Bristol Rovers 2 Exeter City 3 - Demi Mitchell scores late winner as Grecians win group
Demi Mitchell capped his return to action after 364 days out injured as he scored a late winner for exeter-city-fc>Exeter City in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. The Grecians beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 on Tuesday to make it three wins from three to win the group
Jay Bird put the Grecians ahead with his first goal for the club when he headed home from close range after 18 minutes. But Connor Taylor drew Rovers level on the half hour when he left unmarked to poke in a finish after City failed to clear their lines from a corner.
Millenic Alli though pounced on a horrible error by Taylor to slot home a finish moments into the second half to restore Exeter’s lead. Isaac Hutchinson though levelled for the second time just after the hour, firing into the far corner.
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But Mitchell in the 87th minute got on the end of a low cross to fire home the winning goal after his year-long absence and City the win having suffered successive league defeats. Victory ensured that the Grecians will have a home tie in the last 32, and confirmed that Rovers would crash out in the group stages.
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell made ten changes from the side which were beaten 2-0 at Huddersfield Town on Saturday, with only Ben Purrington remaining. Jack Fitzwater captained the side, while teenagers Ed James, Pedro Borges and Jake Richards started.
Bird made his full debut for the Grecians as he started upfront alongside Sonny Cox. Vincent Harper and Reece Cole were on the bench as they returned from injury, as was Mitchell, featuring in a matchday squad for the first time in 364 days after a serious knee injury.
In front of a very sparse crowd at the Memorial Stadium, the game unsurprisingly didn’t get off to a sparkling start, but it was Matt Taylor’s men against his former club who controlled the early stages but without creating much of note to threaten. It took 15 minutes for either side to have a shot, with Luke McCormick flashing an effort from distance wide of the post.
The Grecians have produced nothing in attack, but in the 19th minute, from their first attack, they took the lead. Mustapha Carayol danced down the left and beat two defenders before whipping in a bouncing cross. Michael Forbes missed the attempt to clear, and Bird was unmarked six yards out and the striker signed from Arbroath in the summer nodded the bouncing ball into the net for his first goal for the club on his first start, with the easiest of finishes.
Moments later, it should have been two. Cox pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and drove into the area. But he took one touch too many rather than getting a shot away, which allowed a Rovers defender to make a challenge. There was half an appeal for a penalty, which was waved away, but it was a wasted opportunity.
And on the half hour, Rovers levelled. City failed to clear their lines from a corner effectively and the Gas kept it alive. Jake Garrett slipped the ball down the left to Hutchinson. He fizzed in a low cross, and Connor Taylor was able to tap into the empty net from just three yards out to make it 1-1 as he netted a first of the season.
Forbes volleyed over when a corner bounced to him as Rovers were looking the more threatening of the two sides. In first half stoppage-time, Chris Martin flicked on a long clearance to Hutchinson. He looked certain to score, but Caleb Watts did just enough to put him off as he sliced the finish into the side netting.
Caldwell made two changes at the break, with Cole and Alli replacing Borges and Bird, and within three minutes, City were back ahead with Alli getting on the scoresheet in slightly comical fashion. A backpass was played to Taylor, but the defender slipped in the box with the ball at his feet – and then slipped again as he tried to get up. The Irishman robbed him of the ball, took a touch, and calmly slotted past Josh Griffiths to restore the lead with a fourth of the season.
Watts then saw a shot cleared off the line as City turned the screw, looking for a third that could seal the win. Cox then headed narrowly wide after a teasing Ed Francis corner, before Carayol curled just over the crossbar, and then Alli forced Griffiths into a diving save after a twisting and turning run.
In the 63rd minute, Caldwell made a double change, with Harper and Mitchell replacing Carayol and Watts. But shortly after, Rovers were level for a second time. Hutchison played a neat one-two with Bryant Bilongo, drove into the area, beating Harper, and then he fired past Shaun MacDonald, who perhaps should have done better to keep it out.
Harper saw a shot saved, before Cox from distance fired over, as City pushed for a third, as Francis saw a shot from the edge of the box cleared off the line by Garrett. Alli saw the ball get stuck under his feet after a counter-attack, while at the other end, Hutchinson saw a shot blocked, while Fitzwater nearly came a cropper when he left a cross, but Bilongo flicked the finish wide from six yards out.
Sixty seconds later, the miss proved costly as City grabbed the winner. Harper danced down the right, having been picked out by Jake Richards. He slid in a low cross that evaded everyone bar Mitchell arriving at the far post who smashed the finish home. After 364 days out with an ACL injury, the 27-year-old capped his return to action with what was the winner.
Five minutes of stoppage-time were added-on and despite some late pressure, City held on for victory. And a home tie in the last 32 awaits now, with either Swindon Town or Tottenham Hotspur U21s joining them.
Exeter City are back in action on Saturday when they host Barnet in the FA Cup.
Exeter City: Shaun MacDonald, Jack Fitzwater, Ed James, Ben Purrington (Liam Oakes, 66), Caleb Watts (Vincent Harper, 63) , Pedro Borges (Reece Cole, 45), Jake Richards, Ed Francis, Mustapha Carayol (Demi Mitchell, 63), Sonny Cox, Jay Bird (Millenic Alli, 63).
Subs: Joe Whitworth, Charlie Cummins
Booking: Watts, Francis