Loanee named in League Two team of the week for second time
Defender Luke Croll is targeting more clean sheets in Exeter City shirt as he looks to help the Grecians climb the table.
Croll was named in the League Two team of the week for the second time this season following an impressive defensive display that helped the Grecians draw 0-0 with Grimsby Town on Saturday.
The City defence also performed well the previous Saturday – despite the Grecians falling to a 1-0 defeat at Wycombe thanks to a late deflected goal from Adebayo Akinfenwa – and Croll says being solid at the back has to be the platform going forward for the team as they look to improve on their start to the season.
“We have been focusing on being harder to beat and I thought we did that against Grimsby,” said Croll.
“That is what we have taken from the last few weeks. Before we have all been going forward looking to win the game in the first 10 or 15 minutes and we have been giving ourselves a massive task to come back from one or two goals down, especially when a team come to St James Park and get a goal because they are going to sit in.
“I think the most important thing, where we are, is to get a clean sheet and points rather than trying to win every game by blasting the opposition.”
Croll also praised the work of new coach Andy Tillson – a defender himself for Bristol Rovers in his playing days – who has been working the back four hard in training.
“We have done a lot of work in training on being more of a unit,” said Croll. “We’ve looked over clips and seen where we have made mistakes.
“I think the introduction of Tilly (Andy Tillson) has helped a lot. Obviously he was a defender and he has got us working as a unit and hopefully we can continue with that. The job is not done. We have got one clean sheet, but the task is to keep as many clean sheets as we can as a back four.”
City travel to Barnet on Saturday where Croll and his teammates will be targeting another shut-out.