City goalkeeper calls for another solid defensive performance
Exeter City keeper Christy Pym has called on his teammates not to get caught up in the hype surrounding the Devon derby on Saturday as his team look to extend their unbeaten run to 13 games at Plymouth Argyle.
The Grecians have won the last seven games on the spin to move to within nine points of their local rivals in the League Two table and four points off the automatic promotion places.
Plymouth are currently second, while the Grecians are fourth, meaning that both teams have realistic ambitions of securing a place in League One next season. Therefore, it adds to what is already an eagerly anticipated match, but Christy says the City players must just treat this Saturday’s match at Home Park like they have done all the other games in the past couple of months.
“It is probably one of the biggest derbies in a few years, but we have just got to treat it like a normal game,” said Christy. “We have got to keep up with what we have been doing well and try not to get caught up in the hype surrounding the fixture.
“The emphasis is on them a little bit, as they are the home team. We can take that pressure. We are solid at the back and we have shown that recently. Hopefully we continue that there.”
City have indeed been solid at the back of late, keeping nine clean sheets from their last 12 games. Christy says City owe a lot of that down to the players in front of him who have worked hard as a team to leave him with very little to do.
However, he produced a stunning double save from Crewe Alexandra’s Alex Kiwomya in their last match which earned him praise from manager Paul Tisdale as it came at a crucial moment in the match with the score at 1-0.
“It is a big moment,” said Christy. “It would have been a completely different game (if it had gone it) because they (Crewe) would have had something to fight for. However, it is actually just nice to be making saves. I have enjoyed not making saves recently because it means the team has been doing well but I am there when I am needed, so that is the main thing.”
“I think it was massive for us to get a clean sheet (against Crewe),” added Christy, after the 4-0 victory. “It is what we talked about leading into this match. We wanted to get back to that solid base and keeping those clean sheets and we can build off that. If you don’t concede you are not going to lose game.”