Exeter City forward Matt Jay says the Grecians are targeting progression in the Checkatrade Trophy as they prepare to meet Peterborough United in the first knockout round of the competition.
City impressed in the group phase as they topped their group ahead of Bristol Rovers, West Ham United under-21s and Yeovil Town, and they take on Steve Evans’ side looking to push on in the competition.
Ahead of the match, Matt said: “We’re really looking forward to it. Off the back of recent results, we are looking to bounce back and continue the form that we’ve had in this competition. It should be a good game, they will be very good, but hopefully we can progress further in the competition.
“It’s another game for us, whoever is playing, whatever it is, you want to win the game. We’ll approach it like every other game, it’s not a reserve team, it’s a first team game and it should be a really good test for us.”
City go into the match following a rare weekend off due to not being in Emirates FA Cup action, and after falling to defeat at home to Macclesfield Town last Tuesday, Matt believes the time off could benefit City as they reflect and regroup ahead of a busy Christmas schedule in the coming weeks.
Matt continued: “We’d love to be in the FA Cup but it’s just one of those things. We’ll use it as a weekend of rest and to reflect on recent performances as of late, so it will be good for us to have some down time.”
City have often used this competition to give minutes to those in need of them as well as an opportunity for youngsters to impress, and they’ve certainly done that in recent fixtures. Joel Randall netted his first goal for the Grecians against Bristol Rovers and the likes of Jay himself, Chiedozie Ogbene and Archie Collins have all impressed for the Grecians.
Matt said: “We’ll do our research on them (Peterborough) and go from there. In the previous games we’ve brought a lot of young players through and given them a chance. For fringe players and players that need minutes it’s a good game for everyone involved.
“Hopefully the fans will be behind us and we’ll see where this competition can take us because it’s another great opportunity.
“It will be good for the fans to get behind us, and if ticket prices are reduced then great, come and see what talent we’ve got and hopefully we can get the win.”
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