The view of Chris Sumner

I’ve been very critical in my musings over the past few weeks, and of course in my article on Friday regarding the latest communication from the club, so it’s only fair to have a bit of balance and give positivity and credit where it’s due.

Of course I’m alluding to the unexpected point that we picked up at Stevenage yesterday. I didn’t see the game and have only seen brief highlights, but from what I’ve heard and seen the team can be immensely proud of their second half performance yesterday, especially battling with 10 men.

With Will Aimson suspended, fans’ favourite Pierce Sweeney was given the captain’s armband, with Chieck Diabate being put back in his natural centre back position and Alex Hartridge returning to the side. On paper, with Jack Aitchison up front with support on the wings from Ilmari Niskanen and Dion Rankine, it looked a pretty strong line up that the 357 travelling Grecians would witness in Hertfordshire.

After holding Stevenage for most of the first half, just before half time Aitchison got himself sent off for a second bookable offence, the second being given for arguing with the referee. I’ve not heard great reports about the referee Ross Joyce yesterday, however you can’t go doing things like that when you’re already on a yellow card as you’re just asking for trouble.

Not long afterwards, City did what they do best of late and conceded the opening goal. A cross into the box found the head of Stevenage defender Carl Piergianni to put the hosts 1 in front just before the break.

Normally, heads would drop at this point, but much to my surprise, the players came out with vigour and fight for the cause. Yanic Wildschut was brought on in place of Kyle Taylor to ensure that we had a striking option up top, and it paid off near enough instantly. Great build-up play from the back put Dion Rankine in a position to cross from the right hand side which Wildschut then tapped home from close range to send the travelling Grecians into delirium.

It’s a Christmas Miracle I hear you cry – WE SCORED A GOAL! But with the majority of the second half left to play and a man down, could we hold on? I must admit I wasn’t confident, and the attacks Stevenage went on sounded relentless, but our defence stood resolute and kept the hosts at bay for the rest of the game, ensuring that we picked up a vital point in the process.

I’ve got to hand it to Gary Caldwell and the team, we’ve got something out of a game that I wasn’t expecting anything from at all. It sounds like the players on the pitch were playing for the badge on the shirt, which as I’ve stated has been missing greatly in recent weeks. I live in hope that this is a performance that we can build on and we can start to pick up some much-needed points as the weeks go on. GC was full of praise for the team and the supporters yesterday, and rightly so.

However, despite my praise of yesterday, I’m still of the position that a change of manager is needed, as one swallow doesn’t make a summer and we’re still waiting for a win. I hope and pray that he can prove me wrong, and if he does so I’ll happily hold my hands up. We now need 10 wins and a draw to get to 50 points, it’s just whether we can build some momentum to get there or not. Only time will tell.

We’ve got three games left of 2023 now – Cambridge United away next Friday, Wycombe Wanderers at home on Boxing Day and Portsmouth at home the following Friday. I’d be happy with a return of 4 points from those three games, but that of course means obtaining that elusive win! Portsmouth are of course flying at the top of the table at the moment, so I’m not expecting anything from that one, but the other two games are prime opportunities to get some more points on the board.

Hopefully by the next time I write, we’ll have some more points on the board and some more performances that we can be proud of. I live in hope, and that’s all you can do as a Grecian! Regardless, we all just want the best for our club. UTC.