Dagger to the heart provided by Davies
INJURY-TIME winners in front of his own fans may be even rarer than headed goals for Arron Davies, so the Exeter midfielder was understandably ecstatic to do both against Dagenham & Redbridge on Friday.
The Welshman’s powerful header from Christian Ribeiro’s cross four minutes into stoppage time at Victoria Road completed Exeter’s comeback and secured their fourth consecutive victory.
The hosts had taken the lead in the tenth minute through veteran striker Jamie Cureton, who expertly turned his marker to slot home against his former club.
The Grecians were resurgent after the break and finally equalised through Jimmy Keohane’s 81stminute penalty after Matt Partridge felled Alex Nicholls, before Davies provided the late drama.
And the 30-year-old believes Exeter’s recent form is indicative of a newfound belief throughout the club after only two points in their first five games.
“It was a goal made in Wales thanks to a great cross by Christian Ribeiro. I just attacked the ball but it was a good header and flew in the top corner,” said Davies, after notching his first of the season.
“I’m not prolific in the air – I scored one for Wales U21s quite a while back in Estonia but not too many since so that makes it special and we deserved it.
“It was a difficult start to the season but now we’ve set a standard and we’re confident. The fans were going berserk after the game and they’ve bought into it.
“The timing of the goal in front of the away fans makes it all worthwhile. When you see full-grown men going off their rockers – that’s what you remember as a player.”
After Cureton’s opener, the Daggers striker should have doubled his side’s advantage in the 21st minute when Exeter’s Danny Butterfield passed straight to him but he fired wide with only Christy Pym to beat.
Exeter’s Liam Sercombe then had an effort cleared off the line just before the interval but the visitors turned their dominance into chances after the break.
Prior to Davies’ winner, Paul Tisdale’s side levelled when Keohane sent Mark Cousins the wrong way after Nicholls went down, with Dagenham captain Abu Ogogo accusing the Exeter forward of deceiving referee Keith Stroud.
“We conceded a soft penalty and then to concede in the last few minutes, we are disappointed,” Ogogo said.
“Nicholls has conned the referee because I think he has put his body there and threw himself into Matty Partridge and went down.”