Grecians go four wins in a row on the road

Goals from Jake Taylor and Ollie Watkins made it four away wins on the spin and seven unbeaten for Exeter City as the Grecians battled to a 2-0 victory over Crawley Town at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.

Taylor’s goal in the twenty-eighth minute was the least that City had deserved after a rampant first-half display. The hosts came stronger in the second period with Bobby Olejnik called into action several times, but the Grecians weathered the storm before Watkins sealed the points with sixteen minutes remaining.

There were three changes to the City team that made it six unbeaten against Barnet on Good Friday. Arron Davies returned to the starting eleven for the first time since the home defeat to Oxford United just over a month ago, with Jake Taylor handed a starting berth out as David Wheeler dropped to the bench. Jamie McAllister was a last-minute inclusion at right-back after Jordan Moore-Taylor sustained an injury during the warm-up.

Christian Ribeiro shifted over from right-back to partner Troy Brown at centre-back in the Grecians’ reshuffled back-line. The home side were without nine-goal marksman Matt Harold, scorer of the opening goal in the Reds’ 2-2 draw with York City last time out, with the ex-Wycombe forward sidelined due to a knee injury.

It was the hosts who chalked up the game’s first shot on goal with four minutes played, though Charles Dunne dragged his effort from the left well wide of Olejnik’s near-post. The Grecians responded with a good chance of their own three minutes later as Stockley rose above his marker to head at goal following Holmes’ in-swinging corner from the right.

The away side worked a series of good chances in the tenth minute. First Holmes forced Callum Preston into a sprawling save with a well-struck free-kick from twenty yards out, before Craig Woodman fired the rebound wide. A minute later and it was Stockley’s turn to threaten again, but this time the loanee striker saw his effort from inside the area blocked by a Crawley defender.

The Grecians were unfortunate to still be on level terms after an all-action first quarter of an hour. In the fourteenth minute Ollie Watkins burst into the box to meet Jake Taylor’s low cross, but Preston did
magnificently well to claw the youngster’s effort off the line.

It was all City in the Sussex sunshine as Crawley struggled to work the ball out of their own half. Chances came and went for Stockley and Holmes, before Watkins’ strike from the edge of the area didn’t quite have the curl on it to find the top-corner.

After a sustained spell of pressure, the Grecians broke the deadlock in the twenty-eighth minute. Watkins showed great composure to roll the ball to Taylor in a packed area, and the January signing did the rest, slotting past the keeper at his near-post to send the Grecians fans at the opposite end of the ground into delirium. It was another great piece of combination play between Watkins and Taylor that evoked memories of City’s second goal at Meadow Lane nine days ago.

The visitors were in no mood to rest on their laurels having opened the scoring, and they should have doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark. Taylor almost turned turn from scorer to provider as his cross from the right found Holmes’ at the back post, but the City winger lifted his volley over the crossbar and into the terrace behind the goal.

Stockley had been a menace to the Crawley back four throughout the opening period, and he came close to adding a ninth goal in City colours with two minute of regulation time remaining as he headed narrowly over from Ryan Harley’s cross from the byline. Stockley’s effort was the last of the half, as the visitors went in for the interval questioning how they were only leading by a one-goal margin.

Half time: Crawley Town 0 Exeter City 1.