2017–18 Exeter City F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was Exeter City's 116th year in existence and their sixth consecutive season in League Two, where they finished in fourth place. The Grecians progressed to and lost their second consecutive promotion play-off final^[1][2] City progressed to the third round of the FA Cup after beating 8th-tier Heybridge Swifts in the first round, and fellow League Two side Forest Green Rovers in a second round replay. Exeter were knocked out in the third round by Premier League side West Bromwich Albion.^[3] The Grecians were knocked out of the EFL Cup in the first round, losing at home to Charlton Athletic,^[4] and were also eliminated in the regionalised first round (group stage) of the EFL Trophy, finishing bottom of Southern Group D.^[5]

Exeter City

2017–18 season
Owner	Exeter City Supporters' Trust
Chairman	Julian Tagg
Manager	Paul Tisdale
Stadium	St James Park
League Two	4th (lost play-off final)
FA Cup	Eliminated in Third Round by West Bromwich Albion
EFL Cup	Eliminated in First Round by Charlton
EFL Trophy	Eliminated in Group Stage
Top goalscorer	League: Jayden Stockley (20 goals) All: Jayden Stockley (25 goals)
Highest home attendance	5,645 (17 May 2018, vs. Lincoln City)
Lowest home attendance	1,294 (28 November 2017, vs. Chelsea under-21)
Average home league attendance	4,072
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2016–17 2018–19 →
All statistics correct as of 28 May 2018.

The season covers the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017	CB		Luke Croll	Crystal Palace	Free transfer	[6]
1 July 2017	LB		Dean Moxey	Bolton Wanderers	Free transfer	[7]
1 August 2017	CF		Ryan Brunt	Free agent	Free transfer	[8]
31 August 2017	CF		Jayden Stockley	Aberdeen	Undisclosed	[9]
31 August 2017	DM		Hiram Boateng	Crystal Palace	Free transfer	[10]
1 December 2017	CB		Danny Seaborne	Free agent	Free transfer	[11]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017	CM		Tom McCready	AFC Fylde	Released	[12][a]
1 July 2017	CF		Joel Grant	Plymouth Argyle	Free transfer	[14]
1 July 2017	DM		Matt Oakley	Retired as player, became assistant manager		[15]
1 July 2017	GK		Bobby Olejnik	Mansfield Town	Released	[12][b]
1 July 2017	RB		Connor Riley-Lowe	Truro City	Released	[12][c]
1 July 2017	CF		Ryan Swan	Cabinteely	Released	[12][d]
1 July 2017	DM		Ethan Ampadu	Chelsea	Fee to be agreed	[19]
18 July 2017	CF		Ollie Watkins	Brentford	Undisclosed (over £1.75 million)	[20]
31 August 2017	RM		David Wheeler	Queens Park Rangers	Undisclosed	[21]
20 October 2017	CF		Jamie Reid	Torquay United	Free transfer	[22]
1 January 2018	CB		Toby Down	Taunton Town	Free transfer	[23]
5 January 2018	CF		Reuben Reid	Forest Green Rovers	Undisclosed	[24]

Loans in

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
31 August 2017	RB		Kane Wilson	West Bromwich Albion	January 2018	[25]
31 August 2017	CF		Kyle Edwards	West Bromwich Albion	January 2018	[26]
4 January 2018	GK		Paul Jones	Norwich City	30 June 2018	[27]
22 January 2018	CF		Ryan Loft	Tottenham Hotspur	30 June 2018	[28]

Loans out

Note: this section may be inaccurate, due to incomplete information released by the club about loans out.

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
1 July 2017	CF		Jamie Reid	Torquay United	20 October 2017[e]	[30]
4 July 2017	CB		Toby Down	Weymouth	31 December 2017	[31]
10 July 2017	CB		Kyle Egan	Dorchester Town	Unknown	[32]
10 July 2017	CM		Jordan Storey	Dorchester Town	October 2017[f]	[32]
14 July 2017	LB		Alex Hartridge	Truro City	30 June 2018	[34]
18 July 2017	FW		Ben Seymour	Weston-super-Mare	28 September 2017	[35]
7 August 2017	FW		Archie Collins	Weston-super-Mare	7 October 2017	[36]
August 2017	FW		Max Smallcombe	Bideford	Unknown	[37]
October 2017	FW		Ben Seymour	Bideford	January 2018	[37]
18 December 2017	FW		Archie Collins	Dorchester Town	18 February 2018	[38]
4 January 2018	GK		James Hamon	Gloucester City	April 2018	[39]
19 January 2018	RB		Sam Haynes	Barnstaple Town	19 February 2018	[40]
22 January 2018	FW		Joel Randall	Taunton Town	Unknown	[41]
31 January 2018	CM		Josh Key	Bideford	Unknown	[42]

