Goal king Grimes has Paul purring
PAUL Tisdale has backed teenage sensation Matt Grimes to play in the Premier League after the midfielder helped Exeter stretch their unbeaten league run to nine games.
Grimes, 19, produced an accomplished performance and scored his first goal from open play as speculation mounted over his future.
Swansea City appear to be leading the chase for the talented 19-year-old and reports claim the Premier League side are lining up a £1.7m bid in January.
Exeter boss Tisdale, whose side are up into the play-off places after plunging Carlisle into the relegation zone, is not shocked at the latest transfer rumours.
He said:“He has been determined to score from open play and he was understandably delighted.
“It was a really good goal and a good performance.
“There is interest in Matt, but is that a surprise? He needs to keep playing like he is doing at the moment. He is a top class player and his future lies at the very top. At the moment we are very pleased he is playing so well for Exeter.
“We are in good form and hope to stay in the top ten at the turn of the year. But we can’t get carried away.”
A superb cross from Craig Woodman allowed David Wheeler to sneak in between Carlisle’s two centre halves and power a header straight at Dan Hanford.
But it was Carlisle striker Mark Beck who wasted the clearest chance in the first half, heading Kyle Dempsey’s cross wastefully over the bar.
The hosts came close on the stroke of half-time but Christian Ribeiro’s goal-bound header was somehow nodded off the line by Danny Grainger.
Exeter finally found a way through on 58 minutes after Scot Bennett gathered Craig Woodman’s pass before prodding the ball past Dan Hanford. And Grimes wrapped up the win in the 89th minute when he cut inside Troy ArchibaldHenville and steered a shot into the bottom corner.
Carlisle boss Keith Curle said:“We came with a game plan. It was important that we stuck to our jobs, be organised and disciplined and everything was going to plan at half-time.
“We knew they would have a lot of possession but they weren’t hurting us.We were hoping to catch them on break and we had the better of the half chances in the first half. But we were always wary of a lapse in concentration and, from their first clear-cut chance, their lad stuck it away.
“There are things that we need to work on and I still think we are not using the ball well enough.
“Paul Tisdale has had nine years to put together a football team here and that is the difference.”