City striker happy with fightback
Exeter City striker Sam Parkin was pleased with the tenacity that the team showed in earning a point away at Dagenham & Redbridge.
The Grecians went a goal behind when Josh Scott capitalised on a defensive error in the first period, but Exeter fought back strongly after the interval to force an equaliser ten minutes from time. Both teams had opportunities to take all three points in the closing stages but the game ended a goal apiece.
“Everyone will be a bit disappointed at how we played in the first half as we didn’t create too much and they were causing us a lot of problems going forward,” said Sam. “We managed to weather the storm a bit because we could have gone two goals behind and left ourselves with a mountain to climb.
“I think was a deserved point on the balance of play in the second half. We were probably second-best in the first half so we changed a few things around at half time and we seemed to be in the ascendancy. The two lads who came on [David Wheeler and Jimmy Keohane] made a difference.”
It was Parkin that netted the City goal with a fine header, rounding off a move that included not less than 13 passes before the former St Mirren man powered the ball beyond Chris Lewington.
The fact that the Grecians managed to retain possession for so long and advance downfield was reflective of the growing confidence that eventually led to Parkin’s goal.
He continued: “We had just started to turn the screw before the goal so it was coming – I just made a run into the box and the ball was there nicely for me to attack and I got a good connection. I was just pleased to see it go in.
“It was Matt Oakley that put the ball in – you can tell with the pace and the whip on the ball that it’s inviting to attack. Sometimes you manage to get the kind of contact that I did today.”