City take unbeaten away form to Bristol

Exeter City will make their shortest trip of the season on Saturday as they head up the M5 to face Bristol Rovers in a 3pm kick-off at the Memorial Stadium.

Gary Caldwell’s side will be looking to build on Tuesday night’s battling 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic, a result that extended City’s unbeaten run on the road to four matches.

Reece Cole’s second-half strike secured a point at St James Park, lifting the Grecians to 15th in the League One table.

They now face a Rovers side sitting just one place above the relegation zone, having suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at play-off hopefuls Bolton Wanderers last time out.

Reflecting on the Wigan draw and looking ahead to Saturday’s derby, Caldwell said, “We can take the momentum we ended with on Tuesday into Saturday and turn it into a victory. We need to turn that point into a win in a derby game.”

The Grecians will be backed by a near-sell-out away crowd, with around 1,600 travelling supporters making the trip to the Mem.

“We want to give the supporters an enjoyable trip,” Caldwell added. “Thankfully it’s a short one and not a 6am rise like usual. We’ve been good on the road lately with the team really coming together – results breed confidence.”

The reverse fixture on Boxing Day saw City come from behind with three goals in the final 20 minutes to win 3-1 at SJP.

Reece Cole, whose goal against Wigan was his first since August, is hoping to finish the season strongly after a year hampered by injury.

“It’s been a frustrating season but it’s one of those things,” he said. “To get the goal was so good and to help the team get a point out of it felt amazing.

“Hopefully it’s back to the old Reece Cole. I can’t look back now and be angry – I’ve just got to push on.”

City have five games left in the 2024/25 campaign, with two home fixtures remaining: Burton Albion on Friday 18 April (1pm kick-off) and Huddersfield Town on Saturday 26 April (3pm).