Exeter gain a point against league leaders

A nil-nil draw at St James Park

A point against top of the league looks good on paper and keeps City an arms distance from the drop - but the performance is not something to boast about.

Gary Caldwell's boys went into this game with a level of confidence following a 1-0 victory over struggling Wycombe last week - but that followed a dismal run of 13 games without a win. Portsmouth, on the other hand, were sitting pretty at the top of the table but lost last week to Bristol Rovers. Exeter's biggest weakness this season has decidedly been their attack - only 14 goals scored all season, the lowest in the league. The last time City scored more than one goal in a league match was in August, in a 2-1 win over Reading. Pompey would have been confident of a clean sheet here, as they've conceded the second-least in the league - not an encouraging statistic for City, who sat one place and three points away from the relegation zone.

The first half was nothing short of a snooze-fest. The most exciting features of the opening 45 were possibly the worlds worst trumpeter in the away end and the Portsmouth fan's growing discontent with extremely wayward distribution from their keeper. Neither set of supporters had anything to smile about - Pompey obviously had more quality in their team but couldn't do anything with it, and City just looked woeful. 

Exeter struggled with every aspect of the game - primarily keeping hold of the ball. Their movement was lethargic, their passing was non-existent and the attacking threat showed no sign of magically re-appearing. The Big Bank are crying out for a striker to sign in January, and with good reason. The best chance of the half came near the end, as the Portsmouth defence gifted the ball to Reece Cole who took it past one and slid it through to last weeks goal scorer Sonny Cox, who poked it lightly into the goalie's arms from yards out. An uninspired team who seem set on slowing the game down even in the opposition box; Caldwell will not feel comfortable in his job - but could the transfer window save him?

Somehow though Portsmouth had less shots than Exeter, a weak display from the league leaders. They started strong, winning free kicks and corners consecutively, and a couple of headers really should have been converted. After this opening spell though they seemed to lose spirit and didn't really create anything else - much to the away fans despair. Nil-nil was the inevitable half-time score - both managers had a job to do if they wanted to come away with three points.

Both teams came out all guns blazing in the second half - for two minutes

A triple Portsmouth change in the 60th minute seemed to change the game. Manager John Mousinho brought on some young legs and they instantly created two chances that really should've been goals - one far post header floated wide and one shot from yards out blocked by Captain Will Aimson. City were hanging on, Pompey piled on the pressure. 

But to no avail - the away fans were screaming for a pen as keeper Sinisalo dived at the feet of substitute winger Kamara and grabbed the ball, taking him out in the process. City got lucky again, and they weren't creating chances at the other end. Tom Carroll got a yellow for time-wasting - they were playing for a draw.

And they got what they wanted. In reality a draw and a clean sheet against the league leaders is a very good result for City this season - but this result is all due to Portsmouth's inadequacies rather than Exeter actually playing well. The title contenders struggled to get out of midfield but did create a handful of good chances - which they consistently missed. Caldwell will be happy with the point which keeps Exeter three points away from relegation, but the performance is nothing to be proud of. Signings need to be brought in and improvements need to be made to have any hope of being in this league come September.

EXETER CITY STARTING 11 -

Sinisalo, Jules, Aimson, Hartridge, Carroll, Cole (C), Niskanen, Cox, Rankine, Aitchison, Diabate

EXETER CITY SUBSTITUTES -

MacDonald, Scott, Kite, Taylor, Sweeney, Richards

PORTSMOUTH STARTING 11 -

Norris, Pack (C), Robertson, Bishop, Whyte, Rafferty, Shaughnessy, Raggett, Sparkes, Devlin, Lane

PORTSMOUTH SUBSTITUES -

Schofield, Towler, Scully, Saydee, Morrell, Yengi, Kamara