FAN’S VIEW 22/23 – No.23: FA CUP ROUND TWO

OXFORD UNITED 4 EXETER CITY 1

We all know that the FA Cup isn’t what it was but for me it is still very much a competition that should be savoured and gone for 100%. Obviously don’t risk injured / unfit players but pick the strongest team from those in the squad available for selection. That’s my thinking but if we were currently sitting right near the top of the table and looking a sound bet for promotion I might have a different view, although I doubt it.

There’s the potential glory and there’s money to be made. We were £41k better off for our win at Woking and victors in the second round get a reward of £67k. That goes up in round three to £105k and there’s always the possibility of a big payday from TV money or a draw away to a big Premier League club whose fans will still turn up in numbers even for a little old team like Oxford United. Such a draw breathes life into a club and the interest and anticipation spreads contagiously through the local community.

I’m happy for the romance of a big club, home or away, to be put aside for as long as possible whilst getting very winnable ties. Then I’m looking for a big away tie at a stadium I have not previously visited. Back in the early 80s I’d seen a game at all 92 but now with many clubs having moved and there being two up two down between EFL and National League I’m way off having the full set. The Emirates, the Brentford Community Stadium, the Amex, the King Power, the Etihad, St Mary’s, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the London stadium are all missing. As are Stoke City’s Bet 365 Stadium (still the Britannia in my head) and Cardiff City’s stadium. Some obviously have more appeal than others.

The team KR picked was very close to the one he would probably have chosen anyway if this had been a league game except for our last line of defence and bringing in Jodi Jones to give him some time on the pitch. I kind of get this because if it wasn’t for cup games Eddie McGinty wouldn’t be getting game time and without experience no player will improve. Presently though a back on form Simon Eastwood is the better of the two by some margin.

Whilst I may still get a little FA Cup buzz even for games like this I’d detected a lack of enthusiasm for this fixture amongst our fan base and my prediction of an attendance of approx. 3.5k wasn’t far out. That said the turnout from Exeter of 427 was much higher than I’d expected so well done to them. So slightly disappointing home fans numbers wise.

I can see why people stayed away though. We’ve mostly been playing poorly at home and providing little in the way of entertainment. Although admission prices were reasonable for many, money is quite tight in today’s economic climate and Christmas is just around the corner – and we get to play Exeter in the league anyway. Plus there’s something going on in Qatar that’s providing six hours of televised football every day.

The absentees missed four home goals from the boys in yellow for the second time this season with the drivel against FGR being left behind.

This was a resounding win but I’m having difficulty working out how good our performance actually was.

Exeter were awful, particularly defensively.  Goals two, three and four only came in the 79^th, 85^th and 88^th minutes. Up to then whilst never being under the cosh, we were never comfortably in control. Knowing that we rarely keep clean sheets didn’t help the nerves. Those nerves would have been a little calmer if our League keeper had been between the sticks. Although he was okay at Woking I really do find McGinty dodgy.

I didn’t detect that much flowing football in this game but may have been comparing it with the World Cup with its multi-balls, much less time taken over free-kicks and throw-ins etc., and lots of added time meaning players know attempted time wasting will not be very beneficial to their cause.

There’s shirt pulling in the World Cup but nowhere near as much of the blatant type we have to put up with week in week out. There’s hardly a Fan’s View goes by when I’m not commenting on it. Very much the same again here. This game was hardly a minute old when Matty Taylor had been pulled. Not the slightest reaction from referee Will Finnie. A huge pull under the nose of the linesman. As usual the game continued as if it’s as acceptable as kicking the ball. Just before the break another penalty that should have been but wasn’t. From a corner a massive pull on James Henry’s shirt. Finnie might as well have already gone and sat in the dressing room for his quarter of an hour rest before coming back out for part two for all the good he did here.

The visiting Grecian fans had just cause to think “you’re not fit to referee” too. They had a rather sound case for a penalty very late on that if converted would have brought the score to what it had been when we visited their place last month.

Our early goal came about as a result of the hapless Exeter defender Cheick Diabate being unable to control a simple ball passed back to him whilst under no pressure at all and the finishing instincts of Matty Taylor. This season our no.9 has not had much influence on games and until a fortnight ago had not netted in the league prompting some to conclude that he is past it. No hint of that in this where he had a good game. The finish was cool, first time and from distance. Not many players would have taken the opportunity in such fashion. He also contributed greatly by heading away a number of corners that we had to defend, an attribute he nearly always brings to the table even when playing badly. Pleasingly he was still heavily involved as the game reached its conclusion and the goals were going in.

Photo, Simon Jaggs

With Elliot Moore back I had much greater confidence in our central defence and he lived up to that but I’m yet to have faith in Stuart Findlay. At times he doesn’t seem to win the battles and doesn’t seem able to do much with the ball at his feet. He did though improve very late on in the first period and having used strength to usher the ball out for a goal kick grew in confidence.

