Stevenage make the 400 mile-round trip to Devon this Saturday for Steve Evans’ first game in charge of the club against Exeter City in Sky Bet League Two…
Evans took charge last Wednesday and now faces his first tough challenge of second-placed Exeter City. The club look for their first win since the end of January after a disappointing run of games, leaving the side three points above the drop zone and battling for safety. On the other hand, Matt Taylor’s men are unbeaten in their last five and look to remain in the automatic promotion places.
Founded in 1901, The Grecians were invited to help create the Football League Third Division in 1920. They won the Third Division South Cup in 1934 before becoming founder members of the Fourth Division in 1958. Exeter won their first league title in the 1989-90 campaign, gaining promotion from the Fourth Division. The club lost their Football League status at the end of the 2002/03 season and went on to spend just five campaigns in non-league before getting promoted back to The EFL in 2008.
Paul Tisdale then spent twelve years with the club, taking them to League One on his first attempt before returning to League Two in 2012. The club have lost three play-off finals in the last five years as they look for a change of fortune at the end of this campaign. So far this season, The Grecians have won seventeen out of thirty-seven league games, drawing fourteen and losing just six. Their top scorer is Matt Jay with twelve in all competitions.
Stevenage and Exeter have been two sides very familiar with each other since their first meeting nearly two decades ago. Across the thirty previous meetings, Saturday’s hosts possess the better win rate with thirteen victories compared to Boro’s six. This season’s reverse fixture between the two sides ended in a 2-2 draw after Elliott List’s double was cancelled out by goals from Sam Nombe and Matt Jay.
Exeter have played their home games at St James’ Park since it opened in 1904. The stadium is situated right next to St James’ Park railway station and holds a capacity of 8,696. A record attendance of 20,984 was set in 1931 as Exeter played host to Sunderland in the FA Cup. The away end is a terrace for standing supporters which holds a capacity of just over 1000.
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