Resilient City brush aside Charlton

Match Report: Exeter City 1-0 Charlton

A Tristan Crama goal was the difference between Exeter City and visitors Charlton Athletic in a tight game at St James Park. The Londoners physicality, and aerial based game was matched by Exeter, and the match was dominated by crosses and long balls, as well as more than twenty corners. Crama won it in the 59th minute, and it was, fittingly, a brilliant header from a corner which gave his side the lead, and eventually the three points which sees City up to 11th in League one.
 
It was a forgettable and scrappy start to the first half, with an overly physical approach being taken by the likes of, amongst others, Josh Magennis and the 6”6 Miles Leaburn up front for Exeter and Charlton respectively. But City began to assert some control, and spent long periods camped inside the Charlton half, especially during the first forty-five.
 
Magennis sent a couple wide himself, first with a diving header to meet an Ilmari Niskanen cross, which he sent looping well wide. He then got in between the Charlton’s backline and keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer, but scuffed his shot on the turn and saw it cleared comfortably off of the line. Crosses seemed to be the main route to goal for either side, with both teams whipping the ball into the opposition box at any given opportunity.
 
Both at the end of the first half and well into the second, the game swung between congestion in each penalty area with little in between. This leant itself to shots from distance, of which there were plenty, and in fact made up the majority of the games chances. Most notable of these were a low effort by City’s Ed Francis, which he put just wide, and a pair of Ilmari Niskanen shots in either half, from similar positions, one of which just curled away from goal, with the other being deflected narrowly to the wrong side of the right-hand post . Charlton had their fair share of chances too, with Exeter captain Pierce Sweeney blocking a well struck volley, and keeper Joe Whitworth doing well to save a header from Alex Mitchell.
 
But just as the possibility of a stale nil-nil draw appeared on the horizon, a cross was finally converted, with Tristan Crama heading home for City. A deft flick was all that was needed to change the course of Ed Francis’ corner kick into the bottom left hand corner of Maynard-Brewers goal and well out of his reach.
 
City began to sit back as full time approached, and were extremely lucky to soak up the considerable Charlton pressure without conceding. In the very final minutes, Ben Purrington’s cushioned header back to Joe Whitworth inadvertently played Matt Godden in behind, but he dragged his shot wide and in doing so blew his sides very best chance of finding an equaliser.