Next Up: Peterborough United vs Exeter City
Only ever been there once, got my nephew’s birthday party this Saturday so no visit again (not that I’m in a hurry to go). Party is from 2-4, roughly the same timings as the Rugby, meaning getting home afterwards will be rather fraught. Anyway:
City have confirmed that the Dan Green era will continue at least through the weekend, which means a little stability at least after a creditable second half performance sealed a deserved point against Wycombe on Tuesday night. Jayden Wareham’s header was City’s first in four games but it does mean the winless run is now at five games (albeit four of them draws) going into a visit to another side that has picked up after a disastrous start. In news that has come as a surprise to nobody, Johnly Yfeko was withdrawn from the bench on Tuesday at the last minute with yet another injury, and assuming he is missing the trip to Cambridgeshire the cupboard is looking very bare at the back. In brighter news Ryan Rydel started against Wycombe and performed well on the left before being withdrawn, and the Stockport loanee will hope to have done enough to keep his place. Green went with two up top with Josh Magennis starting alongside Wareham, but he may revert to one of Akeel Higgins or Timur Tutierov on Saturday.
City’s current managerial uncertainty was perhaps brought about by one of Peterborough’s recent results – their 6-1 thrashing of Wigan saw Ryan Lowe given the chop before the Latics went in for Gary Caldwell. Posh themselves dispensed with the services of their long-serving (and frequent returnee) Darren Ferguson back in October with the side deep in relegation trouble, and replacement Luke Williams has overseen a recovery with Peterborough currently 11th, four points ahead of City albeit having played two more games. Current form is not so great, with two successive defeats albeit both on the road against Bradford and Barnsley, with that 6-1 Wigan rout being the last time they played in front of their own fans. Peterborough have made a habit of signing players from non-league, particularly forwards, and their current joint top league scorer, Kyrell (son of Kevin) Lisbie, is another to add to the list – he has ten league goals along with former Blackburn forward Harry Leonard. One player keen to make an impression against his former employers will be Archie Collins, a mainstay of the Peterborough midfield and ever-present in the league this season.
Peterborough’s early season woes were exposed back in August when City cruised to a 3-0 win through Wareham and a Magennis double. City secured a late point in this fixture last season – Peterborough led at half time through Kyprianou, but Millenic Alli scored a rebound from his saved penalty in injury time to seal a 1-1 draw. London Road is not a happy hunting ground for City, with the last victory taking place in the 88/89 season. As a result, Peterborough have the edge in league head to heads with 17 wins to City’s 14, but draws come out on top with 20.
The match officials for this game will be:-
Referee: Elliott Swallow
Assistant Referees: Callum Gough and Mark Dwyer
Fourth Official: Emily Heaslip
We’ve seen Elliott Swallow a few times as a fourth official, but this will be his first time taking charge of an Exeter City game. SO far this season he has taken charge of 20 games, issuing 89 yellow cards and sending off four players.
Interview with Kevin Nicholson
Interview with Club Captain Pierce Sweeney