1. McCready joined AFC Fylde following his release.^[13]
2. Olejnik joined Mansfield Town following his release.^[16]
3. Riley-Lowe joined Truro City following his release.^[17]
4. Ryan Swan joined Cabinteely following his release.^[18]
5. Reid was originally going to remain on loan until January 2018, but was released by Exeter City on 20 October 2017 and immediately joined Torquay on a permanent basis.^[29]
6. Storey was recalled from his loan in late October 2017.^[33]

Pre-season

Exeter City played five pre-season fixtures in July 2017, all away from home at teams based in Somerset and Dorset. The club's pre-season schedule began with a trip to Twerton Park, where they faced off against Bath City for the Brian Lomax SD Cup – an annual fixture held between two supporter-owned clubs.^[43]

There were no pre-season friendlies at St James Park due to redevelopment work taking place over the summer.^[44]

Brian Lomax SD Cup

Bath City v Exeter City

14 July 2017	Bath City	0–2	Exeter City	Bath, Somerset, England
19:30 BST		Report	Taylor 72' Harley 74'	Stadium: Twerton Park Attendance: 330

Friendlies

Weymouth v Exeter City

18 July 2017	Weymouth	1–0	Exeter City	Weymouth, Dorset, England
19:30 BST	McCarthy 5'	Report		Stadium: Bob Lucas Stadium Attendance: 412

Taunton Town v Exeter City

20 July 2017	Taunton Town	0–3	Exeter City	Taunton, Somerset, England
19:45 BST		Report	Harvey (trailist) 18' McAlinden 72' Brunt (trialist) 85'	Stadium: Viridor Stadium Attendance: 1,073

Poole Town v Exeter City

25 July 2017	Poole Town	2–0	Exeter City	Poole, Dorset, England
19:30 BST	Burbridge 14' Balmer 90'	Report		Stadium: Tatnam Ground Attendance: 285

Dorchester Town v Exeter City

29 July 2017	Dorchester Town	1–6	Exeter City	Dorchester, Dorset, England
15:00 BST	Trialist 86'	Report	Wheeler 24' Reid 28' Taylor 44' James 53' Sweeney 67' Sparkes 82'	Stadium: Avenue Stadium

Competitions

League Two

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
2	Luton Town (P)	46	25	13	8	94	46	+48	88	Promotion to EFL League One
3	Wycombe Wanderers (P)	46	24	12	10	79	60	+19	84
4	Exeter City	46	24	8	14	64	54	+10	80	Qualification for League Two play-offs[a]
5	Notts County	46	21	14	11	71	48	+23	77
6	Coventry City (O, P)	46	22	9	15	64	47	+17	75

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:

1. Four teams play for one spot and promotion to EFL League One.

Matches

The fixtures for the 2017–18 season were announced on 21 June 2017.^[45]

August

Exeter City v Cambridge United

5 August 2017 (2017-08-05) 1	Exeter City	1–0	Cambridge United	Exeter
15:00 BST	Reid 5'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,282 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Swindon Town v Exeter City

12 August 2017 (2017-08-12) 2	Swindon Town	1–1	Exeter City	Swindon
15:00 BST	Woolery 56'	Report	McAlinden 27'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,795 (807 away) Referee: Darren Drysdale

Exeter City v Lincoln City

19 August 2017 (2017-08-19) 3	Exeter City	1–0	Lincoln City	Exeter
15:00 BST	Reid 42'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,980 Referee: Craig Hicks

Cheltenham Town v Exeter City

26 August 2017 (2017-08-26) 4	Cheltenham Town	3–4	Exeter City	Cheltenham
15:00 BST	Dawson 8', 12' Holman 90+1'	Report	Moore-Taylor 39' Reid 45+1', 77' (pen.) Taylor 78'	Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 3,168 (774 away) Referee: Anthony Backhouse

September

Exeter City v Newport County

2 September 2017 (2017-09-02) 5	Exeter City	1–0	Newport County	Exeter
15:00 BST	Holmes 57'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,193 Referee: John Brookes

