Exeter City 0 Grimsby Town 0.

Saturday 18 October 2008.

Referee Paul Gibbs

Attendance 5,177 with 235 away fans.

The Moxey Report 

So on a bright Autumnal afternoon the Park, City fail to build on the previous week's superb win at Bury by being held to a 0-0 draw by a well drilled Grimsby Town side languishing near the foot of the table in front of a magnificent turn out of 5177 eager supporters. City were forced into a couple of changes from the previous weekend's game with Ryan Harley failing a fitness test due to a thigh strain thus having Liam Sercombe take his place and Marcus Stewart returning to the side at the expense of Jack Obersteller after recovering from flu. As it was, after a somewhat disjointed start, it was City who had the first real chance of the game - and probably the only real chance of the game when Steve Tully broke down the right in the 15th minuteHe fed the ball into Rob Edwards through the middle, who in turn sent Stewart scampering down the left. In a move identical to the opening goal against Gillingham last time out, Stewart stood a peach of a cross to the far post where Richard Logan rose magnificently to butt downwards. Unfortunately this time the keeper pulled off a terrific save and the scores remained level. The next chance came five minutes later when Adam Stansfield and Tully combined down the right to set up Edwards near the comer of the box. However a defender's close attentions meant Edwards hurried his shot somewhat and wastefully smashed high over the angle of post and bar. For the next fifteen minutes or so the game degenerated into a war of attrition with City trying to press to forward whilst Grimsby sat back and defended in numbers content to try and catch City on the break. Despite this, City had a great chance to take the lead with ten minutes of the half remaining. Logie flicked the ball on to Stansfield overlapping around the outside towards the right side of the box, but he played the ball fractionally too wide and Stansfield could do little better than drag his powerful daisy cutter wide of the far post.

With half time soon past, the second half began with City in much more dominant moodIn the 15th minute, after a large dollop of sustained City pressure, Dean Moxey sent over an outrageously inswinging cross towards the far post where Edwards ghosted in unmolested to volley home, only to turn away in anguish at the sight of a defender hacking the ball off the line and away to safety. Ten minutes later City spumed a further great chance when Matt Taylor dived low to butt a comer narrowly wide of the far postA further ten minutes of largely ineffective was toil was enough convince manager Paul Tisdale to insert an injection of fresh legs so for the final ten minutes we had the quickfire substitutions of Stewart, Sercombe and the Stansfield for Craig McAllister, Bertie Cozic and Chris Shephard respectively. It was somewhat prophetic that the last chance of the game fell to City, and almost inevitable that the outcome would be that Taylor's towering header would loop onto the top of the net from Matthew Gill's sublimely floated 40 yard free kick. A couple of minutes of stoppage time followed, but neither side could break the other down and thus for the first time since the end of August last year when Weymouth were the visitors, a home game at the Park ended in a 0-0 draw. So where did it all go wrong? City were flying after a series of impressive results, and had it not been for the monumental points deductions for Rotherham United, Luton Town and AFC Bournemouth then Grimsby would be hopelessly adrift at the foot of the table. But things don't always go to plan, unless of course you're Grimsby and your plan is simply not to lose. For set plays they had everyone not just in their own half but in their own box-remember those days-and were big and strong and stuck to their task. We made it easy for them by constantly peppering the centre backs with balls over the top for Stansfield to chase, but this was a wasted ploy as with the defenders sat so deep they either headed away comfortably or it ran on for an easy collect for the keeperIn my mind perhaps we could have tried to play the ball on the floor a little more often, at pace, as the Grimsby back line weren't exactly the quickestnor that happy playing the ball facing their own goal. Which brings me to our players, who by and large fought hard and heroically in trying to break down their resolute oppositionJones didn't have much to do, but claimed confidently when the ball did come towards him. In front of him the four across the back snubbed out pretty much everything Grimsby had to offer-Taylor in particular showing class and strength. In midfield Harley was obviously missed, as perhaps it was that little bit of guile and cleverness that might have unlocked the Grimsby defence, but Sercombe tried manfully to plug the gap, even if he was rather easily outmuscled by beefy opposition midfielders. Up front, although they didn't score, I thought the strikers were our best players, Stewart being the pick of the bunch. His cross for Logle's early attempt was just sublime, and a backheel down the line in the second half for Deano to chase was about as outrageous a piece of quick thinking and skill as seen at the Park for a long timeHis efforts surely deserve a goal, and it'd be just rewards for his industry. So whilst we can be disappointed not gain all three points, considering the opposition's game plan we shouldn't be too disappointed with a very workmanlike and disciplined performance from the players who pretty much tried everything they could to win the game.

BBC match report –

Exeter and Grimsby shared the spoils in an uninspiring goalless draw. Chances were few in a game of little quality with Exeter coming closest to scorng to a goal when Richard Logan's header was well saved by Phil Barnes. Grimsby should have been reduced to 10 men when Tom Newey appeared to push his forehead into Matt Taylor's face but he was only booked for the offence. Grimsby's best chance of the game came when Peter Bore's shot was cleared off the line by Matt Gill.

Exeter:
Jones, Tully, Seaborne, Taylor, Moxey, Sercombe (Cozic 85), Logan, Edwards, Gill, Stansfield (Shephard 89), Stewart (McAllister 77).

Subs Not Used: Marriott, Obersteller.

Booked: Edwards.

Grimsby: Barnes, Clarke, Bennett, Heywood, Newey, Till, Hunt (Normington 82), Trotter, Hegarty (Taylor 80), Bore, Jarman (Llewellyn 80).
Subs Not Used: Montgomery, Stockdale.

Booked: Newey, Trotter.

Att: 5,177

Ref: Paul Gibbs (West Midlands).