The resurrection isn’t exactly Lazarus-like, but Joe Whitworth’s quick and dramatic recovery has been impressive.

Crystal Palace’s loan keeper has struggled with two costly blunders in his opening four games with Exeter City this season.

Some fans were quick to criticize, particularly after witnessing last season’s consistently superb performances from on-loan Viljami Sinisalo in goal.

A few weeks ago, we discussed Whitworth’s early days at St James Park and encouraged fans to remain with the England junior international.

After three weeks, his image appears much brighter.

Since the last international break, City has earned seven points from four games and surrendered two goals, both of which came in a 2-1 loss to Blackpool.

The Grecians’ 1-0 win against Leyton Orient on Tuesday night propelled them into the top half of the league and was City’s third straight clean sheet, thanks to their strong defense.

With Cambridge at home next and Shrewsbury after the international break, the skid may extend to five games. Both sides have scored six goals in eight and nine games this season, respectively.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s look at what has really transpired, which looks to be a full 180 from Whitworth’s early critics.

Joe Whitworth had a bad start to his Exeter career.

There were many remarks online about Whitworth’s first few appearances, but as he celebrated in front of almost 700 traveling Grecians on Tuesday, those looked to be in the past.

Last season, City fans took great satisfaction in singing ‘Super Sinisalo in goal’, and Whitworth should be proud that it has been co-opted as his new song.

He definitely enjoyed hearing it, beaming from ear to ear and pumping his arms at the final whistle, which sealed his fifth clean sheet in eight League One games this season.

The accolades have also been well-deserved. Earlier in the season, two blunders led to 2-1 league losses to Northampton and Peterborough, although saving a penalty in the latter.

Whitworth demonstrates his quality at Exeter.

In a 0-0 draw against Wigan, he demonstrated exceptional shot-stopping skills with a last-touch save from former City defender Will Aimson. He then added two more saves on Tuesday.

First, he was in the perfect place to keep Brandon Cooper’s header out, then Sonny Perkins very certainly believed he’d scored with a glancing attempt, only to see Whitworth dart across and deflect it away from the bottom corner.

So, two points were lost earlier in the season, and three were gained in the last week by the small stopper.

We’re back in the black, and it seems like he’ll maintain it that way until the conclusion of the season.

Caldwell never lost trust in Whitworth.

City manager Gary Caldwell has always shown trust in the 20-year-old, defending him at the start of the season and complimenting him during the week.

Following the win in East London, he stated, “That’s another clean sheet on the road, and a long road at that.”

“I think Tristan [Crama] and Joe were fantastic box defenders, and Joe made some incredible saves when he needed to.

“That’s what you need: huge characters to win football games, and we had them tonight.

“Joe has been brilliant since he came to the club, his personality, the way he approaches every game, his mentality to football is first-class.”

Whitworth’s ability to recover swiftly and effortlessly from first losses demonstrates his superior attitude.

The quality was clearly always present. You don’t play for Palace or your country’s young teams without it, and now that he’s in form and has the support of City fans, it appears to be another good loan arrangement for both the club and the player.

He’s pinched Sinisalo’s song, and if he can put up performances near to the Fin’s previous season, we’ll hear it a lot more between now and May.

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