Opposition view: 'Incredible' Exeter 'took Northampton's game away from them' - Caldwell
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell described his side’s performance as ‘incredible’ after they were held to a goalless draw by Northampton on Saturday.
The Grecians were dominant in the first half but created little in the way of clear-cut chances before a more even second 45 minutes saw opportunities come and go for both sides.
"Our performance from back to middle and then into the final third was incredible,” said Caldwell. “Some of our football was so good and we had so much control and we took their game away from them.
"Their game is physical and being aggressive and they want to play direct and land on second balls but we controlled that amazingly well and it was just the final action that we missed. It was frustrating from that point of view.
"But the players were fantastic and they gave everything and they kept going and they stuck to our plan. We just couldn’t find a goal, but I’m delighted with the players because it was a brilliant performance without that final action.
"We didn’t create big enough chances and that’s credit to Northampton because I thought they defended the box really well and they defended corners really well, but they couldn’t get pressure on the ball and when they did jump, we played through them.
"If you play a 50-50 game against Northampton, they’re going to hurt you because they’re really dangerous team but when you take the ball away from them and control the ball like we did, it gives you a platform.
"We did get a bit anxious in the second half and they did create a bit of chaos but we limited their strengths.”