Matthew Taylor hails Sam Nombe despite Exeter City’s disappointing draw to Walsall

Exeter City manager Matthew Taylor called for his players to take inspiration from Sam Nombe, who scored for a third consecutive match in the Grecians 2-2 draw with the Saddlers.

Exeter were twice pegged back from a goal up as Walsall managed to hold on for a share of the points at St James Park.

The Grecians missed out on an opportunity to move into fourth while a resilient performance from the Saddlers saw them move up into 21st spot, just two point clear of the drop zone.

Timothee Dieng gave the hosts an early lead with a towering header in the fifth minute. However, Walsall responded well and George Miller brought the scores level from the penalty spot in the 37th minute.

Exeter manager Matthew Taylor was clearly distraught at his side’s performance and made two substitutions at the break to swift the momentum back in his team’s favour.

The Grecians were awarded a penalty themselves just three minutes into the second half, however, Matt Jay missed his third spot-kick of the season as his effort rattled off the crossbar.

Nombe did eventually manage to restore the lead for the hosts on the hour mark as the Exeter striker coolly slotted the ball beyond Carl Rushworth.

Yet the lead lasted only 10 minutes as Miller’s glancing header nestled hit the back of the net as the two sides had to settle for a point.

Speaking post-match, Taylor was highly critical of his players and felt Nombe was the only player who could hold his head up high after a fourth draw in six matches for the Grecians.

“We didn’t deserve to win today because there were too many below-par performances, apart from Sam Nombe, I don’t think there was anyone who performed particularly well today.

“Our performances in terms of individuals was below par from too many of them, I thought Sam [Nombe] was excellent and left the rest of the team behind in terms of how he moved us up the pitch with his will and desire and I think he should be an inspiration to the others.

“I couldn’t pick anyone else from our team, he led the line really well, he was a constant threat we just didn’t get him enough service and he was a lone figure at times because the rest of the attacking quartet were poor.

“When the game isn’t quite going your way, you can’t sulk and complain, and at least Nombe gives it absolutely everything and the other players need to show that type of personality when it gets difficult.

“I’ll always be honest with the players and so far we have been okay, but okay is not enough if we want to be successful. We’ve got to start winning games of football and if we want to be close to promotion we’ve got to turn those draws into wins.”

Penalty duty is set to be shifted to Nombe as he strikes again

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Sam Nombe moved his tally to three goals in nine appearances with a brilliant curved run in behind and an equally splendid spinning finish to match.

Overall, the 22-year-old striker has four goal contributions to his name this campaign and the second half displayed the strikers’ football intelligence as Nombe peeled off his defender on numerous occasions and ran the channels tirelessly all match.

The forward had a claim for a penalty dismissed by referee Peter Wright late in the match but manager Taylor hinted that Nombe could take over penalty duty from Exeter’s current top goalscorer, Matt Jay, who failed to convert from the spot once again.

“We trust Matt Jay but it seems as if the keepers have sussed out his technique and he won’t take another penalty unless he is needed to because we’ve got Sam Nombe and others who are ready to step up.”

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