Manager gives his opinion on draw in Newport
Exeter City came away from Rodney Parade with a 2-2 draw against hosts Newport County AFC, as the home side came from behind to earn a point.City could have been the first team since the opening weekend to take a victory home from Newport, as Tom Nichols’ penalty and a fine effort from distance by Graham Cummins opened a two-goal lead.
However Newport grabbed a goal soon after half-time through Yan Klukowski – with the crowd behind them, one quickly became two as Max Porter smashed in from 25 yards two minutes later for the leveller.
While Tis felt that a draw at Newport was a good point on paper, he was naturally disappointed to have seen the tables turned as the lead was pegged back.
City have made a habit of securing draws and wins from losing positions this season, but this time the tables were turned and it was the opponents that salvaged the result.
And Exeter weren’t far away from getting a match-winning third on a number of occasions throughout the game.
He explained: “It’s a point gained because we arrived here with 23 points, and we leave with 24. But it always does feel disappointing when you’ve relinquished a two-goal lead.
“There was enough in the game for us to get back into it and I think we did. We played really well today – I think it’d be easy to say that we came out sloppy after half-time, but every team is entitled to try their best and up their game.
“We were head and shoulders the best team in the first half, but they came out and they threw everything at us for ten minutes. You hope in those in those situations you can weather the storm, and we didn’t, and I believe we should have done better with it.
“It was two-all suddenly, and for the remaining 35 minutes we played really well again and kept it open – I wanted to win it, not to hold on. We probably shaded the opportunities to win it.
“We made some poor choices outside the box today. It’s easy to say, but we need to be more clinical around those final areas.
“We needed to settle down, relax more and be more patient around the box. It’s not what everyone thinks, that you get around there and rush things. We had enough opportunities today which we frittered away. When you’re two-nil up, it hides it really – we needed to be more decisive.
“But let’s keep a lid on this, I’m not turning this into a criticism of the team because we’re getting there and we’re looking a pretty decent side.”
A draw in South Wales represented a run that has seen Exeter lose just once in 11 League 2 fixtures, and winning six in the same period.
It is a marked change from the early stages of the season and Tis was pleased to see his team continuing on an upward curve.
“We’re improving so quickly,” he continued. “There are one or two bits and pieces to improve on – that’s for me to know and you to guess. We’re very close to being a very good team.
“But it’s about how many goals you score – we were a fraction away from that being a three- or four-nil today.
“I have to be totally respectful to Justin [Edinburgh] – they played a big part in the game with what they did at half-time and how they altered their team and made some decisions, and they got their goals.
“It’s not just about what we do – the opposition played their part in it too.”