Before the Cambridge game, after the Yeovil match, I last wrote about our chances of promotion. I was deeply worried about our prospects without Purrington and also that the side would bottle it again by not being mentally strong enough when the big occasions came around. The last 11 days have done all they can to make me eat my words. I wasn’t at Cambridge but the reviews were promising. And this was a fantastic result and a fantastic day. We showed mental resilience and strength. Gary Sawyer put in an assured performance at left-back. Most crucially, and this is what really gives me the new confidence, all of the new signings absolutely look the real deal.
Matty Kennedy can beat a man with ease and on the occasions he doesn’t his range of passing and his ability to whip accurate crosses into the box are both superb. That’s before we even mention his off the ball running which allowed Carey (who looked far more like his imperious best) to slip through an absolutely spectacular through ball for him to slot away. He put in one of his own to Taylor for the second too.
Taylor is the one I’m really excited about. I defended Garita more than most did on here on the basis that in the lack of Spencer playing, he’s an outlet for long balls who can win them and flick them on even in spite of his somewhat headless chicken tendencies. In Taylor however, we seem to have someone who has the guile and hold up play of Spencer combined with the raw pace and strength of Gartia. He even showed great movement with his front to goal as well as his back to grab our second on the strong of half-time.
Sarcevic too deserves credit. He may not have had the killer balls (today) quite like Carey and Kennedy but he continued throughout the game to send short and sharp passes around the midfield, recycling the ball to those in space who were able make use of it. He was also tenacious, not afraid to press and not afraid of a good tackle.
Sokolik, who I was deeply unconvinced by at Yeovil, was also a lot better. He gave me a few heart attack moments in the first half with underhit passes but in terms of sweeping up Exeter attacks and doing the last ditch stuff where it was needed, he was excellent. He kept shape very well and got in the way of a lot.
On the whole, our performance for 75 minutes of the game at least was absolutely fantastic. A mere look at the stats column shows Exeter as being almost on a par with us but that really doesn’t tell the story of the game. Exeter’s pressure and chances were mostly concentrated into two spells at the start of each half. After that, Argyle were vastly on top and worthy of our win. The only two what I’d call clear cut chances Exeter had in the entire game were a header from Wheeler and a header from Reid. Only the Wheeler one was guilt edged.
Argyle on the other hand were incisive and hammering on the door was the vast majority of the game, getting regular shots away aside from our three goals. What really impressed me was how fast we moved the ball about, constantly twisting and stretching Exeter defenders out of position. We looked energetic as well as comfortable with the ball at our feet, which proved a lethal combination. It fitted in nicely with the trend noticed in the games against Stevenage and Cheltenham (and reportedly Cambridge) of us playing a more attacking style with a less direct emphasis. A welcome change from last season when we appeared to sink into our shells a bit after Christmas was over.
Songo’o and Fox were an excellent as ever in the midfield. The former won a number of loose balls through his crunching tackles and his positional work which appears to be improving month on month from the somewhat reckless player we saw at the start of the season. Fox as ever was the deep-lying architect of our play, perfectly the knack of playing his way out of tight situations and passing to whichever of the front foru was best placed to make something out of the scenario.
Sawyer as I say, did very well. I’d still sooner we kept Purrington but in fairness to the guy, he got forward more than normal and delivered one or two good crosses in when the ball got out to him. Threlkeld on the other side was even better, getting up and down the line fantastically and letting nothing past him. Bradley (one underhit pass to Sokolik in stoppage time aside) was as commanding as ever and barely let Reid out of his back pocket all game. McCormick’s kicking was questionable but every other part of his game was fantastic including his much improved (compared to his poor spell) command of area and one good reflex save during Exeter’s hot spell at the start of the second half.
Of the subs, Donaldson made one very good pass out to Jervis which led to the latter (who was as good as he always is from the bench) being chopped down in a karate kick by Pym that he really should have walked for. Fair play to the lino for spotting it because I’ll be honest and say it didn’t look like a penalty at the time. As it was, Jervis put away the penalty and the win was secured.
With Wycombe and (obviously) Exeter losing, that’s two teams now who we have a near unassailable lead over. Pompey and Luton both got wins but the good thing about those two sides is neither of them often string wins together. Carlsile lost 4-1 at home to Blackpool and look to be in freefall.
We’re nearly there. 8 more wins will do it. Or 6 and 6 draws, I’m not fussy. 17 cup finals to play. One last big push, starting Tuesday.
McCormick-7
Threlkeld-8
Sokolik-7
Bradley-8
Sawyer-7
Songo’o-8
Fox-9
Carey-8
Sarcevic-8
Kennedy-9
Taylor-9 MOTM
Jervis-7
Donaldson-6
Slew-6
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Sun Feb 12, 2017 6:42 pm