Forest Green Rovers v Exeter City

9 September 2017 (2017-09-09) 6	Forest Green Rovers	1–3	Exeter City	Nailsworth
15:00 BST	Mullings 75'	Report	Sweeney 4' Reid 18', 53'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 2,909 (817 away) Referee: Robert Lewis

Barnet v Exeter City

12 September 2017 (2017-09-12) 7	Barnet	1–2	Exeter City	Edgware
20:00 BST	Coulthirst 48'	Report	Reid 78' Stockley 90+4'	Stadium: The Hive Attendance: 1,605 (376 away) Referee: Graham Horwood

Exeter City v Crewe Alexandra

16 September 2017 8	Exeter City	3–0	Crewe Alexandra	Exeter
15:00 BST	Tillson 7' Taylor 38', 76'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,218 Referee: Anthony Coggins

Coventry City v Exeter City

23 September 2017 9	Coventry City	2–0	Exeter City	Coventry
15:00 BST	Brown 58' (o.g.) Kelly-Evans 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Ricoh Arena Attendance: 8,340 (1,221 away) Referee: Robert Jones

Exeter City v Notts County

26 September 2017 10	Exeter City	0–3	Notts County	Exeter
19:45 BST		Report	Alessandra 2' Grant 61', 82'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,760 Referee: Kevin Johnson

Exeter City v Morecambe

30 September 2017 11	Exeter City	4–1	Morecambe	Exeter
15:00 BST	Brown 20' Stockley 24', 45+6' Moxey 48'	Report	Oliver 38'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,651 Referee: Brett Huxtable

October

Carlisle United v Exeter City

7 October 2017 12	Carlisle United	0–1	Exeter City	Carlisle
15:00 BST		Report	Sweeney 49'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 4,677 (233 away) Referee: Eddie Ilderton

Wycombe Wanderers v Exeter City

14 October 2017 13	Wycombe Wanderers	0–0	Exeter City	High Wycombe
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Adams Park Attendance: 5,006 (500 away) Referee: Robert Jone

Exeter City v Luton Town

17 October 2017 14	Exeter City	1–4	Luton Town	Exeter
19:45 BST	Taylor 21'	Report	Collins 8' Potts 46' Hylton 52' Cornick 55'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,209 Referee: James Linington

Exeter City v Port Vale

21 October 2017 15	Exeter City	0–1	Port Vale	Exeter
15:00 BST		Report	Pope 25'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,258 Referee: Craig Hicks

Mansfield Town v Exeter City

28 October 2017 16	Mansfield Town	1–1	Exeter City	Mansfield
15:00 BST	Hemmings 18'	Report	Holmes 86'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 3,608 (360 away) Referee: Anthony Backhouse

November

Exeter City v Grimsby Town

11 November 2017 17	Exeter City	2–0	Grimsby Town	Exeter
15:00 UTC	Stockley 29' McAlinden 53'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,854 Referee: Dean Whitestone

Chesterfield v Exeter City

18 November 2017 18	Chesterfield	1–0	Exeter City	Chesterfield
15:00 UTC	Dennis 50'	Report		Stadium: Proact Stadium Attendance: 5,195 (322 away) Referee: Martin Coy

Crawley Town v Exeter City

21 November 2017 19	Crawley Town	3–1	Exeter City	Crawley
19:45 UTC	Payne 34' (pen.) Roberts 60', 81'	Report	Moxey 23'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 1,580 (321 away) Referee: Andy Haines

Exeter City v Accrington Stanley

25 November 2017 20	Exeter City	2–0	Accrington Stanley	Exeter
15:00 UTC	Boateng 45+2' Sweeney 86' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,569 Referee: John Brooks

December

Colchester United v Exeter City

9 December 2017 21	Colchester United	3–1	Exeter City	Colchester
15:00 UTC	James 23' (o.g.) Szmodics 26' (pen.), 30'	Report	Stockley 62'	Stadium: Weston Homes Community Stadium Attendance: 3,049 (278 away) Referee: Darren Drysdale

Exeter City v Stevenage

16 December 2017 22	Exeter City	2–1	Stevenage	Exeter
15:00 UTC	James 53' Sweeney 71'	Report	Godden 80'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,448 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Yeovil Town v Exeter City

23 December 2017 23	Yeovil Town	3–1	Exeter City	Yeovil
15:00 UTC	Gray 41' Zoko 47' Surridge 88' (pen.)	Report	Stockley 85'	Stadium: Huish Park Attendance: 4,834 (1,506 away) Referee: Lee Swabey

