Scouting Report: Exeter City (A), 26 September 2017

So Notts County have taken their place at the top of the pile in League Two following their marvellous 4-1 win over Lincoln City at the weekend.

They now face their biggest mission, taking on second-placed Exeter City away at St James' Park on Tuesday night.

Here is Chris's scouting report for our midweek game this week.

History

Notts County and Exeter City have met a total of 44 times over their history.

The first meeting came at St James’ Park in Division Three (South) on 1 November 1930, and it which finished as a 3-3 draw.

The Magpies have an excellent record against the Grecians; out of those 43 games, Notts claimed a result in 36, with 17 wins and 19 draws.

Our recent form (last five) is not too bad, with two wins, two draws and one defeat.

Run-down of their last six fixtures

Saturday 26th August – Cheltenham Town 3 Exeter City 4

Saturday 2nd September – Exeter City 1 Newport County 0

Saturday 9th September – Forest Green Rovers 1 Exeter City 3

Tuesday 12th September – Barnet 1 Exeter City 2

Saturday 16th September – Exeter City 3 Crewe Alexandra 0

Saturday 23rd September – Coventry City 2 Exeter City 0

The Players – Fact Sheet

Highest Goal Scorers; Reuben Reid 7, Lee Holmes 2, Jake Palmer 2 and Jayden Stockley 2.

Persistent Foulers; Lloyd James 4 yellow cards, Jordan Tillson 3 yellow cards, Hiram Boateng 2 yellow cards and Reuben Reid 1 yellow card.

The Key Players

The standout player for Exeter City is Reuben Reid who is a versatile player able to drift onto the wing, whilst remaining a lethal finisher upfront – his experience within League Two is one of their main focus points.

In midfield the duo of Lloyd James and Jake Taylor offer them a lot of creativity, with the pair easily being the driving force behind the team.

Jordan Tillson also likes to get forward from defence and is a very robust player at the back – who is tactically aware at most times.

Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Exeter City use a mix of passing on the ground and using the air to confuse their opposition, they appear very comfortable attacking in both fashions – yet they look more dangerous when they attack through the centre of the park.

Going forward they are very confident, and can force play by passing in awkward positions which makes it harder to defend from an oppositions point of view.

They move strategically going forward which invites play for their strikers, and look to draw their counter-parts out as a way to get on goal sight.

Defensively they look awkward when teams assert pressure, and against taller opposition teams they can tend to leak goals – however they generally avoid relapses in their concentration and organise themselves very effectively.

Notts will have to stand tall upfront, walking hard to make use of whatever chances may fall their way. Space will be given outside their area which Notts could use to their advantage, yet space within the penalty area should be limited due to the tightness that Exeter leave. Corners would be best to use a second player to drill in the pass – rather than going direct and any chance on goal sight must be taken.

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