Exeter City secured their first League One victory on Boxing Day in a result that was described as a “relief” by defender Cheick Diabate when he spoke with Devon Live.
The Grecians had gone 100 days since their last league victory before the festive fixture period began. That win came against Cheltenham Town on September 16th. Since then, the Devon outfit have only picked up three points, with draws against Lincoln City, Stevenage and Shrewsbury Town.
Yesterday, it was the turn of Wycombe Wanderers to travel to St. James Park, in a bid to end their own winless run.
The first-half went by with no major chances for either side, with a lack of quality on show, yet it really was a game of two halves.
The opening goal of the game came in the 66th minute, when a Jack Aitchson cross found Sonny Cox, who smashed the ball into the back of the net.
There was still time for drama however, as in stoppage-time referee Charles Breakspear deemed that Dale Taylor had been fouled by Harry Kite in the box. However, Luke Leahy’s penalty was subsequently saved by on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper Vili Sinisalo, securing the 1-0 home victory for Exeter.
Speaking after the game to Devon Live, Cheik Diabate explained the feeling in the camp after their 100 day stretch without a victory came to an end.
“It was a crazy game and to get the win makes me so happy. It has been a tough run and tough times for the team and the club and fans getting frustrated, but we deserved the win, and finally got the win, and what a relief.”
“We all stood up to the challenge, all stuck together, and today we deserved it. We are so happy for the fans and the club and we deserved that win. We had more quality, we kept on pressure and we deserved the goal, but everyone stood up to the challenge, Vil with an outstanding save, it was never a penalty, but an outstanding save.”
This victory helped ensure that Gary Caldwell’s side stayed out of the relegation zone, after being in the automatic promotion places after the first six games of the season.
The Grecians face league-leaders Portsmouth at home on Friday night in a bid to score back-to-back victories.
Writer’s View
Exeter were on a very poor run of form, that if it were to continue for much longer, may have seen Caldwell’s job at risk. Their task now is to back this victory up with more over the coming games.
The Chairboys are also on a very poor run now, so the result for Exeter may not seem quite as impressive as it could.
Ultimately, this was a game between two sides in free fall, and both will need to make changes in the upcoming window if they are to ensure they are both third-tier sides next season.
