Smith nips in late to thwart the Grecians

EXETER boss Matt Taylor lauded his side’s performance – until the closing seconds of their dramatic tie.

Sam Smith’s goal three minutes into added time earned Cambridge a scarcely-deserved draw, meaning the sides will have to have another go.

Alex Fisher looked to have netted the decisive goal 11 minutes before half-time, only three weeks after the same fixture ended 4-0 to Cambridge in League Two, until Smith’s intervention.

“I thought we were excellent,” said Taylor.

“From start to finish I thought we played really well. The goal’s a poor one, it’s the worst time to concede and it’s a mistake on our part, but I can’t fault that group of players in terms of what they gave me.

“That was a real performance, almost from start to finish, to the last 20 seconds of the game.

“We used the ball well, we were tough when we needed to be tough, limited them to half chances if any. It hurts to concede so late on, but full credit to Cambridge.”

Soon after being superbly denied by defender Greg Taylor, Fisher fired past Callum Burton after robbing Elliott Ward. After the break, Burton was forced to tip a Williams cross away for a corner, and Aaron Martin nodded a Matt Jay corner wide. Jay then blasted an effort which was comfortably held by Burton.

On the hour,

Burton was called upon to save Jay’s low shot after

Randell Williams’ marauding run down the right.

Having threatened little, Cambridge sub Harrison Dunk came close to equalising after 65 minutes with an overhead kick that went only narrowly off target following Smith’s knock-down.

Smith then fired home deep into injury-time after meeting Dunk’s cross.

Cambridge manager Colin Calderwood praised his side’s ability to come back, despite a poor performance.

“Although things didn’t go our way and we were nowhere near the level we’d want to be at, you’ve got to commend the boys’ spirit,” he said.

“They’ve obviously got some doggedness, some determination.

“I’m relieved we’ve got the goal, it adds to a feeling of being undefeated and shows you’ve got to keep going to the end. We showed a terrific attitude and spirit.”