Midfielder reflects on a draw with Burton at the Park
Exeter City midfielder felt that the Grecians’ late goal against Burton Albion – claiming a 1-1 draw in the process – made it a point earned for the side.The fixture didn’t quite have the rip-roaring drama of Exeter’s last three games – all of which saw both teams score at least twice – and the defences of both sides were largely on top.
However Jacob Blyth did finally breach the Exeter defence on the hour-mark, meaning that the visiting Brewers had something to hold onto – and they almost did, until Christian Ribeiro arrived to guide in Grimes’ corner in the 86th minute.
Given that it wasn’t one of the Grecians’ most fluid performances and that Exeter were trailing until so late in the game, Grimes felt it was positive as both a point gained as in denying the Brewers from taking all three.
“We played some good football but we weren’t really clicking today as much as we have in the past,” said Grimes.
“I think we definitely think that it’s a point earned and two points taken off Burton, as they had much more of the game. I think they looked a little bit more dangerous than they did.
“Often players get asked ‘would you take this result’ before the game, but it’s all about how the game pans out and how it comes down to the last five minutes. Today we were one-nil down so we are happy with a point.
“We have got great players and we can control possession, but we thought they took the better positions and better chances. I think that’s what makes it a good point – they were taking the game and we nicked it right at the end”.
A 1-1 draw keeps up Exeter’s double-edged statistic of being the only team in the Football League to have scored and conceded in every home fixture to date.
While undoubtedly Grimes and his teammates will wish to keep things a bit tighter at the back from now on, they also felt that they now have a constant goal-threat.
“We were always going to nick one,” Grimes continued. “That’s how we felt in the game and after the game – that we can always score.
“You’ve seen that over previous performances. We’ve just got to keep knocking on the door, and thankfully it opened today.
“The game is to score more goals than the opposition – I know keeping clean-sheets is important, but if we’re consistently scoring a lot of goals week-in week-out, it certainly helps.”
Ribeiro’s late goal saw Grimes notch another assist from a dead-ball situation.
Naturally Grimes was happy to again have made an impact in the final third with his delivery from the corner – and while he is pleased to have kept the run of undefeated games going, he is also aware that there it more work to be done.
“It’s always good to get assists and goals, and help the team climb the table as we have in the last couple of months,” Grimes continued.
“I just have to stick it in a good area and hope that one of the lads that’s over six-foot comes in and wins the ball.
“We do a lot of it in training the day before a game and Ribs is one of the key threats in our team.
“It has been an unbelievable turnaround recently, but we’ve got to keep level-headed. We haven’t even played half of the games yet so we’ve got to keep doing well and keep performing and hopefully get the results.”