taking over his leadership duties this summer.
For Portsmouth, there was a number of former City players returning to St James Park, including goalkeeper Paul Jones, striker Ryan Taylor and midfielder James Dunne, who all started for the visitors. One notable absence from was Patrick Agyemang who was still side-lined with a thigh injury.
The opening twenty minutes saw a number of convincing Pompey moves challenge City’s defence. Early on in the half, Jed Wallace hit the side netting after skilfully cutting inside and letting one fly from just inside the box, while Adam Webster connected with a low corner, only denied by a superb block by Pat Baldwin.
Yet, the Grecians responded well to this pressure and gained some significant momentum during the second quarter. Liam Sercombe, Tom Nichols and Aaron Dawson all looking eager to get on the ball and make some interesting moves forward. Sercombe made some admirable charges down the right wing, while Dawson kept working to make space in the visitor’s half. Nichols came close in the 21st minute, after an excellent City move, sending his shot just over the bar.
City’s efforts were justly rewarded in the 26th minute. Nichols connected well with a low Matt Grimes cross to put the home side ahead. Ben Chorley could have done better to deal with cross, but City looked composed and Nichols was clinical in his finish.
Portsmouth centre back Jack Whatamough did sterling work for the visitors. He denied City a number of times in an intense spell of pressure from the Grecians. Whatamough cleared a number of low crosses from Sercombe and Nichols as the home side continued to press forward. A great shot from Dawson in the 32nd minute was so close, after the wingback pounced on a misplaced Pompey clearance.
City managed to maintain their lead into half time, playing with far-more fluidity and confidence going forward. The result saw Jimmy Keohane coming close, twice, just before the break. A short Sercombe corner saw the Irishman put his shot just wide, and minutes later he slide a low, measured shot to the left of Jones, which was collected easily by the keeper.
Half time: Exeter City 1 Portsmouth 0
Read the full match report at http://www.exetercityfc.co.uk/fixtures-results/match-report/index.aspx?m...
