Sonny Cox is coming of age as Exeter City's striker

PIERCE SWEENEY IS THE CLUB CAPTAIN OF EXETER CITY FC

Again, Express & Echo deadlines dictate I’m in the awkward position of writing this column ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Shrewsbury. In any case, fingers crossed we’ll get some kind of result at Gay Meadow and, by the time you read this, have inched a bit closer to safety. (Ed note - indeed they did, as City won 3-0)

Having lost 7-0 at Bolton in November, I guess we have to be pretty pleased that we had our noses in front until the 87th minute of Saturday’s reverse fixture at St James Park. I’m sure plenty of City fans would have taken a point before the game – and definitely would have done at half-time when we found ourselves 1-0 down after a first-half onslaught – but such was our performance in the second half, the mood in the changing room afterwards was more of disappointment than relief.

Ian Evatt’s side dominated the opening 45 minutes of Saturday’s game and, while we defended resolutely, and it wasn’t until the 33rd minute that Paris Maghoma opened the scoring, we struggled to get a foothold in the game and offered little in the final third. However, the situation changed in a way I’m not sure anyone could have envisaged in the opening two or three minutes of the second half.

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Within 10 seconds of the restart we were back on level terms, after Ben Purrington headed the ball into the path of Sonny Cox and, spotting the Bolton keeper off his line, he dispatched an inch-perfect lob over his head and into the far corner of the net. And things got even better just a couple of minutes later when Sonny received the ball midway inside the visitor’s half before advancing to the edge of the penalty area and lashing a screamer into the top corner.

Truth be told, such had been Bolton’s dominance in the opening 45 minutes, I think their players were a little shellshocked and it took them a few minutes to regain their composure. From thereon in, it was a real ding-dong battle, with chances at either end and Sonny would have bagged a second-half hat-trick had it not been for a great save from Joel Coleman to push the ball around the post with 20 or so minutes to go.

I’m pretty sure with a two-goal advantage we would have gone on to win the game but, alas, it wasn’t to be. With less than five minutes of normal time remaining, we only half cleared a Bolton corner, allowing Eoin Toal to equalise after a great ball back into the box from Jack Irdale.

Disappointing as it was to lose our lead, it would have been absolutely gutwrenching to have come away with nothing. However, when the fourth official signalled there would be a minimum of nine minutes of added time, I think it’s probably fair to say that our hearts sunk a bit while the Bolton players would have fancied their chances of nicking all three points.

Fortunately, Bolton weren’t able to bag a third goal and, disappointed as we were to concede such a late equaliser, we can take great heart from pushing one of the best sides in the division all the way in what was a humdinger of a game.

In years to come, I dare say Saturday’s game will be remembered as the one in which Sonny Cox came of age. As I’ve said before, the Sonny Cox who returned from a loan spell at Yeovil midway through December was a different Sonny Cox from the one who joined the Somerset club midway through October.

With match-winning goals against Wycombe, Carlisle, and Bristol Rovers, Sonny was already beginning to show what an asset he is going to be for the club. However, his two goals on Saturday were on an entirely different level and, while we need to remember he’s only 19 and remains very much a work in progress, there can be little doubt he’s a hugely exciting prospect.

For sure, the club will be very pleased that Sonny signed a two-year contract extension just before the Bolton game. Notwithstanding, there will be plenty of clubs keeping a close eye on his progress, if the club hadn’t got the deal over the line last week, I reckon Sonny’s performance at the weekend might have prompted some rapid renegotiations!

While it was Sonny who grabbed the headlines, I also wanted to take a moment to praise Will Aimson. It hasn’t always been easy for Will this season – he lost his place in the side just before Christmas and, more than pretty much anyone else at the club, often seems to come in for unwarranted criticism. However, he’s never let things get him down, has continued to work hard at the Cliff Hill Training Ground, and has been excellent when called on in recent weeks; as he was, again, against his former club on Saturday.

After the Bolton game, I was looking forward to watching Ireland’s relentless march towards another grand slam as they took on England in the Six Nations at Twickenham. Unfortunately, the home team raised their game to a level they’ve rarely looked capable of over recent months and a drop goal with the final kick of the game saw them triumph 23-22. Suffice to say, it wasn’t the Saturday night I had been hoping for.

At least Exeter City Women didn’t disappoint when they took on Maidenhead United at SJP on Sunday afternoon. In front of a crowd of more than 2,600, Abbie Britton and Aaron Wakely’s side ran out emphatic 5-0 winners, courtesy of goals from Rosie Wilmott-Joyce, Jenna Markham, Phoebe Baker, and Connie Pengelly, to remain top of Division One South West, just ahead of Cardiff City, who stand between them and the title.

We’re at home again on Saturday, when Burton are the visitors to SJP. As I’ve said many times, on our day I think we’re capable of beating anyone in League One; at the same time, as the Irish rugby team demonstrated, you can’t take anything for granted in sport and too many times this season we’ve come up short in matches we would have been expected to win.

I think it’s fair to say that Saturday’s game probably falls into this category. Certainly, it’s a game we need to win – as I write, we’ve got two points more than the Brewers having played a game more and, never mind what happens in midweek, if we win on Saturday we will stay above them in the table.

However, anything less than three points and everything will be getting a bit too close for comfort. Here’s hoping we can get back to winning ways at SJP against the Brewers and that gap between us and the bottom four continues to get bigger rather than smaller!

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