City drop points at home

Match Report: Exeter City 1-2 Reading

Exeter City were unlucky to come away with nothing in what was almost a classic game of two halves at home to Reading. City had a poor first half and were 2-0 down well before the break, having conceded within the first minute and then again on thirty-six minutes. Even though attacking changes at half time completely reversed the roles after the break, with Exeter dominant throughout the second forty-five, they only managed the one goal, via Ilmari Niskanen, and were left to regret their terrible first half, which ultimately lost them the game.
 
Not only did City give Reading the lead as early on as they could have endeavoured to, it was a silly mistake which gifted them their opener. Johnly Yfeko, perhaps savouring his opening touches, dawdled on the ball and saw it nipped off of his feet by Jayden Wareham. Wareham held the ball up well, before turning neatly inside the box and firing low past Joe Whitworth in the Exeter goal.
 
With an unfamiliar four-at-the-back formation preferred to a five, City seemed uncomfortable and struggled to play through Reading’s intense high press. Repeatedly losing the ball in positions similar to that of Yfekos early error, they gave the visitors a handful of half-chances before the break, with Whitworth bailing his side out on multiple occasions. A bullet header from a corner straight at Whitworth and a Kelvon Ehibhatiomhan shot which was just high and wide constituted the most dangerous of these chances, as Reading retained almost complete control.
 
Exeter attacked very little early on, and when they did were often disjointed and prone to giving the ball up easily, this being especially true of Jack Aitchson and Mustapha Carayol down their left-hand side. City didn’t register a single shot on target before the break.
 
The Reading pressure soon payed off, as another bout of intensity high up the pitch won them the ball, which was soon played across the six-yard-box. Charlie Savage’s decent shot was brilliantly saved by Whitworth, but being floored and off balance as a result the young keeper could do nothing but watch Michael Craig react quickly and shank the ball past him.
 
Gary Caldwell rung the attacking changes for Exeter at the break, with Millenic Alli and Northern-Irish international Josh Magennis replacing Cox and Carayol up front. These changes had an almost magical effect on the momentum of the game, with the new duo’s physical presence dragging City up the pitch and putting them firmly in the ascendency in terms of ball possession and pressure as the second half went on.
 
It didn’t take long for Exeter to benefit from this newfound intensity. After a neat passing routine deep in the Reading half, Pierce Sweeney fired a brilliant cross into the box from wide on the right-hand side. Being a fierce and well hit strike, Sweeney’s ball eluded everyone, bar Ilmari Niskanen. The Finn smashed the ball past former Manchester United keeper Pereira in the Reading goal for his first ever goal for the club.
 
Scoring did nothing to mute City’s energy, and Millenic Alli soon overpowered two Reading defenders to get in behind their line, but drew a save from Pereira – a save which he shouldn’t really have been given the chance to make, but Alli hesitated and only managed to scuff a shot towards Pereira. Niskanen came within inches of a second with around twenty minutes to go, curling a shot off of the very inside of the post, having been played in behind by a superb travela through ball by Ryan Woods.
 
City kept on pushing, and had plenty of opportunities to draw level (Niskanen could easily have had a hat-trick, with missed chances left over), but the goal just wouldn’t materialise. City can only really blame a disastrous first half for a loss which sees them slide down to sixth in League One.