Grecians lose EFL Trophy opener to Cardiff

Match Report: Exeter City 0-1 Cardiff City

Exeter City were consigned to yet another defeat in the opening match of their EFL Trophy campaign.

Visitors Cardiff took the lead through Callum Robinson just after the break, with both sides having gone close in an entertaining first half.

Although they weren’t quite as lethargic as Saturday's defeat to Port Vale, City generally lacked creativity, a worryingly frequent feature of their performances this season. 
 
Exeter’s first chances came early on, when Reece Cole intercepted a pass just outside the area. His shot from deep was struck straight at Mathew Turner in the Cardiff goal, but with power, and it squirmed through the keeper, who only just managed to turn around and scrape it off the line.

Exeter really should have gone ahead a minute or so later, when Jack Fitzwater connected perfectly with a corner. It seemed destined for the bottom corner until a Cardiff leg hooked it away from the goalmouth.

Grecian academy product Kieran Wilson was put through one-on-one not long after, but dragged his hurried shot well wide of Turner's goal, much to the delight of the impressive Cardiff following.
 
Blues captain Callum Robinson nearly gave the visitors the lead in first-half stoppage time. He half-volleyed a brilliant whipped ball to the near post from close range, but a brave block on the part of Exeter’s stand-in goalkeeper Jack Bycroft kept things level.

The game stayed just as lively after the restart, and it didn’t take long before Cardiff took the lead.

A short corner was well worked and gave Cian Ashford the space to curl a cross into the packed six-yard box.

It was Robinson who managed to get a touch, and his deft header was angled perfectly beyond Bycroft and into the top corner. 
 
Cardiff were dominant from then on, without ever really threatening the Exeter goal. City themselves were limited to the occasional foray forward, with Kieran Wilson and substitute Andrew Oluwabori both sending great chances wide.

Cardiff substitute Cian Ashford provided some light entertainment right at the end, picking up a silly second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Jayden Wareham scored what he thought was a stoppage-time equaliser for City with a header from close range straight afterwards, but the linesman saw otherwise and ruled it out for offside.