Defender on stalemate with Stevenage
Grecians defender Christian Ribeiro felt that a point apiece was about a fair reflection of the game when Exeter City and Stevenage contested a 0-0 draw at St James Park.James Hamon made some smart stops between the sticks for City, and Boro goalkeeper Chris Day saw the woodwork rattled when sub David Wheeler powered a header onto the bar.
But Ribeiro, who lined up at centre-half, felt that sharing the points was a good reflection of how the game went.
“It was a difficult one,” said Christian. “We were obviously really desperate to win the game and you could tell that they are in a good position as well.
“Neither team wanted to lose it, and as a defender it is pleasing to get a clean sheet and we had a couple of chances – but they had some pressure from free-kicks and corners and maybe a draw was fair.
“I don’t think we were quite at our best but we still worked very hard. It’s just one of those games where we didn’t quite have enough quality so a draw maybe is a fair result.
“We’re on a nice little run at the minute and you can sense that confidence in everyone – we still think we’re going to win each game.
“But sometimes the opposition has their quality as well. Stevenage made it very difficult and they had some periods of pressure from set-pieces especially, and we had to grind that out.
“It’s really disappointing that we didn’t get the win because we’re all craving to get up that table and start chasing the play-offs again, but it’s another game down and we’ve got another nine to go.
“We’ve still got a chance, and we’ve got a good tight side here so the confidence is back.”
City weren’t quite able to get into their purest rhythm – in no small part down to the physicality and intensity with which their visitors played.
But Christian is hopeful that City can move on and aim to make it five unbeaten by recording a win on Saturday away in Cheltenham.
“That’s football – sometimes you get that clash of philosophies and you have to get on with it,” said Ribeiro on the opposing styles of Exeter and Stevenage.
“There were times when we had to battle and there were times when we had to show our quality. We did, but sometimes we maybe could have done a little bit better.
“That’s just how it goes – we were a little tired, having played Saturday and Tuesday and we’ve got another game this Saturday. So there is probably a bit of fatigue in the legs as well which doesn’t help us.
“But we move on and we’ve got another big game on Saturday. Hopefully we’ll get another three points to push us back up this table.”