Nombe’s strike puts Exeter in touching distance of the title
EXETER City manager Matt Taylor hailed the collective team effort as his side went top of the League Two after a battling draw at promotion-chasing Northampton Town.
Sam Nombe’s flicked equaliser with his first touch ensured the Grecians have the title in their own hands going into the final day of the season.
Mitch Pinnock scored an outstanding individual goal on the half hour to put the Cobblers ahead, before Cameron Dawson denied Josh Eppiah from point-blank range to keep the deficit at one.
Moments after a second Town goal was ruled out for offside, City broke and substitute Jake Caprice drilled in a low cross, which Nombe experty gided home for his tenth goal of the season, to make it 1-1.
With the Cobblers needing to win to keep themselves in pole position to join the Grecians in League One, they pushed for a winner. But despite late pressure, and a succession of corners in stoppage time that was given at seven minutes but was nearly ten, Jon Brady’s men couldn’t break through, with Nombe heading one off the line with the final action of the game.
Exeter’s recent record against Northampton has been dreadful and often they have been bullied by their more physical opponents. But not at Sixfields on Saturday where the Grecians more than matched them, and did so without either of Alex Hartridge or Sam Stubbs, arguably the best two defenders at the club, available.
Stubbs was rested with City taking no chances on his knee injury, but Cheick Diabate was immense again in the heart of the defence. But 34-year-old Jonathan Grounds was even better, rolling back the years, and his last-ditch challenge on Louis Appere with the score at 1-0 was pivotal in ensuring City came away with something.
“It wrong to mention individuals as it was a collective and very much a team effort,” Taylor said when asked about the backline.
“We were missing Sam Stubbs, but Jonathan was excellent and Cheick, for a young player to play centre half in the middle of the three in a game like that was excellent.
“Not to forget, he is going through Ramadan so he is fasting at the moment, and to find those energy reserves, I don’t know where he got them from. He will have a big future as long as he understands his game which is being the best defender on the pitch.
“Second half we got back into the game, the subs made a difference, and then defending the box and riding out the pressure and the storm at the end and all the attributes which have put us into this position.
“It was two teams who gave everything and that was a serious game of football and came through it.
“We have wilted here in the past and the physical bombardment but we have withstood it and they have some seriously good players. We kept them at arm’s length, our keeper made saves, and we headed stuff away from under the crossbar and off the line.”
Heading into the final day of the season next Saturday, City are top of the league and on course to hit several defensive records. Not since 1964 have the Grecians gone a campaign conceding less than a goal a game, but having let in only 40 in 45 games, that milestone feels certain to be reached.
Avoid defeat on the final day, and City will have only lost seven games all season, which would be a club record in the Football League.
City had been beaten by the Cobblers at St James Park in December, as had they been in 2020 when the clubs met in the Papa John’s Trophy. There was also the Wembley play-off final heartbreak that summer when Northampton won 4-0 to secure promotion, as a 2-0 defeat just weeks before the first Covid lockdown was costly for the Grecians’ hopes of going up.
Exeter have only won one of the last 13 against the Cobblers, but this point felt very much like a win. And with Forest Green Rovers’ surprise 3-1 defeat at home to Harrogate Town, City are now a point clear heading into the final day, knowing that a victory over Port Vale and Taylor’s men are champions.
“We hadn’t spoken about it before Tuesday,” Taylor said when asked about the now possible - even probable - title.
“After promotion on Tuesday, it gave us a new focus for a week or so and then it will all be over and done with. It will be another game and a full house.
“I just said to that group, I wonder if I’ll enjoy it more than now the pressure is off in terms of promotion, and I can’t say I did!
“I enjoyed the quality on show, how competitive it was, and two good teams going at it.”
That game against Port Vale is already a sell out with no tickets available. Port Vale have also sold out their allocation meaning there will not be home fans in the St James Road end, which was the case when Exeter won promotion against Barrow.
Port Vale slipped to fifth because they did not play at the weekend, but a win at home to Newport County tonight will see them move into the top three. Regardless, it will be all to play for - for both teams - at St James Park on Saturday.