City throw it away in final minutes

They concede two goals in dying minutes

Exeter City let a one-goal lead slip away at home to Bolton, conceding two in as many minutes to lose the game late on.

Demetri Mitchel had taken a fortunate chance early on in the second half, and City had defended bravely from then onwards. But two lapses of concentration from Exeter in the dying moments of the game gave the win to the visitors, and although Bolton probably deserved to come away with something from a match which they dominated for long periods, City will still regret giving up what should have been an impressive victory.

Aaron Morely, who got Bolton's winner, also scored the winner against Exeter in their last game, away at Wycombe, having moved between the two clubs in the meantime. 

John McAtee had a great chance to put the visitors a goal up in the first few minutes, doing well to get onto a through ball which had been thread between two Exeter centre backs. He was clean in on goal but fell foul to a superb recovery tackle by the towering Tristan Crama, who saw the ball out for a corner. 

From then on Bolton seemed to settle into a consistent control, pressing high, retaining possession well and peppering the City box with crosses. A marginal offside denied Aaron Collins a tap in for the visitors, and was a let off for Exeter who had sat off as former Grecian Randall Williams brought the ball a considerable distance to create the chance. Ricardo Santos hit the bar with a header from a corner moments later. 

The game lulled a little as half time approached, with few chances for either side, but with Wanderers edging possession and overall dominating play. In the closest Bolton’s press got to creating anything in the first half, McAtee tried a speculative volley from at least 25 yards out and a tight angle upon winning the ball high up the pitch. Exeter keeper Whitworth was taken by surprise but managed to nudge it round the post. 

City did improve from their slow start, but still failed to register a shot on target in the first half, with Caleb Watts and Ed Francis sending half chances high and wide respectively. 

The first 10 minutes or so of the second half proved to be more lively than the entire of the first. Klaidi Lolos fired the ball over an all but empty goal from a yard or less out, after a brilliant reaction save from Joe Whitworth had sent the ball straight to the feet of the Bolton man.

While Lolos would no doubt have rued spurning such a golden chance anyway, this regret would only have been compounded as he watched City pump the ball long from the resulting goal kick, and Demi Mitchel take advantage of a fortunate bounce to get in behind and poke the ball past Nathan Baxter and in doing so put City into a fortunate but not entirely undeserved lead.

Continuing in a slightly more entertaining fashion, the game was end to end from then on. Exeter had a handful of chances from long balls forward on the counter, but much of their best work was done in their own box, doing well to shut out Bolton, whose fans expressed more than a little frustration at their inability to finish the steady succession of half chances which they were creating. 

But no matter how long and how hard a side defends, all it takes is one lapse in concentration or one mistake for their opposition to be let back in, and that was exactly the case with Boltons equaliser.

Aaron Collins managed to get in front of Crama who was trying to shield the ball, and finished the resulting one on one neatly. It is fair to say that from there on Exeter buckled under the pressure, and saw all their hard work undone as Bolton’s Aaron Morley sent in a deep cross which evaded everyone but found the bottom corner to give the visitors a later winner.