The first meeting in history between Exeter City and Manchester City provided 11 goals, as the Premier League side showed no mercy as they conquered the Grecians 10-1. Seven different goalscorers got their names on the scoresheet for the home side, who were further aided by two own goals from the visitors, after Jake Doyle-Hayes and Jack Fitzwater put the ball into their own net.
In the week leading up to the FA Cup third round tie, much of the build-up had concerned Exeter’s request for a greater share of the gate receipts from the tie. Normally, the money from tickets is split equally between both teams in FA Cup ties, to financially aid lower league teams when they have to make trips to Premier League sides, making games like these usually quite lucrative for teams in the lower divisions. Exeter would have benefitted immensely had the public request been granted, with the trust that owns the club having put loans of more than £600,000 into the club to help ease its debts and overspending. The financial situation was in no way helped by a fire at St James Park last month, which caused the postponement of the Grecians’ subsequent home match, and was estimated to cost the club over £100,000.
The request was denied by Manchester City however, and the visitors were in for even more bad news when a large number of injuries to senior players and a few players still being away at the Africa Cup of Nations meant the Blues were effectively forced to play heavy hitters like Erling Haaland and Rodri. Despite this, the game didn’t shoot into action immediately, and when it did it was Exeter who had the best chances. Jayden Wareham had a shot blocked early on, and a header from Liam Oakes forced James Trafford to make a diving save.
Yet dominance on the part of Exeter was not to last for long, as a sloppy attempt to clear the ball out of the visitors’ box after a corner only resulted in Max Alleyne, having only been recalled back to Manchester from his loan at Watford in the week, poking the ball in to score his first goal for the club. From here, control of the game only fell to those in sky blue, as Rodri struck one sweetly from almost 30 yards out to double the lead, which was followed by the two own goals from Exeter.
After half-time, goals from Rico Lewis, Antoine Semenyo (mere days after completing his move from Bournemouth), Tijjani Reijnders, Nico O’Reilly, and Ryan McAidoo gave the home side a lead of 9-0. But in the 90th minute, 19-year-old George Birch gave the 7,800 Exeter fans that had made the trip up north something to cheer about, with a spectacular effort from outside the penalty area that gave Trafford no chance in the Manchester City net. It was arguably the pick of the goals on the day and ensured that even in the face of the hosts’ ruthlessness, they were not to be undeterred from seeking a consolation, even if there was still time for Rico Lewis to grab a second and turn his side’s final score into double figures.
In the end, a strong Manchester City team proved to have a considerable edge over Gary Caldwell’s team, who had their defensive mistakes pounced on at a rate they are simply not used to in League One. It’s the second year in a row that the Grecians have exited the FA Cup at the hands of a Premier League side, and Caldwell will be proud of his team’s efforts with this knowledge.
Attention will now turn to Exeter’s next outing, this time back in the league, when they host Stevenage this Saturday.
