Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was delighted with the patience his side showed as they returned to the top of the League One table with a deserved 1-0 win over Cheltenham.
The Grecians dominated form the start but found Cheltenham obdurate opponents and it took until the 68th minute for the only goal of the game to arrive as substitute Caleb Watts marked his debut with the winner.
“It is never easy when a team come and set up the way that Cheltenham set up,” Caldwell said.
“They parked the bus very early and sat every man behind the ball and they wanted to counter-attack, which we thought they would do, but we didn’t think they’d be as defensive as they were.
“When you don’t break that down with the opportunities we created, then the frustration can come and you can start searching for something that isn’t there.
“We kept playing our way, we kept believing in what we were doing and we eventually got our rewards.
“We had an incredible moment just before with three chances inside the six-yard box and when they don’t go in, you wonder if it’s going to be your day.
“But all credit to the players, they kept going and Caleb, on his debut, scored a brilliant goal.
“I said to them at half-time to keep doing what we are doing, but do it quicker and more often and I said to bring the Big Bank into the game by playing faster and getting the ball in the box, corners, and creating momentum at that end because we see so often the ball gets sucked into that goal.”
Underwhelming Cheltenham are still searching for their first league goal of the season.
Manager Wade Elliott said: “I never felt uncomfortable apart from a 10-minute spell when they scored and we were trying to get the subs on.
“One or two of the players were flagging a little bit and we were desperately trying to make the subs.
“We knew they were going to have possession, but aside from that we never felt uncomfortable. We had enough opportunities on the counter and turnovers for it to fall our way rather than against us.
“We were trying to make changes and we were just 30 seconds the wrong side of it.
“I understand where we are at the minute and it puts extra emphasis on everything. It is difficult to say it was 10 minutes away from being a good performance.
“They are going to have to be bold enough to keep putting themselves in there, the number of times balls have gone into the box and we have had chances, our play is crying out for someone to get on the end of it.”
Chicago Fire 1-4 Inter Miami: Suarez on target once more in road win
Luis Suarez scored two and orchestrated another as Inter Miami cruised to a 4-1 win over Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Saturday.
His shot led to the opening own goal before his second-half double put the game out of reach as Miami stretched their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to nine points.
Suarez played a neat one-two with Diego Gomez to set up a strike from the edge of the box, and though Chris Brady did well to save it, he pushed it straight against Tobias Salquist, who chested it over the line 25 minutes in.
The Uruguayan thumped a free header against the bar minutes later, but finally got his reward just after the break – he raced in behind before slotting a neat shot in at the near post.
Alba then picked him out for his second in the 65th minute, fizzing a low cross into the six-yard box for him to guide past Brady.
Gomez was unlucky from distance as his drilled shot hit the inside of the post before Georgios Koutsias' instinctive close-range finish beat Drake Callender.
Substitute Robert Taylor then rounded off the scoring with a lovely first-time finish in stoppage time.
Data Debrief: Suarez continues to step up in Messi's absence
Miami have now been without their talisman Lionel Messi for three months due to the Copa America and an ankle injury, but Suarez has proven once again that they still pose a threat without him.
He has scored four times from a total of 12 shots since MLS resumed, with nine of those coming in this game.
The 37-year-old ran the show, leading the team in expected goals (1.4), shots on target (five), touches in the box (eight) and big chances (four).
Fonseca shrugs off talk of rift with Milan duo
Paulo Fonseca was quick to dismiss talk of any tension with Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, who both appeared to snub him shortly after coming off the bench.
The pair came off the bench to help earn a 2-2 draw with Lazio on Saturday, being brought on in a quadruple change by Fonseca after being left out of the starting line-up.
Milan were losing 2-1 at the time of their introduction, and they immediately turned things around, with Hernandez and debutant Tammy Abraham, another substitute, involved in Leao's equaliser.
Minutes later, the game stopped for a cooling break, with both managers using the opportunity to instruct their players, but both Leao and Hernandez remained on the far side of the pitch, taking no part in the team talk.
"The situation with Theo and Leao, there is no problem and I think Theo has already explained," Fonseca told DAZN.
"We don't need to create any problems. This week I spoke with the players and they accepted my decision. There is no problem, I was concentrated, and I didn't see that they weren't there."
Hernandez had already given his reasons immediately after the game.
"We had been on for two minutes, we didn't need the cooling break," Hernandez said.
"It was nothing against the team and the coach. Then people talk, say things that aren't true. Rafa and I are always with the team to help, and that is the important thing."
Milan are still without a league win this season after three games, but Fonseca says he saw a decent performance in the opening half, giving him something to work on.
"We had a good first half. We always managed the game well with the ball. When you control the game like this, we have to have more moments to become dangerous, but it's something we have to work on," Fonseca told Milan TV.
"We must always have the courage we had in the first half because we did good things. If we had won the other two games, this could have been a good result, but it is not so. But we have to start from today's first half."
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
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