Perhaps he’s suffering when being compared to Ciaron Brown who has been our best player thus far this season. Many are saying wouldn’t Brown be a better option to partner Moore whilst knowing that he is the best left back we’ve got. Karl Robinson appears to be happy with them playing in the positions they are selected in week after week though. Not only is Brown hard and strong, never shirking combat he gets up and down and sees a lot of the ball even if he isn’t a George Baldock / Chris Cadden type.

Our more out and out attacking from the back clearly now comes from the right in the form of Djavan Anderson, selected ahead of the more conventional defender Sam Long. Going forward he’s special. So quick and tricky he gets things moving and the crowd anticipating something might be about to happen. The way he goes past opponents looks so natural but there’s always that little worry that should he lose the ball we could be horribly exposed. Risk and reward though.

I still think our biggest weakness was McGinty though. I really hope I have not got a downer on him but that’s what my eyes and brain are telling me.

In the first half Jake Caprice, the Exeter right back, whipped in a wicked cross having bent the ball round Brown (no-one is infallible). Very hard to deal with yes but McGinty looked all at sea to me. We could so easily have conceded. Josh Key, one of two visiting players who nearly converted, collided with the post and was sportingly applauded by our fans as he recovered (take note Shrewsbury supporters).

We came close to getting a second whilst still kicking towards the fence end. Marcus McGuane glided smoothly down the right with a little help from a perfect one-two with Taylor and got the ball into the danger area where Jamal Blackman had to make two saves from James Henry and one from Cameron Brannagan in double quick time.

With the score still at 1-0 on the hour mark we began to make substitutions. Off went Anderson, Henry and Jones. On came Long, Lewis Bate and Tyler Goodrham. Four minutes later Billy Bodin replaced McGuane. There was a natural concern that changing so many in almost one go might cause loss of shape but it didn’t.

We did however nearly concede before we’d started finding the back of the net with embarrassing regularity. It was Caprice who delivered once more but this time from the left. McGinty half got it but lost it. Very poor goal-keeping but he did redeem himself by scrambling back and preventing the ball rolling into the goal. Or the luck of the Irish? On another day Key would have punished this latest cock up.

Having got away with this we strode away to win with ease.

79^th minute – 2-0. Marcus Browne received an angled low Long ball in the centre of the Exeter half and turned and ran at their defence. At times we’d been a bit too much into the sideways stuff again and MB had frustrated a few times by not “passing the bloody thing.” One example in particular in the first half had me screaming this phrase when Jones was free to his right but not used. Here though he was excellent, flipping it to Taylor who squared it into the six yard box at pace. It wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular but blue shirted defenders were unable to deal with it. One touched it but to no effect and Browne was able to side foot it to Bodin who had an easy finish from close range.

85^th minute – 3-0. Bate clipped a neat pass to Taylor in the inside right channel (is there such a thing in 2022?) and he had Goodrham free on his right. Our diminutive one, head bandaged, turned back on himself and returned the ball to Taylor. Another ball similar to the one that led to the previous goal was pinged into the six yard box again with much the same result although this time two defenders between them did manage to clear further than on the previous occasion. It only went as far as Brannagan on the corner of the other side of the penalty area. He controlled, used the outside of his right boot to set up a shot, dummied to take one and in doing so sent Key spinning round 180 degrees (have a lie down lad). Now was just the right time to shoot – which he did accurately into the corner of the net. None of that wild speculative shooting nonsense in this game.

88^th minute – 4-0. Uncontested Goodrham picked the ball up in the centre circle. Another turn and go with it. He pushed a pass to our last sub Gaitlin O’Donkor, who might have been marginally off-side but by then the Grecians weren’t bothered. What difference would a goal or two more make? O’Donkor, who I’ll be honest hasn’t convinced me yet, couldn’t sort his feet out to take the ball. No matter, it ran on its merry way and Bodin came in to place it past the advancing Blackman.

That should have been it, but oh no. Not us. A clean sheet would have been nice though would it not? No surprise that the deliverer of the ball into our area was Caprice. It was another good one but I doubt Matt Jay knew much about it as he was facing away from goal and it just hit him and somehow found its way over the line. I like the way Moore showed great anger at letting that in even though the game was won. It was all a bit strange so I’m not going to put any blame at McGinty’s door.

There was still time for him to come out and punch not the ball but an Exeter player in the head doing him some mischief. Nothing given by Finnie but it should have been a penalty and card of some colour. Words are beginning to fail me when it comes to our number 21 who will probably have a blinder at Old Trafford, Anfield or some other huge iconic ground in the next round.

Wonder what our keeper is thinking? Photo, Simon Jaggs