TAYLOR FUMES AT GRECIANS’ ‘LIMP’ DISPLAY
Exeter boss ‘embarrassed’ by weak loss
MATT Taylor said he was “embarrassed” by his Exeter side’s “limp” second-half showing following defeat at Northampton.
The Grecians had won their past three league games and were level on points with League Two leaders Swindon ahead of kickoff, but slumped to a deserved defeat at Sixfields.
Northampton, without a win in four, were given the dream start when Vadaine Oliver thumped into the top corner after just 54 seconds. Exeter dominated possession thereafter, but created precious few opportunities and their fate was sealed by Sam Hoskins’ late penalty.
“It was a shocking start to concede so early but, for the rest of the first half, we were right in the game, even though we didn’t create enough,” said Taylor.
“You’re up against it when you go behind early at a place like Northampton, so we had to quickly put that to one side and, somehow, try to get a foothold.
“We did that for the rest of the first half, but I’m disappointed with the second-half showing because it was limp.
“I don’t want to say a lack of effort, but there was a lack of knowhow and a lack of sharpness in our game and we were second best throughout.
“As much as I’m disappointed with the first goal, I’m embarrassed by the second because, as poor as we had been, we were still in the game and it only takes one moment.
“There was a long time left in the game at that point, but it was just mentally weak from our view to concede that goal. It’s so unbelievably weak in all aspects and, in fairness, they could probably have had another penalty.
“Both goals had a big impact on us and it probably highlighted our lack of real desire to go a bit further than we needed in terms of the overall performance.”
Northampton were ahead after less than a minute as Exeter failed to clear Chris Lines’ ball into the box and Oliver emphatically thumped into the top corner from a tight angle.
The visitors responded through Matt Jay, who had a couple of attempts saved by David Cornell, but they were fortunate not to be further behind at the break after goalkeeper Lewis Ward brilliantly kept out Ryan Watson’s close-range effort.
Exeter struggled to turn their dominance of possession into clear chances and, if anything, Northampton carried the greater threat on the break after halftime with Ward saving with his legs to deny Lloyd Jones.
The Cobblers scored their second goal with nine minutes to go when Callum Morton was tripped in the box and Hoskins sent Ward the wrong way from 12 yards, wrapping up the victory.
It was a much-needed win for the Cobblers following their poor run and Keith Curle’s team are now back in the play-off positions. “That was more like us and credit to the players because we had a disappointing week and we set them a challenge,” said Curle.
“Our performances have been there and we’ve shown glimpses of what we need to do, but today we had to have that mentality to
go out and focus on the simple things. It was about nullifying the opposition and then knowing that we can go and score goals.
“Exeter are a very good team, but we had to interrupt their way of playing. It was a fantastic start to the game and we knew Vadaine would cause them problems if we got on the front foot, but after the goal we had a 10-minute spell where we allowed them to get into their flow. Recent history for us has shown that 2-0 is not always a comfortable scoreline, but we got the second goal and we managed the game very well and looked very solid against a strong team.”