Exeter City v Forest Green Rovers

26 December 2017	Exeter City	Abandoned	Forest Green Rovers	Exeter
15:00 UTC				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,107 Referee: Brett Huxtable

Exeter City v Barnet

30 December 2017 24	Exeter City	2–1	Barnet	Exeter
15:00 UTC	Wilson 30' Taylor 90+1'	Report	Watson 69'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,869 Referee: Kevin Johnson

January

Newport County v Exeter City

1 January 2018 25	Newport County	2–1	Exeter City	Newport, Wales
15:00 UTC	Amond 6' Willmott 66'	Report	Stockley 52'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,318 (499 away) Referee: Graham Horwood

Exeter City v Coventry City

13 January 2018 26	Exeter City	1–0	Coventry City	Exeter
15:00 UTC	Harley 7'	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,219 Referee: Ben Toner

Notts County v Exeter City

20 January 2018 27	Notts County	1–2	Exeter City	Nottingham
15:00 UTC	Stead 73' (pen.)	Report	Taylor 8' Stockley 42'	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 6,677 (428 away) Referee: Antony Coggins

Exeter City v Forest Green Rovers

31 January 2018 28	Exeter City	2–0	Forest Green Rovers	Exeter
19:45 UTC	Stockley 51' Sweeney 57' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,382 Referee: Brett Huxtable

February

Luton Town v Exeter City

3 February 2018 29	Luton Town	1–0	Exeter City	Luton
15:00 UTC	Cornick 38'	Report		Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 8,788 (464 away) Referee: Andy Woolmer

Exeter City v Wycombe Wanderers

10 February 2018 30	Exeter City	1–1	Wycombe Wanderers	Exeter
15:00 GMT	James 12'  90+3' Sweeney  61' Holmes  64'	Report	Bean 53'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,956 Referee: Steve Martin

Port Vale v Exeter City

13 February 2018	Port Vale	Postponed	Exeter City	Burslem
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Vale Park

Exeter City v Mansfield Town

17 February 2018 31	Exeter City	0–1	Mansfield Town	Exeter
15:00 GMT	Kane Wilson  44' Harley  85' Moxey  90+5'	Report	Rose 38'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,680 Referee: Christopher Sarginson

Crewe Alexandra v Exeter City

20 February 2018 32	Crewe Alexandra	1–2	Exeter City	Crewe
19:45 GMT	Miller  67', 88' Raynes  78'	Report	Stockley  78', 90+5' Pym  89' Moore-Taylor 90+2'	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 3,081 Referee: Ben Toner

Grimsby Town v Exeter City

24 February 2018 33	Grimsby Town	0–1	Exeter City	Cleethorpes
15:00 GMT	Dixon  73'	Report	Stockley 37' (pen.) Wilson  68'  81' Moore-Taylor  79'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 4,151 Referee: Andy Haines

March

Exeter City v Carlisle United

10 March 2018 34	Exeter City	1–1	Carlisle United	Exeter
15:00 GMT	Moxey 42'	Report	Joyce  20' Liddle  40' Nadesan 64'	Stadium: St. James Park Attendance: 3,488 Referee: John Busby

Exeter City v Yeovil Town

13 March 2018 35	Exeter City	0–0	Yeovil Town	Exeter
19:45 GMT	Harley  81'	Report	Green  43' Donnellan  72'	Stadium: St. James Park Attendance: 3,913 Referee: Keith Stroud

Morecambe v Exeter City

17 March 2018 36	Morecambe	2–1	Exeter City	Morecambe
15:00 GMT	McGowan  36' Lavelle 43' Rose 78'	Report	Sweeney 37' Moxey  45+2'	Stadium: Globe Arena Attendance: 1,056 Referee: Carl Boyeson

Port Vale v Exeter City

20 March 2018 (2018-03-20) 37	Port Vale	0–1	Exeter City	Burslem
19:45 GMT	Hannant  65'	Report	Storey 24'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,138 Referee: Dean Whitestone

Exeter City v Swindon Town

24 March 2018 38	Exeter City	3–1	Swindon Town	Exeter
15:00 GMT	Moxey  12' Taylor 33' Sweeney 44' (pen.) Stockley 87'	Report	Woolery 27' Taylor  45' Robertson  90+1'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,567 Referee: Lee Collins

