Josh Magennis has had a very busy week.
Josh Magennis has had a very busy week. On Tuesday night, the 34-year-old scored his 12th goal in Northern Ireland’s 5-0 victory over Bulgaria, marking his 81st cap.
Then, on Thursday night, the seasoned attacker came off the bench to score his first goal for Exeter City, helping the Grecians go six unbeaten in a 2-0 win away to Shrewsbury Town.
Kamari Doyle put City ahead in the ninth minute in front of the Sky TV cameras, but Gary Caldwell’s side struggled in the first half. However, everything changed after the break, when Magennis came on and played a much more composed second half.
Fellow half-time substitute Jack Aitchison set up the striker for his first goal since joining from Wigan Athletic in the summer, tapping into an empty net from close range. The victory moved City up to fourth in the League One table and was a club record-equaling sixth consecutive clean sheet.
“We’re just taking each game as it comes and tonight was similar,” Magennis replied. “I think Shrewsbury were a hard team but we always back ourselves.”
“It’s not just about your technical abilities; it’s also about your mindset and personal characteristics.
“We have no rotten eggs and no egos. We are all in this together. You can tell that when the boys get off at halftime, they have fresh legs. We have a nice thing going here, but football is unpredictable, so we must keep our feet on the ground and move forward.
“We did incredible to take the lead, but we took a step back. No disrespect to Shrewsbury, but we had enough quality to go on and dominate the game.” We maintained our lead, defended well as a team, kept a clean sheet, and scored the second goal.I was always convinced that they would create opportunities, and tonight it worked out. It’s not been an awful 24 hours. It was frantic with travel and preparations, but it turned out wonderfully, and I feel extremely lucky.”
Magennis returned to England on Wednesday after Northern Ireland’s participation in the Nations League, and he met with the City players that evening. He had started every league game prior to Thursday, so he was on the bench, and the manager joked that unless he begins scoring right away, he might have to keep him there!
“He has shown he scores from the bench so he better start scoring from the start or he might find himself there,” Caldwell jokingly added. “Josh has been a fantastic character since he joined the club.
“He may have played more minutes than we expected due to injuries, but he leads by example, and I am pleased he got his goal, which he earned.
“Josh Magennis and Jack Aitchison made me look ridiculous when they came in for not starting them from the beginning, but that’s what we mean when we say it’s about the complete team. I thought we were flat; we started off brilliantly, scored a fantastic goal, but then didn’t play much after that.
“We needed to make adjustments, and Josh and Jack were great. They showed us how to win the game, combined for the goal, and Josh was where every number nine should be; they deserve a lot of praise. The energy, teamwork, and work ethic were all important aspects of what we desired tonight.
The clean sheet was City’s sixth in a row in all competitions, matching a run in the Conference that spanned the conclusion of the 2004/05 and beginning of the 2005/06 seasons. Caldwell lauded the defensive team as a whole for keeping seven clean sheets in ten League One games, conceding only six goals in total.
“We’ve got a good goalkeeper but it’s not just about Joe as Shaun MacDonald (reserve goalkeeper) is a big part of that too,” explained the player.
“Kevin Miller (goalkeeper coach) deserves a lot of the credit for not just identifying Joe but also working with him. We must maintain that mentality in terms of the number of blocks and how we defend.
“Joe is a great individual, and his mentality and professionalism have been exceptional. We have had complete faith in ourselves since the beginning; we are making history tonight and want to make more this season.”
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