David Phillips will be the man in the middle
Having refereed City twice in the Conference (one win and one draw), Phillips was promoted to the Football League at the same time as the Grecians and has since gone on to officiate four matches at St James Park, all of which have ended in City victories.
Wins over Rochdale, Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers preceded perhaps the most notable of these victories, which was the 1-0 victory over Charlton Athletic at the start of the 2010/11 season. Phillips awarded a last minute penalty which was successfully dispatched by Ryan Harley.
City have had mixed results on the road under the watchful eye of Phillips, with last season’s 2-1 win at Barnet balanced out by a heavy 4-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day in 2011.
So far this season, Phillips has had the whistle in 18 games and shown 59 yellow cards and sent six players off. His most recent dismissals came in January’s clash between Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon, where one man from each team saw red.
Match officials
Referee: David Phillips (West Sussex)
Assistant referees: John Busby (Oxfordshire) & Steven Plane (Worcestershire)
Fourth official: Ronald Ganfield (Somerset)