Euphoric Davies reflects on goal and victory
Arron Davies, scorer of Exeter City’s opener in the 3-1 Devon Derby victory over near-neighbours Plymouth Argyle, was delighted as he reflected on a satisfying performance and result.
The midfielder opened the scoring early in the second half with a rocketed finish, after a turn and run from Alan Gow exposed the Pilgrims’ defence for the assist. The goal put the Grecians a goal to the good and Welshman admitted that the emotion of it all knocked the stuffing out of him for a few minutes.
“For the five minutes after it, I didn’t really know where I was!” revealed Davies. “It was euphoria, I was ecstatic, the emotions… I was celebrating in front of the fans, and my dad was here, so it meant the world to me.
“I was trying to get my legs going again – it took the life out of me, but I got going again. It was a great feeling in front of the home fans who were going berserk.”
He also gave a nod to the whole occasion and the right result, which came off the back of a positive display in all departments.
“It was a great afternoon – winning on derby day is what it’s all about,” said Davies. “From a personal point of view I was absolutely buzzing to get a goal – it was a good day in the office.
“In the second half, and towards the end, we still went for it. For Scotty to score in the 93rd minute shows our character of the team and the way we play, and we did it to the final whistle and deservedly got three goals.
“It was a difficult derby game – you’ve just got to stay in it and cut out mistakes. The first half was tit-for-tat and no-one really got going.
“The longer the game went on, we knew we’d have more legs and more ability and I think that showed.
The game echoed the opening-day victory against Bristol Rovers. After surrendering a lead, City heads didn’t drop and they displayed the knowhow to turn in the result.
He praised the character of the team to once again triumph through the adversities dealt to them and was equally pleased to have been able to deliver the result for the fans.
He continued: “[Young’s goal] was a great finish – I don’t think we could have done anything about it – it hit the post on its way in. But as we’ve shown already this season, conceding goals or going one down won’t affect us.
“We’ve done that a few times this season and that’s the sign of a good side. We believe in what we do – whether we score in the last minute or the first minute, we believe in what we do and it showed today.
“We’ve just got to keep ticking the wins off. Everyone can just enjoy the weekend now, especially the fans – it’s a derby win at home so they’ll be delighted.
“Tis mentioned [last season’s derby record] before the game, and we’ve ticket two derby wins off already this season. Derby wins are massive – it means so much to the fans, to beat Plymouth.
And as far as Davies is concerned, the forthcoming game against Hartlepool United won’t smack of being after the Lord Mayor’s Show. He and the coaches know that there is work to be done to make sure the results keep ticking over, beginning with the Pools fixture in a week’s time.
“With the staff we have, that won’t be an issue – we’ll be in on Monday and back to work as normal,” concluded Davies.
“Your next game is your biggest – I know that’s a cliché, but we won’t be allowed to take our foot off the gas, I’m sure of that.”