Adramatic injury-time Jamie Reid goal salvaged a point for Exeter in a very wet West Country derby at St James Park.
After two impressive away wins, including one against fierce rivals Plymouth, the Grecians returned to St James Park to face a Bristol Rovers side without an away win since the end of October.
The visitors had the better start to game, carving open the City defence at ease and over-running the midfield. Stuart Sinclair saw his volley tipped over by goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, who had to be alert yet again, this time to deny a curling effort from Rory Gaffney.
Without Noble’s defensive qualities, Exeter’s already shaky midfield collapsed
Exeter’s midfield duo of David Noble and Ryan Harley struggled to make an impact, with Rovers forcing the home side into playing a more direct game, but the long ball failed to connect and City found themselves on the back-foot for most of the half. Alex Nicholls’ 18 yard free-kick did force Lee Nicholls into a sprawling save, but the man on loan from Wigan otherwise found himself with little to do.
Noble was taken off at half-time with a hamstring injury and Exeter certainly felt the effect. Without Noble’s defensive qualities, Exeter’s already shaky midfield collapsed and Rovers dominated the second half. Gaffney was twice denied brilliantly by Olejnik in the opening minutes of the half and when Rovers finally did find a way past him, Matty Taylor was flagged offside.
City were very lax on the ball and were nearly made to pay, with Rovers clipping the bar after Olejnik had tipped a deflected effort over moments before. Tensions began to rise following a violent tussle between Jordon Moore-Taylor and Matty Taylor, resulting in yellow cards all-round.
The second half began to slow as players tired in the awful conditions, but the final ten minutes would see a sudden spike in the drama. Substitute Billy Bodin was tackled on the edge of the area, the ball spun out to Sinclair and from 25 yards out curled the ball over Olejnik, into the top-left corner. The hearty Rovers support were jubilant and Sinclair sprinted the length of the pitch to celebrate with the travelling fans.
Exeter sprang to life and pushed for an equaliser, but the fantastic Rovers defence stood strong. However, in the final minute of added time Aron Davies hooked a cross into the area, the ball fell to young striker Jamie Reid who drilled his volley home from 12 yards.
TISDALE: “IF THERE WAS ONE PLAYER I WANTED THE BALL TO FALL TO, IT WAS JAMIE”
Following the full time whistle, Bristol manager Darrell Clarke said “I asked the lads for character in the week for this game and we had that. We definitely had the performance, but not the result. We’ve got some very disappointed lads in there, but I thought our individual performances were good. Their goalkeeper was man of the match, what does that tell you? Olejnik made some great saves out there today. We had fantastic support from [the fans] today, I can’t thank them enough.”
On goal scorer Jamie Reid, “If there was one person I wanted it to come to in that situation, it’s Jamie. He doesn’t think, he just does it. That’s not demeaning, it’s to be applauded.”His counterpart, Paul Tisdale said “I thought they were brilliant. What a fantastic performance from them. In the first half, our shape against theirs, definitely suited them, but that’s life. They will have been very disappointed to have lost all three points like that. We ran out of midfield options, not ideal, but I thought we played so well.”
The result was harsh on Bristol, who were the better team over the 90 minutes, and did deserve all three points, but will rue their missed chances to put the game to bed earlier in the match.
Exeter City will be looking to improve their home form this Sunday, facing Port Vale in the second round of the FA Cup. The fixture will be live on BBC1, with a 2 o’clock kick off.
Man of the Match: B. Olejnik (Exeter City)
Attendence: 5548