Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Exeter City (13th, 61 pts) held a 31-point advantage over Carlisle United (24th, 30 pts). Exeter City had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 5th in the league over the last five rounds against 13th overall. Against a league average of 1.29 goals per team per game, Exeter City ran at 1 scored and 1.33 conceded, Carlisle United at 0.89 and 1.76.
The head-to-head ledger counts 24 games: 12 Exeter City wins, 6 for Carlisle United, 6 draws, at 2.96 goals per meeting. Hosting has counted for little in this fixture — the home side has won only 42% of those meetings. The fixture has tightened lately: 1.6 goals per game over the last five meetings, down from 2.96 all-time.
St James Park in New Castle, capacity 52,350, hosted the game. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 0-0 at the break, before 3 more goals closed it at 2-1.