Exeter City v Crewe Matchday Thread

[Blacky]

That was very frustrating.

Watching the linesman allow the left back grab attacking players was infuriating.

Bowman again looked to have lead in his boots, an attacking change in the last 15/20 would have been welcome.

Still lots points to play for, with a few twists and turns yet.

Big games to come......

 

[Red Devon]

Very good draw that keeps us right in it! - nothing was ever going to be decided tonight whatever the result....on to Walsall now with another 3 points to be played for.

 

[east_mid]

That's what you get when you play Lee Martin up front (or twenty yards behind his strike partner as he usually is).

Thought Martin did alright tonight.Loads of energy and gave the Crewe defence something to think about,but we didn't replace him with another quick,high energy player and that lost us 2 points.

 

[manc grecian]

Thought Martin did alright tonight.Loads of energy and gave the Crewe defence something to think about,but we didn't replace him with another quick,high energy player and that lost us 2 points.

Only thing they had to think about was who he was going to foul next

 

[IndoMike]

Wouldn't it be weak to just accept things aren't correct?? We may have not scored in the injury time that should have been played, but gives you a very good chance. Why should fans just accept this and roll over?

1. The fans moaning about the ref achieves nothing
2. Don't forget Crewe could have scored too if more extra time was added.

 

[east_mid]

Only thing they had to think about was who he was going to foul next

That was Sweeney.

 

[PeteUSA]

So, what happened with their goal? How did that slo-mo shot trickle past Ward? I guess the only people with a decent view were the fans in the NOG? It looked like an own goal, but who knows.

 

[ex_user1234]

It feels like we're losing a bit of momentum at exactly the wrong time of the season. Let's hope we can put the last three scrappy performances behind us, get back to our passing game (muddy pitches permitting), and get a run going. All still to play for but we need to start winning again or we'll soon be out of contention for the autos. UTC!

 

[Rosencrantz]

The 4-2-3-1 system made us much more solid, compact and connected tonight defence wise. Although Crewe looked dangerous going forward at times, they didn't work Ward hardly.

It became a game of territory rather like a rugby match where long kicks are traded until a mistake or challenge is made successfully. Bowman competed well and Law looked the most dangerous of our attackers.

The area where we were most disappointing though was wide. Lee Martin worked hard but on the ball was poor. Randell had a lot of the ball but did nothing with it, either running into defenders or floating a cross in for catching practice. His movement off the ball again reverted to static, especially when he came over to the left, often taking space away from Dickenson to move into without giving him an option. The only time he got away was when Taylor played him in and he got pulled/clotheslined before being tackled in the incident Manc alludes to. Obviously you cannot expect a lino to see something happening five feet away .

Matt made a mistake I think in the bench selection. Having switched formation to play two wide attacking players but have none on the bench and using Jake instead. Should have had Joel Randall who I think would have given us an extra option. His short, choppy strides and close control are made for this kind of pitch. MJ should have been on for the same reason late on, possibly for Archie and drop Law a bit deeper when it became clear that Crewe were happy with a point.

There goal was a bit unfortunate with a double deflection, one took it wide but I think it was Powell who then flicked it back on target.

Wrapping up, Dickenson man of the match for me. And the ref's nickname must surely be Daisy for the amount of fouls Porter milked out of him tonight.

 

[IndoMike]

The reality is that we haven't played well for quite a while. We don't seem to have any forward thrust and can't dominate teams.
We don't have the momentum you'd hope from a team pushing for promotion. And we don't have a striker to make something out of nothing.
It's not working very well. If something doesn't change we will not get a place in the autos as we still have several difficult matches and are not in good form.
So in order to avoid disappointment I'm lowering my expectations and hoping for a olay-off place, which is better than a kick up the arse.