Baldwin looks back at cup defeat
Football is a game of fine margins, and a little bit of cutting edge was the difference between Exeter City and Peterborough United at London Road.
In terms of the way each team played on and off the ball, the Grecians looked every bit as capable as the Posh in the FA Cup with Budweiser first round.
The difference came in the final third and, despite all of City’s accomplished play for the previous 70 minutes, the opener from Britt Assombalonga - who joined the club as record signing from Watford this summer - began swinging the pendulum Peterborough’s way. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who joined a year earlier from Wolves, finished ruthlessly soon after to double the lead as it ended 2-0 to the hosts.
“We felt comfortable and we were trusting each other and we were on the same page, but we lacked that bit of threat in the final third,” said City centre-half Pat Baldwin.
“Peterborough upped the tempo, which they were always going to do as they were at home. And our change in formation probably mean they had more space in wide areas, and they exploited that quite well.
“It was a game that we knew was going to open up, and Sam needed a bit of help up top because he was quite isolated in the first half. But we’re disappointed with the first goal – it changed the game and it was a disappointing one to concede.”
The next game is always the most important, and for City that game is against Baldwin’s old side Southend United, who are visitors at St James Park next Saturday.
The Grecians were 3-0 winners in the equivalent fixture last year and Baldwin is confident of getting the points ticking over again in League 2.
“We haven’t got any more distractions from the league,” he continued. “Saturday is a big game because we’ve lost a couple on the spin now. We’ll be desperate to win that.”