Exeter City fall into the relegation zone after painful Bolton defeat

It was a painful bump back down to earth for Exeter City after a 2-1 defeat at Bolton Wanderers leaves the Grecians in the Sky Bet League One relegation zone.

City endured a special few days at the start of the week, thrashing Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup to earn a historic tie at Manchester City in the Third Round. This was followed by an important 1-0 win over Wimbledon in the league.

The momentum continued in the early stages at Bolton, as Jack Aitchison pounced on a poor goalkeeper clearance to open the scoring from 40 yards, and City held that lead until 20 minutes from time.

The Grecians had done a great job of resisting the Trotters until substitute Sam Dalby equalised from close range, and City’s pain was compounded when Thierry Gale, another Bolton sub, curled in the winner on 82 minutes.

"I thought the whole team defensively were very clear on how we were going to restrict them and stop them hurting us," manager Gary Caldwell told the City website.

"The game lasts for 90 or 100 minutes now where you have to be at it for every single one of those minutes, and we're just falling short, so we must address this."