Cheltenham Town 1 Exeter City 2 - Grecians win it late on with 90th minute penalty

Exeter City extended their unbeaten run to five as they came from behind to win late on at Cheltenham Town. Reece Cole’s penalty in the 90^th minute gave the Grecians the 2-1 victory on Easter Monday which all but secures League One survival.

Mo Eisa missed a golden chance to put City ahead with just three minutes on the clock when clean through, but he fired wide of the target. Luke Harris twice came close as the Grecians dominated the first half without scoring.

That was costly as five minutes into the second half, Ben Williams headed Cheltenham ahead after City failed to clear their lines. Five minutes later though, City were level, when Harris drilled home into the bottom corner as a well-worked move.

Joe Nuttall hit the crossbar late on for the Robins as they pushed for a winner. But in the 90^th minute, it was Exeter who got one, as after Lewis Freestone was adjudged to have handled Ilmari Niskanen’s shot, Cole dispatched the penalty with style.

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The win takes City to 51 points, and in doing so, made it five unbeaten for the first time in two years. Exeter, who stay 15^th, are now 12 points above the relegation zone. Cheltenham though stayed 22^nd and deep in trouble.

After the 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic on Good Friday, Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell made two changes to the Grecians side. Eisa replaced Sonny Cox in a straight swap upfront, while Ben Purrington, who scored the goal in that game, was ruled out under concussion protocols. In came Alex Hartridge for a first appearance since January 27 and a first start since January 13. Vincent Harper, after injury, was fit enough for the bench.

Within four minutes, City should have been ahead. Eisa beat the offside trap and was clean through on goal. The striker rolled the finish past Luke Southwood, but the ball dribbled agonizingly wide of the post. It was a golden chance to open the scoring.

Harris was next to threaten, capitalizing on a mistake, but he slipped as he tried to get the shot away. The Fulham loanee then fashioned a chance himself, but fired just wide from the edge of the box, as City were on top. Lewis Freestone headed wide from a free-kick for Cheltenham’s first real chance.

Ryan Woods forced a brilliant save from Southwood as the Grecians continued to threaten. From the resulting corner, Eisa’s first time effort was straight at the goalkeeper, when either side of him, it would have been 1-0. Ilmari Niskanen then flashed wide from the edge of the box as the half-chances kept coming, but with the rain pouring down, the pitch was beginning to cut up and the ball was sticking in puddles with were forming, and despite City’s dominance, it was goalless at half-time

Darrell Clarke made a double change at the break, with Curtis Davies and Aidan Keena seemingly injured. But within five minutes of the restart, one of those subs had given the Robins the lead. Exeter failed on several occasions to clear their lines from their own box, Sean Long floated a cross from the right in, and Williams was unmarked at the far post to head home. It was their first effort on target, and put them 1-0 ahead.

The lead lasted just five minutes though as the Grecians grabbed a deserved leveller. Jack Aitchison drove forward to the edge of the box, he found Tom Carroll, who slid the ball to Harris. The teenager took a touch, and then drilled a low finish across goal and into the far corner to send the 1,500 away fans wild.

Caldwell made a double change immediately, with Cox and Harper replacing Eisa and Yanic Wildschut. Jordan Thomas thought he had won a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Woods, but referee Steve Martin instead booked him for diving.

City were still on top, but on the break, the Robins had a chance when Joe Nuttall was picked out at the far post, but his volley was deflected behind. From the resulting corner, there was a goalmouth after Nuttall’s header was tipped onto the crossbar, with Hartridge managing to clear off the line.

Cole replaced Aitchison in the 78^th minute as City’s third change as Caldwell’s men looked to try and grab a late winner, while a flurry of home players went into the book for stopping counter-attacks.

And in the 90th minute, City had a chance to win it when referee Martin awarded a penalty after Freestone was adjudged to have blocked Niskanen’s effort after a well-worked short corner with his hand. Up stepped Cole, and he drilled the penalty low into the bottom right hand corner of the net, despite Southwood diving the right way, to surely win it for Exeter.

Seven minutes of stoppage-time were added-on as Clarke’s men pushed for a late leveller. Josh Harrop was brought down on the edge of the area, but his free-kick was deflected behind. James Olayinka then slashed over in the 98^th minute, before the whistle blew to give the Grecians a massive win.

Exeter City are back in action on Saturday when they host Stevenage at St James Park.

Exeter City: Vil Sinisalo, Pierce Sweeney, Will Aimson, Alex Hartridge, Ilmari Niskanen, Tom Carroll (Cheick Diabate, 99), Ryan Woods, Yanic Wildschut (Vincent Harper, 57), Jack Aitchison (Reece Cole, 78), Luke Harris, Mo Eisa (Sonny Cox, 57)

Subs: Shaun McDonald, Dion Rankine, Millenic Alli,

Booking: Sweeney

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