Next Up: Exeter City vs Cambridge United
City showed guts and determination in securing a 1-0 win at Leyton Orient on Tuesday night, and after two long trips in a week Gary Caldwell’s side will be grateful to be back on home turf on Saturday. Unless an appeal has been successfully made, City will be without Caleb Watts through suspension which, assuming Jack Aitchison and Reece Cole aren’t ready to return, could mean a return to the squad for teenager Jake Richards. Elsewhere Caldwell has favoured a settled approach and, with a break on the horizon due to the international weekend, this is likely to continue. Josh Magennis has still yet to find the net as City continue to share the goals around – Amani Richards netting his first on Tuesday – but his overall contribution including the assist for Richards hasn’t gone unnoticed.
It’s fair to say it hasn’t been a great start for Cambridge. Having narrowly avoided relegation last season the Us were tipped to struggle again, and a solitary point from eight games plus a point in the JPT from a losing penalty shoot out against Bromley represents a paltry return. One bright side is that many of their opponents have said that Garry Monk’s side deserved more than they got, and the feeling is that a first win isn’t far away and should lead to an upturn in their fortunes. Monk oversaw quite a busy summer on the transfer front, albeit utilising the loan market more than permanent transfers with six loanees, while permanent incomings included the experienced Gary Gardner and one time City loanee Ryan Loft. Goals have been an issue, with four of Cambridge’s six goals coming in one match – a 4-4 draw with Blackpool. Summer signing Shane Lavery leads the way with two goals.
Cambridge had the better of this fixture last season with both matches played within a month of each other – City largely dominated the corresponding fixture but couldn’t find a way past the Cambridge defence in a 0-0 draw, while the final match of City’s wretched winless run saw a Friday night pre-Christmas horror show in a 2-0 defeat through a penalty from Ahadme and a late goal from Kachunga. That win opened up a gap in league head to heads with 26 wins for Cambridge, 24 for City and 12 draws.
The match officials for this game will be:-
Referee: Scott Tallis
Assistant Referees: Ciaran Fidler and Oliver Spender
Fourth Official : Adam Ricketts
The last Exeter game that Scot Tallis refereed was at home to Derby back in February which City lost 3-0.
Interview with Gary Caldwell
Interview with Tristan Crama