Lincoln City v Exeter City

30 March 2018 39	Lincoln City	3–2	Exeter City	Lincoln
15:00 BST	Rowe 60' Green 62' Palmer 86',  87'	Report	Stockley 10' Taylor 78' Simpson  90'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 9,785 Referee: Tom Nield

April

Exeter City v Cheltenham Town

2 April 2018 40	Exeter City	2–1	Cheltenham Town	Exeter
	Simpson 42' Storey 81'	Report	Winchester 37' Chatzitheodoridis  68'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,420 Referee: Charles Breakspear

Cambridge United v Exeter City

7 April 2018 41	Cambridge United	2–3	Exeter City	Cambridge
15:00 BST	Ibehre 42' Maris 67'	Report	Stockley 59' Jay 84' Taylor 87'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 4,054 Referee: Martin Coy

Accrington Stanley v Exeter City

14 April 2018 42	Accrington Stanley	1–1	Exeter City	Accrington
15:00 BST	Jackson 38' Conneely  80'	Report	Stockley 21'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 3,135 Referee: Oilver Langford

Exeter City v Chesterfield

17 April 2018 43	Exeter City	2–1	Chesterfield	Exeter
19:45 BST	Taylor  27' Stockley 39' Whitmore 74' (o.g.)	Report	Kellett 84' Rowley  90+5'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,560 Referee: Brendan Malone

Exeter City v Crawley Town

21 April 2018 44	Exeter City	2–2	Crawley Town	Exeter
15:00 BST	Stockley 42', 57' James  72' Wilson  73'	Report	Boldewijn 29',  64' Young  65' Yorwerth 66'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,998 Referee: Antony Coggins

Stevenage v Exeter City

28 April 2018 45	Stevenage	3–1	Exeter City	Stevenage
15:00 BST	Revell 14', 31', 49' Godden  41' Georgiou  90+5'	Report	Croll  40' Moxey  44' Sweeney 78' (pen.)	Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 3,399 Referee: Dean Whitestone

May

Exeter City v Colchester United

5 May 2018 46	Exeter City	1–0	Colchester United	Exeter
15:00 BST	Simpson 71'	Report	Gondoh  33' Szomdics 60'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,615 Referee: Charles Breakspear

League Two play-offs

Lincoln City v Exeter City

12 May 2018 Semi final (1st leg)	Lincoln City	0–0	Exeter City	Lincoln
15:00 BST	Palmer  90'	Report		Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 9,509 Referee: Ben Toner

Exeter City v Lincoln City

17 May 2018 Semi final (2nd leg)	Exeter City	3–1 (3–1 agg.)	Lincoln City	Exeter
19:45 BST	Stockley 27',  89' Boateng 47' Harley 69' Moxey  90'	Report	Eardley  18' Green 78' Bostwick  83'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 5,645 Referee: Darren England

Coventry City v Exeter City

28 May 2018 Final	Coventry City	3–1	Exeter City	London
15:00 BST	Willis 49' Shipley 54' Grimmer 68'	Report	Edwards 89'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 50,196 Referee: David Webb

FA Cup

On 16 October 2017, the Grecians were drawn at home to Heybridge Swifts in the first round of the FA Cup.^[46]

City eventually overcame the Swifts 3–1 with all the goals being scored in the final 45 minutes after an uneventful first half. Jayden Stockley scored a quick brace before Heybridges' Sam Bantick scored a consolation. Liam McAlinden then sealed the win for Exeter in the 86th minute.^[47] The following day, the Grecians were drawn away to Forest Green Rovers for the second round.^[48]

Prolific goalscorer Christian Doidge netted for Rovers after 26 minutes, the only goal in the first half. Grecians skipper Jordan Moore-Taylor equalised in the 58th minute and Jayden Stockley scored not long after to give City a 2–1 lead. However, Forest Green equalised through Scott Laird in the 88th minute and Doidge scored again in the 92nd to turn the game on its head. To make the game's conclusion even more dramatic, Stockley scored his second goal in the 94th minute as the match finished 3–3.^[49]

The Grecians achieved an incredible comeback from a goal and a man down to triumph 2–1 in the replay to set a Third Round tie against Premier League side West Bromwich Albion. Forest Green had opened the scoring with a 30th-minute penalty scored by Christian Doidge. City were down to ten men after 63 minutes due to Jordan Tillson's second yellow card. However, Rovers conceded a penalty only ten minutes later and Pierce Sweeney converted. The score was 1–1 at the end of 90 minutes, and the next significant event was a second sending off, this time the culprit being Rovers defender Manny Monthé, leaving both teams with ten men. Jayden Stockley scored the winner in the 115th minute, netting his 11th goal of the season.^[50]

