Shrewsbury Town vs Exeter City. Sky Bet League One.
The Croud MeadowAttendance4,965.
Kamari Doyle scored Exeter's opening goal; Josh Magennis doubled his side's lead; the win over Shrewsbury moves Exeter into fourth in League One; Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth produces an audacious show of skill during the game
Thursday 17 October 2024 23:57, UK
Kamari Doyle and Josh Magennis were on target to help Exeter to a 2-0 away win at Shrewsbury which moved them up to fourth in the League One table.
The victory means the Grecians take their unbeaten run to six games.
Toto Nsiala gifted Exeter a goal in the opening stages when the centre-back was dispossessed by Doyle, whose powerful shot found the bottom corner.
Shrewsbury came close just past the 20-minute mark but Funso Ojo shot straight at Joe Whitworth, whose parried save found John Marquis, and his short-range effort was pushed away for a corner by Whitworth.
Just before half-time, Marquis threaded a ball into Jordan Rossiter in the danger zone, but Whitworth saved his effort.
Jack Aitchinson picked up the ball in the middle of the box just before the hour mark but his effort went way wide.
Tristan Crama found Aitchinson in the box in the 65th minute and the forward drove a low ball to the back post for Magennis to fire home, which sealed the Grecians' victory in a game of limited chances.
Exeter boss Gary Caldwell:
"It's the first time that I have reached 100 games at a club as a manager, so I am really proud of that.
"There are a lot of people behind the scenes to help me achieve that, and we had really difficult moments last year when everyone stood together, and we are reaping the rewards of that.
"There is such a long way to go for this football club and what it can achieve, but what we are doing at the minute is really special.
"I thought we were poor overall, and I thought we started extremely well, and we scored a goal that we spoke about all week.
"After that, we just stopped playing; Shrewsbury made it difficult for us in the way they set up, they locked on and made it hard, and we couldn't find solutions.
"When we did get opportunities in the final third, we didn't have the threat we would of liked to have had."
Shrewsbury manager Paul Hurst:
"We have played well enough tonight to get something from the game.
"Some big decisions have gone against us. One is obvious, the other one I have just been told about, I have not seen it myself.
"I think there were a couple that he should not have had the opportunity to save, so it is a night where I am not sure we have got what we deserved.
"We make life difficult for ourselves at one end, and if you do not put the ball in the net, then you are always going to be up against it.
"The handball, I do not understand how he cannot see that. If it were a goalkeeper, we would be saying great save. There is confusion with the rules and all of that. I don't feel like that falls into that category. I don't understand how you cannot see that."
