Exeter City 2
Dagenham and Redbridge 1.

Saturday 4 April 2009.

On a day when everyone else in the top 10 failed to win, Exeter City seized the initiative with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over a spirited Dagenham & Redbridge side who continue to harbour their own promotion ambitions. City were forced into one change due to Danny Seaborne's red card against Port Vale in midweek, and Steve Tully slotted in to the back three. The early exchanges were cagey as both sides sized each other up- City almost being drawn into the direct approach synonymous with the visitors. Without much to report in the early stages, the opening goal was something of a bolt out of the blueThe ball was played forward to Stuart Fleetwood midway inside the Dagenham half. He headed towards goalthen cleverly bought himself a yard of space 25-yards from goalThe moment he swung his right foot there was only one place for the ball, and that was curling beautifully beyond the veteran Tony RobertsA goal quite out of keeping with the play up to that point, and what a way to open his account for City following his loan move from Charlton Athletic

City continued to have the upper hand, and Fleetwood again tested Roberts from distance, his shot bouncing in front of the keeper before being safely smothered. The Daggers finally forced Paul Jones into action a dipping shot by Ben Strevens tipped over as it looked to dip under the crossbar. If City's opener was a bolt out of the blue, Dagenham's equaliser was even more soThere appeared to be little danger as the ball was pumped down the field, but as three men converged on the ball- Jones, Troy Archibald-Henville and Strevens-there was an almighty mix- upand the ball broke out to StrevensThe angle was against him, and Archibald-Henville was closing down the space, but he placed his shot well to stun the City faithful. This, for a while, seemed to knock the stuffing out of City, and the half closed out in a wave of missed passes and a lack of initiative on either side's part. City welcomed the half-time break, and an opportunity to regroup- like at Rochdale the previous Saturday, the effort in the early part of the half was palpable, and it bore fruit.

If the first goal had City in rapturesthe second one was one that had the fans open-mouthed and setting their Sky+ boxes for The Championship. City pressure on a back-pass forced Roberts to slice out of play on the rightGill looked like he was about to launch one of his exocets, before spotting Fleetwood making a run to buy himself some space just outside the box. There appeared to be little danger as Fleetwood held the ball with his back to goal, but quick as a flash he swivelled, then hammered the ball past Roberts into the top corner. Roberts could only stare in disbelief as the ball rocketed past him for what must be a firm favourite for "Goal of the season". With City back in front, the visitors pushed forward, but it was Paul Tisdale's men who continued to create the clearer chances. One flowing move saw Adam Stansfield put in a peach of a cross to Fleetwood, unfortunately his momentum had taken him just too far forward and by the time he got the ball out from under his feet Roberts was able to narrow the angle for the shot. City had reasonable claims for a penalty tumed down when under little pressure, Okhuongae appeared to bring the ball down with his hand Another chance saw the ball slipped through to Fleetwood, but as he was about to fire home, Griffiths got back to put in a saving challenge 

Fatigue especially after a midweek win with 10 men for 70 minutes, begun to tell, and Dagenham pushed hard for an equaliser. Benson was introduced and the prolific striker nearly found his way through, a senes of ricochets eventually seeing the ball safely in Jones' arms. Stevens slipped when well-placedbut other than that City's defence dealt comfortably with the threatdespite the visitors forcing an inordinate number of corners in the dying minutes. Both City strikers were replaced in straight swaps, both earning. Rapturous applause from the sizeable City crowd for their endeavours. The over-riding emotion at the final whistle was relief, turning to joy when news of the other results filtered through ensuring City had moved into second place in the table. Although City were under the cost for large parts of the second half against a side unbeaten away from home since November, the only really clear-cut chance came as a result of the mix-up in defence, and otherwise City were outstanding at the back, denying an adventurous Daggers side from gaining enough space to work their magic. At the end of the day these were three points to savour, and the result gives City a lot of impetus going into what is a vital Easter set of matches against high-flying Brentford and Wycombe. There were a number of outstanding performances Fleetwood rightly eamed the Man of the Match award for a pair of goals that he or any other striker would struggle to replicate in terms of qualityHis striking colleague Adam Stansfield, again put in the sort of display we have come to know and love, while Bertie Cozic and Matt Gill won the midfield battle-Cozic in particular has grasped the opportunity handed to him in the last few games and seems to revel in matches where a bit of elbow grease is required. The defence marshalled things superbly, ensuring Dagenham created little despite their attacking intentAll in all, a very good day at the office, which sets City up nicely for the run-in.

BBC match summary and information 

Stuart Fleetwood hit his first goals for Exeter to help them climb to second in the League Two table. Fleetwood curled in the opener from 25 yards before coming close with another effort from 30 yards out. Sam Saunders twice came close to an equaliser before Ben Strevens did level after a mix-up between Troy Archibald-Henville and goalkeeper Paul Jones. Fleetwood, on loan from Charlton, hit the winner with a dipping half-volley after a throw by Matt Gill.

Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale told BBC Radio Devon:

"We can search away and drag all sorts of things out of that 90 minutes to complain about and criticise. "But let's not. It was a wonderful three points and that's what it was all about today. "Stuart Fleetwood scored two magnificent goals and if we had not won today we would have felt a bit cheated because they were sublime."

Exeter: Jones, Tully, Archibald-Henville, Edwards, Sercombe, Gill, Stewart, Cozic, Moxey, Fleetwood (McAllister 85), Stansfield (Logan 80).

Subs Not Used: Marriott, Murray, Harley.

Goals: Fleetwood 16, 49.

Dag & Red: Roberts, Foster, Okuonghae, Arber, Griffiths, Saunders (Nurse 82), Taiwo (Southam 66), Gain, Ritchie, Guy (Benson 62), Strevens.

Subs Not Used: Hogan, Uddin.

Booked: Taiwo.

Goals: Strevens 36.

Attendance  5123 with 174 away fans.

Ref: Andy Hall (W Midlands).