Great start to the season for Grecians and Greens

Exeter City can be extremely proud of their start to the Sky Bet League One campaign: four points and two clean sheets against some tough opposition.

After the outstanding 3-0 win at Wycombe Wanderers on the opening day, the Grecians were unlucky not to defeat Blackpool at St James Park on Saturday, eventually settling for a 0-0 draw against the side recently relegated from the Championship.

Jack Aitchison forced a desperate defensive block from the Tangerines before he found the net on 25 minutes, only for the assistant’s flag to deny him the opening goal.

City continued to control proceedings for the remainder of the half but Blackpool came back with two big chances after the restart, Will Aimson finding an incredible block to save his team before goalkeeper Vil Sanisalo pulled off a remarkable reaction save.

Dion Rankine was a constant menace for City in wide areas and one impressive foray created a chance for James Scott, but his attempted square pass to Sam Nombe just missed the intended target and Blackpool survived.

The tempo never faltered and City fully deserved their points, although they did need one more top save from Sinisalo in the dying seconds.  

City manager Gary Caldwell told the club website: "I thought the first half was very cagey and they sat off us more than they have in the first two games, so they showed us a lot of respect.

"We couldn't find how to break through that, but when we did we created a chance from a brilliant press on their middle centre-back and could have taken the lead from there.

"In the second half, once we showed them some clips in the break, we created good moments high up the pitch. It didn't quite fall to us to win the game, even though I really did feel like it was going to be our day.

"It wasn't to be, but I can't fault the players, they were outstanding."

Plymouth Argyle enjoyed an impressive 0-0 draw on the weekend, throwing bodies on the line to keep their unbeaten start intact at Watford in the Championship. The Pilgrims also had their chances on the day, Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker both going close at Vicarage Road.

Unfortunately, it has been a very different start for Devon’s other pro club.

Torquay United entered the National League South campaign as favourites for the title but, after letting a two-goal lead slip at Dover Athletic, the first Plainmoor experience was a nightmare for the Gulls.

Worthing FC were the visitors to South Devon and, in truth, they outplayed Torquay throughout and if it wasn’t for a man of the match performance from goalkeeper Mark Halstead, the 3-0 defeat could have been a lot worse.

A huge amount of work awaits Torquay boss Gary Johnson over the weeks to come.