Midfielder keen to get back to action on Saturday
After Exeter City slipped to a home defeat to Oxford United, midfielder Jimmy Keohane is already keen to look ahead to the visit of Barnet on Saturday so that the Grecians can put in a response at St James Park.
The Irishman came off the bench with a little over half an hour left to play, though City were already trailing by three due to a two-goal salvo early in the second half by the U’s. Jamie Cureton’s penalty gave City a route back into the match, but the Oxford rearguard were ruthlessly efficient and didn’t allow Exeter to swing the momentum in their favour.
“You have to be positive, coming off the bench,” said Keohane. “Even when you’re three-nil down, you can’t throw in the towel. You’ve just got to try and get a goal and keep doing the right things and try to get ourselves back into the game.
“We needed to get a goal early after going three down. If maybe we could have gotten another quick goal after that one [Cureton’s], we could have pushed them all right.”
He was also full of praise for young teammate Jamie Reid, who also came on as part of a triple-substitution. The teenager made his Football League debut as a substitute, and put in a very lively performance as a partner to veteran striker Jamie Cureton.
Keohane said of Reid: “He’s a great prospect – he’s been training really well. He deserved his debut today. He just needs to keep working hard, and he’ll definitely be one to watch for the future.
“He’s always been very talented. Since he’s been training with the first team – he was a youth team player last year – he’s really shown a lot of good things.”
So Jimmy is looking forward to having Edgar Davids and Barnet in town on Saturday, as City look to rectify the Oxford result and show their mettle at home. With the Bees beating league-leaders Gillingham on their home patch in the early Boxing Day kick-off, their league position probably belies the potential they have.
“It’s a bit frustrating, but we need to pick ourselves up for Saturday,” continued Keohane. “It’s good that it’s only three days away, so it’ll be good to hopefully get over this game and get a win to improve our home form.”