City's third round tie against West Bromwich Albion started very poorly, conceding after only 75 seconds after Christy Pym failed to keep Salomón Rondón's long-distance shot out. The Baggies scored again in the 25th minute through Jay Rodriguez. The BBC match report attributed both goals to mistakes by Danny Seaborne.^[51][3]

Exeter City v Heybridge Swifts

5 November 2017 1st round	Exeter City	3–1	Heybridge Swifts	Exeter
14:00 UTC	Stockley 59', 63' McAlinden 86'	Report	Bantick 70'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,004 Referee: Neil Hair

Forest Green Rovers v Exeter City

2 December 2017 2nd round	Forest Green Rovers	3–3	Exeter City	Nailsworth
15:00 UTC	Doidge 26', 90+2' Laird 88'	Report	Moore-Taylor 58' Stockley 64', 90+4'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 2,250 (897 away) Referee: Gavin Ward

Exeter City v Forest Green Rovers

12 December 2017 Replay	Exeter City	2–1	Forest Green Rovers	Exeter
19:45 GMT	Sweeney 73' (pen.) Stockley 115'	Report	Doidge 30' (pen.)	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2,923 Referee: Charles Breakspear

Exeter City v West Bromwich Albion

6 January 2018 Third round	Exeter City	0–2	West Bromwich Albion	Exeter
15:00 GMT		Report	Rondón 2' Rodriguez 25'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 5,638 Referee: Lee Mason

EFL Cup

On 16 June 2017, Exeter City were drawn at home to Charlton Athletic in the first round of the EFL Cup.^[52] Lee Holmes opened the scoring for the Grecians after 54 minutes by netting a free kick. However, goals by Billy Clarke and Regan Charles-Cook saw the Reds eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2014.^[4]

Exeter City v Charlton Athletic

8 August 2017 First round	Exeter City	1–2	Charlton Athletic	Exeter
19:45 BST	Holmes 54'	Report	Clarke 72' Charles-Cook 79'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2,699 Referee: Tim Robinson

EFL Trophy

City were placed in the Southern Group D, alongside the other two southwesternmost EFL League One and Two teams Plymouth Argyle and Yeovil Town. The Chelsea F.C. Academy was announced to be the other side in the group. On 13 July 2017, it was revealed that the Grecians would play Chelsea and Yeovil Town at home and Plymouth Argyle away.^[53]

City began with a 3–1 loss at home to Yeovil Town, when City failed to repeat the heroics of the previous season against the same opposition by coming back from 3–0 down, with just the consolation goal from Jack Sparkes, his first in professional football.^[54] The Grecians' second match of the group stage took place at Plymouth's Home Park, where they lost 5–3 on penalties to the Pilgrims after a 2–2 draw.^[55] City's elimination was confirmed after a 3–1 loss at home to Chelsea under-21s.^[5]

Table

Pos	Lge	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Yeovil Town (Q)	3	2	1	0	0	6	3	+3	8	Round 2
2	ACA	Chelsea U21 (Q)	3	1	0	2	0	6	4	+2	5
3	L1	Plymouth Argyle (E)	3	0	2	0	1	5	6	−1	4
4	L2	Exeter City (E)	3	0	0	1	2	4	8	−4	1

Updated to match(es) played on 28 November 2017. Source: EFL.com
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Results

Exeter City v Yeovil Town

29 August 2017 Group stage	Exeter City	1–3	Yeovil Town	Exeter
19:45 BST	Sparkes 80'	Report	Surridge 49' Browne 75' Khan 78'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 1,509

Plymouth Argyle v Exeter City

3 October 2017 Group stage	Plymouth Argyle	2–2 (5–3 p)	Exeter City	Plymouth
19:45 BST	Ryan Edwards 19' Blissett 75'	Report	McAlinden 13' Kyle Edwards 70'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 3,800 (286 away)
	Penalties
	Wylde Jervis Sarcevic Lameiras Çiftçi		James Jay Sweeney Taylor

Exeter City v Chelsea U-21

28 November 2017 Group stage	Exeter City	1–3	Chelsea U-21	Exeter
19:45 UTC	Reid 7'	Report	Hudson-Odoi 29' James 68' Grant 83'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 1,294