With the play-off finals across Leagues One and Two now complete, we now know the full line up for EFL League One for the 2025/26 season. Fixture release day is a just a couple of weeks away, so it’s time for us to take a closer look at the seven new teams joining us in the third tier for the campaign.
We begin with a short hop over the Bristol Channel to Cardiff City, who were relegated from the Championship at the end of last season and will face the Grecians in competitive action for the first time since 2002.
2024/25 Campaign
Cardiff City faced a difficult season in the Championship in 2024/25, finishing bottom of the table and having seen three different managers in charge. The Bluebirds began the campaign with six defeats from their first seven matches – a draw against Welsh rivals Swansea the only point – but seemingly turned their season around after the departure of boss Erol Bulut. Under interim manager Omer Riza, they won four of six unbeaten matches in October and November, but could not continue their form into the new year as they ended 2024 nine matches without a victory.
Just two defeats in their first 12 matches of 2025 had pulled the Welsh side out of the relegation zone, though one of those defeats was a 7-0 loss at eventual champions Leeds United. Another bad patch followed as they won just one of their following 12 matches in the league with Riza parting way three matches before the end of the campaign. Club legend Aaron Ramsey, who was handed the temporary reigns but was unable to keep his side up – a 0-0 draw at home to West Brom condemned City to the third tier for the first time in 24 years.
The Manager
At time of writing, Ramsey remains in caretaker player-manager charge at the Cardiff City Stadium. He rejoined his boyhood club in July 2023 on a two-year deal, having started out at the club’s academy aged 9. The 34-year-old most notably moved from Wales to the Arsenal where he made over 250 player appearances and has made nearly 100 appearances for the Wales national side.
The Stadium
For most Exeter City fans, a trip to the Cardiff City Stadium will be the first they have visited, having opened eight years after the Grecians last visit to the Welsh capital. The 33,000 capacity ground is also home to the Wales men’s and women’s national teams and replaced the old Ninian Park ground just a stones throw away in the Leckwith area of the city. The stadium was officially opened on 22 July 2009 in a pre-season friendly against Celtic, where a certain Gary Caldwell captained the Scottish side that day. The away end at the stadium is located in a corner of the Grange and Ninian Stands, where around 1,800 supporters can be accommodated.
Head to Head Record
Matches played: 40
Exeter City wins: 19
Draws: 8
Cardiff City wins: 23
First Competitive Match: November 30, 1912 | Cardiff City 5 Exeter City 1 | FA Cup
Last Competitive Match: November 12, 2002 | Exeter City 0-3 Cardiff City | LDV Vans Trophy
Biggest Exeter City win: February 3, 1934 | 4-0
Biggest Cardiff City win: January 1, 2001 | 6-0
Recent Pre-season Fixtures: Exeter City 3-0 Cardiff City (July 2016), Cardiff City 2-2 Exeter City (July 2021)
Previous Fixture
November 11, 2002 | Exeter City 0-3 Cardiff City | LDV Vans Trophy Round Two - from Grecian Archive
So City succumb to a superior Cardiff side 3-0 with a flaccid display at a crisp and chilly Park. The game started in fairly meek fashion with both sides sharing the opening exchanges but failing to trouble either keeper.
City retained decent amounts of possession as did Cardiff, but the training ground mentality prevailed with both sides seemingly more interested in the coming weekend's action rather than the more pressing matter of the game they were attempting to play.
No shots, no action, no decent passing and no tackles. From either side. Although the ref did see fit to book players for seemingly innocuous niggly fouls. Nothing really warranted more than a telling off. The one incident of note was however a superb double save from Big Kev when one of their forwards burst through one on one. The big man stayed strong as a pile driver was let loose towards him and then had the presence of mind to tip the rebound away before the striker could come back for seconds.
The second half saw Cardiff start to assert some authority on the game, and City withdrawing further and further into their own half. Which reminds me - an annoying Foxy trait is beginning to creep back in whereby every player stays deep in their own half at set pieces leaving nobody up near the half way line. Someone bangs it up the park and there's nobody there so our opponents are free to build another attack.
Despite their dominance and superiority, there was nothing cultured about the opening goal. Bazza (who had a pretty decent game it has to be said) and Buxton both decided the other one could mark the advancing forward and when the ball duly arrived at his feet on the edge of the box there was a gap big enough to drive not just one bus but the entire Stagecoach fleet through it.
The forward then had plenty of time to turn and ease the ball past a stranded and bemused Kev. City then sparkled into a coma and let Cardiff run the show how they felt. Not long after, another forward found his run into the box impeded by Ampadu and a penalty ensued. No trouble for them to blast the ball past Kev.
Finally something to lift the crowd with Moor introduced for the last twenty minutes in place of Coppinger. No matter, other than a couple of long range efforts from Moor, Barnard and Pettefer, the Cardiff goalie may as well have stayed at home.
McNab's (and ours) misery was complete deep into stoppage time when an ever willing runner was allowed to get round the back of Hiley and cross for the gangly and so far ordinary Fortune-West to butt home unchallenged from the six yard line.
Exeter: Miller, McConnell, Pilkington, Buxton, Hiley, Ampadu, Cronin, Pettefer, Barnard, Flack, Coppinger. Subs: Fraser, Roscoe, Curran, Moor, Alcide.
Cardiff: Margetson, Green, Collins, Simpkins, Barker, Legg, Bonner, Hamilton, Bowen, Fortune-West, Campbell. Subs: Alexander, Boland, Maxwell, Thorne, Croft.
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire)
Attendance 1360
Played for Both
Most recently, Joel Colwill was on loan in EX4 from the Bluebirds and made 18 appearances last season. Josh Magennis began his professional career with Cardiff City, having joined their academy in 2007. Other players to have pulled on both jerseys include the legendary Steve Flack, John Cornforth, Stuart Fleetwood, Yanic Wildschut, Chris Fry and Christian Roberts.
City Women’s manager Abbie Britton also played for Cardiff City for three years between 2014-17, making over 60 appearances.
Did You Know?
Cardiff City are the only team from outside England to have won the FA Cup, lifting the famous old trophy in 1927 by beating Arsenal 1-0.