City must do 'a lot better' after opening day defeat

EXETER City suffered an opening day defeat in League One when they were beaten 1-0 by Doncaster Rovers in controversial fashion.

- DANIEL CLARK

An uneventful clash had looked to be ending goalless until a contentious 88th minute penalty gave the newly-promoted outfit all three points.

A free-kick launched into the Grecians’ box was flicked on and brushed the arm of Sil Swinkels, with referee Ross Joyce pointing straight to the spot, much to the disbelief of the City players. Luke Molyneux stepped up and smashed the penalty down the middle to break the deadlock.

It looked harsh as although Swinkels’ arm was out, the header onto it was from less than a yard away. ‘The Exeter management were rightfully furious about the decision.

Sonny Cox should have put the Grecians ahead inside five minutes when from close range he couldn't get his shot on target. City also hit the crossbar after a free-kick was deflected onto Rovers’ own woodwork.

But in truth City offered little threat going forward with just two shots on goal, none on target, and single figure touches in the opposition box.

And manager Gary Caldwell admitted that the performance needs to be better. “It is obviously always disappointing to lose but we have to look at process and performance and overall we could have done better,” Caldwell said.