Joe Whitworth shines once more as Exeter City loanees play a crucial role.
The Crystal Palace goalie was superb, and Amani Richards scored the winning goal against Leyton Orient.
Exeter City boss Gary Caldwell lavished praise on goalkeeper Joe Whitworth following his side’s 1-0 victory against Leyton Orient. The Crystal Palace loanee was outstanding once more in goal, while another loanee, Amani Richards, scored his maiden goal for the Grecians five minutes before halftime to seal the victory.
The Leicester City loanee was the Fox in the box, poking home from close range following Josh Magennis’ knockdown – and it was ultimately the crucial goal as City extended their undefeated run and climbed to eighth.
The Grecians won despite being reduced to ten men three minutes into stoppage time after replacement Caleb Watts received a straight red for a late tackle. However, City performed well enough to win.
“That’s another clean sheet on the road and a long road at that,” according to Caldwell. “I thought that Tristan Crama and Joe Whitworth were outstanding at defending the box and obviously when Joe was needed, he pulled off some brilliant saves.”
“That’s what you need: huge characters to win football games, and we had them tonight. Joe has been fantastic since joining the club; his demeanor, the way he approaches each game, and his football philosophy are all first-class.”
“When you have that mentality and positive body language, things will go your way.” He can be pleased with his night’s effort, and as a group, we can be quite satisfied. However, I believe that we can improve individually.
Whitworth made it five clean sheets in eight League One games with a run of superb stops, the greatest of which saw him keep out a point-blank Brandon Cooper header before tipping a Charlie Kelman attempt that appeared to be headed for the corner into the post.
At the opposite end, Richards had the pivotal moment in front of goal. On the left side, Ilmari Niskanen checked inside and blasted a cross to the far post. Magennis rose highest to head it back across goal, where Richards was unmarked and could poke home from two yards into an empty net. The 19-year-old’s first goal for the Grecians, and his second of the season, came after he scored in the EFL Trophy for parent side Leicester City U21s before moving to Devon on loan.
“It was a hard fought one today,” the 19-year-old said. “It came to an end. They were decent, but we did just enough to get the W, which was excellent.
“These are the moments you dream of, and they are huge for me and my family. There’s not much to the aim; I’m just at the right place at the right time. Josh took good care of me and prepared my meal for me. I had a large family gathering, so it was a lovely occasion.
“It was really tough, we grinded it out, did what we needed to do, could have gone the other way, but we did just enough to get the win.”
He continued, “I’m liking it here, really enjoying it; it’s been a huge step up, and I’m embracing it and enjoying the ride as it comes. It’s two terrific road results, and we’ll aim to grab more points.
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