NOT since the great run of 1981 have Exeter City progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Back then, the Grecians saw off Leatherhead and Millwall before the ‘big boys’ of the old Divisions One and Two entered the fray and City’s adventure really got interesting.
The third round draw pitted them against Maidstone United and the Grecians made light work of their non-league opponents, winning 4-2 in Kent.
Round four took them to top-flight Leicester City and after a 1-1 draw at Filbert Street, the Grecians won a breathtaking replay 3-1 beneath the St James Park floodlights, courtesy of the late, great Tony Kellow, who bagged a hat-trick that magical night.
The fifth round saw City travel to the other St James Park, where they faced the then Division Two side Newcastle United. Again, the third-tier Grecians rose to the occasion, securing a 2-2 draw which meant another replay under the lights at the real SJP.
Martyn Rogers (left) and Lee Roberts celebrate Exeter City’s 4-0 FA Cup replay beating of Newcastle
(Image: John Ffoulkes)
It turned out to be one of the greatest nights in the club’s history as they not only beat the Magpies, but thrashed them 4-0. First half goals from Peter Hatch, Ian Pearson and Peter Roberts had City 3-0 up at half-time before Martyn Rogers added a fourth at the death.
With Exeter awash with ‘Cup Fever,’ thousands descended on the capital from Devon as the Grecians faced Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals. Things were not to go Exeter’s way, though, as Graham Roberts and Paul Miller scored to win the game 2-0 and end City’s most memorable Cup run. Spurs, incidentally, went on to win the trophy, captained by Exeter’s former director of football Steve Perryman.
Exeter City’s 1981 FA Cup run
(Image: John Ffoulkes)
Now, things are very different as Championship side Oxford United head to St James Park. It might not be the glamour tie many had hoped for when the draw was made, but it does present Exeter with a genuine chance of reaching round four for the first time since that magical run 44 years ago.
“The last round, I sat there with the kids and watched the third round draw and it’s exciting, it’s fun and you just don’t know what might happen,” City’s assistant manager Kevin Nicholson said, ahead of today’s game. “We have to earn the right to get that feeling again.
“There is the magic of the Cup, there is a different feel to it and that is something people need to enjoy, but not the players. The players need to enjoy that after, when they have done their job to the best of their ability and when they have got through to the next round of the Cup.
“That is just the reality of professional sport, who we are and how we need to prepare, but there will be a passion and excitement and a buzz about the place on Saturday and a good crowd there to watch.”
The Grecians have seen off National League Barnet 5-3 and Chesterfield 2-0 to reach the third round and with them lying 14th in the League One standings, then it does feel that the club can have a real crack at a Cup run.
That is not uncommon under manager Gary Caldwell, who led the club to the fourth round of the League Cup last season, beating the then-Premier League side Luton Town en route before succumbing 3-2 to Middlesbrough.
Goal celebrations for Demi Mitchell of Exeter City during the Carabao Cup Round 3 Match between Exeter City and Luton Town at St James Park, Devon on 26 Sep 2023. Photo: Izzy Ninnis/PPAUK
That was City’s best run in that competition since the 1989/90 season and the Grecians will need a similar type of performance to the one that saw them beat the Hatters if they are to prevail today.
“We are familiar with Oxford, obviously we have played them over the last few years and they have a lot of players there that are still involved. They have a new manager, obviously, and have had a little upturn in form over the past few weeks, but the FA Cup is a great leveller.
“We want to feel the excitement, we want to feel the history and we want to know the opportunity that we have got to create more history and more opportunity and to be able to sit and watch that fourth round draw with real excitement. But with all that said and done, we have to real it right back to just making sure that we are ready for what’s coming.
“They are a good team, they have good players and a manager who has been there, seen it and done it, so it’s business as usual for us, but with a whole load of stuff on the outside that you want the fanbase to enjoy and you want to enjoy yourself at some point. The best way to do that is to get a result and beat Oxford.”