The Ant Moxey Report

On a day when the heavens opened, Exeter City stormed to arguably their biggest league win ever, with a Ryan Harley brace in a pulsating 2-0 win over Leeds United at the Park in front of a noisy 8,459 fans.

City lined up: Paul Jones; Rob Edwards, Matt Taylor, Robert Duffy; Scott Golbourne, Ryan Harley, Alex Russell, Bertie Cozic, Steve Tully; Marcus Stewart, Adam Stansfield.

Despite the gulf in league positions, it was City who came out of the blocks with all guns blazing with the best chances and the best moves during the opening exchanges. City signalled their intent in the first minute when a Harley corner was spectacularly volleyed fractionally over the bar by the rushing Taylor from about ten yards out.

City continued to dominate and force the game, and although entirely with the run of the play it was still something of a surprise to go 1-0 up after only five minutes! A towering Taylor defensive header was eventually worked out to the right where Tully's superbly hanging cross was headed home by the completely unmarked Harley eight yards out. Yep, that's right, a Harley headed goal, and as Tis said post match, when you get a rarity such as that then perhaps it's going to be that sort of day for you.

Anyway, back to the game and the City pressure continued, this time Edwards flashing past the far post from distance after latching onto a loose clearance from a corner. In the tenth minute it was Stansfield's turn to try his luck, but after latching onto Cozic's superb through ball after a lung bursting pitch length run, the ball was nicked away for a corner as Stans looked to finish.

Leeds finally got themselves into the game midway through the first half, but the chance was City's doing. A ball into the box was missed completely by Taylor and caught Duffy behind him unawares. His sliced clearance looped towards goal, but thankfully Duffy had the presence of mind to hack his own slice off the line and away to safety.

With Leeds coming more and more into the game without, it has to be said, giving Jones anything to do whatsoever - his opposite number Casper Ankergren pulled off one of the best saves I think I've ever seen. Golbourne's ball in took a wicked deflection off a defender and Ankergen showed lightning quick reactions in tipping the ball over the bar when an own goal looked the only outcome.

With ten minutes of the half to go Marcus Stewart foiled a poorly executed offside trap, collecting the ball out wide on the left, before whipping in the most delicious cross between defender and keeper that Stansfield's outstretched boot failed to connect to by millimetres. Remember Gazza against the Germans in Euro 96 at the far post? Stans was closer than that. A minute later roles were reversed as Stans turned provider for Stewart crossing in from the right for Stewart to glance a good looking header a foot over the bar.

In the 40th minute a Harley free-kick again saw Stewart heading towards goal, but this time it was a looping header to the far post that just dropped beyond the angle of post and bar, then a minute later the final action of a terrific first half saw Stewart and Stansfield combine down the right before laying the ball off inside to Harley whose left footed drive was dragged wide of the near post.

Despite intensive early Leeds pressure at the start of the second half, it was Golbourne who looked to make the first impact charging down the left after five minutes and seeing his low cross cleared for a corner.

Leeds pressure continued, but City eased their way back in, and as the rain began to fall increasingly heavily so Leeds' discipline began to drop too with a series of niggly fouls and needless bookings for petulant challenges.

Finally, fifteen minutes in, we saw Leeds' first real and genuine attempt on goal when a quick break ended with a thunderous Andy Hughes drive from the edge of the box that the outrushing Jones superbly blocked with his legs.

Five minutes later Stewart, Harley and Stansfield spadework fashioned an opening for Stansfield, but instead of having a pop himself he chose the seemingly lesser option of squaring the ball to Harley who was eventually crowded out by a number of Leeds defenders.

Leeds then broke quickly down the City left flank and at last man of the moment Jermaine Beckford did something of note ghosting in to glance a header over the bar from six yards out. Leeds sensed an opportunity for an equaliser and Bradley Johnson's good run through the middle ended with a venomous shot from distance that took a nasty deflection forcing Jones into a quite brilliant save adjusting his position very late on to palm the ball clear. Jones was on hand again to thwart Beckford in the 70th minute by superbly saving his near post flick. Somewhere in the melee Edwards hit the turf clutching his face, and after lengthy treatment left the field to be replaced by Liam Sercombe. So with Edwards making his way to hospital, Sercombe took Tully's wing back slot with Tully moving across to fill in for Edwards.

It changed little to the pattern of the game with City content to hold Leeds and Leeds intent on trying to open an equaliser from somewhere, but it was City who were carving out the best chances in the closing stages.

With ten minutes to go Harley surged forward after intercepting a loose clearance but his 25-yard effort drifted narrowly wide of the far post. With five minutes to go though, the game was sealed and City had a famous victory under their belts. There didn't seem much on when Harley received the ball on the corner of the box with his back to goal, but with a quite delicious turn Harley shaped to shoot into the far corner whilst slamming an unstoppable rocket into the roof of the net at the near post to send three sides of the ground into disbelieving delirium and the far end of the ground looking disconsolately for the exits. But there was still five minutes to go, plus a whopping six minutes of stoppage time, but it didn't matter. Leeds offered nothing and were well beaten.

City shuffled things slightly with late substitutions of James Dunne and Richard Logan for Cozic and Stansfield respectively, but with Taylor imperious and Leeds fast running out of ideas it was just a case of when would the ref put them out of their misery.

About 97 minutes in as it happens, and I'm sure the cheer - as much in relief at the prospect of a much needed three point haul as in celebration - could be heard all over Exeter. Which was no less than the players deserved, for today they were, to a man, simply magnificent. As were the crowd. We've heard often enough about our gallant defeats to the big boys in our division, well today it was our turn for a gallant win.

Match Report 2

Exeter City 2-0 Leeds United 

Saturday 16 January 2010

Victory over Leeds United, as the Grecians prevailed 2-0 in a game that saw an attendance of 8,549.
Leeds United started the day top of the League One table by six points, ahead of Norwich City who would turn out 5-0 winners away at Colchester United that afternoon, while the Grecians, who were having a mixed season sat 18th following a 3-1 defeat to the Canaries the previous week.

United began the day with only one defeat all season after 25 matches and had been expected to pick up three points against Paul Tisdale's side, who had kept just two clean sheets in 21 matches, but found themselves on the backfoot after only four minutes at a packed out St James Park - the attendance that afternoon is still yet to be beaten since. Ryan Harley fired the Grecians into an early lead with a powerful header from six yards as he reacted well to Steve Tully's lofted aerial pass.

City would retain their lead in the first half and the table-topping Yorkshiremen rarelyn threatened Paul Jones' goal. Jermaine Beckford's close range header over the was as close as they would come to scoring in what was an off day for Simon Grayson's men.

Tisdale's side had just two shots on target in the 90 minutes, with the second another cracker from Ryan Harley as he put the game beyond Leeds with seven minutes remaining. It was a stunning counter-attack from the Grecians before Harley unleashed a rocket past Caspar Ankergren from the edge of the box.

Just two weeks previously, Leeds United had won 1-0 at Old Trafford, but this time it was another side in red that put them to the sword.

"It was a wonderful day here," said boss Paul Tisdale.

"I think it was the first competitive full-house we've had since the Manchester United FA Cup game a few years ago.

"It went our way and we got a goal up, and the game plan was simple at that point, hang on and defend and try and catch them for a second.

"It's only three points but it feels like more than three points."

City XI: Jones, Tully, Duffy, Taylor, Golbourne, Edwards (Sercombe), Russell, Harley, Cozic, Stansfield, Stewart.

Subs not used: Marriott, Saunders, Dunne, McAllister, Logan.