Gary Caldwell believes Exeter’s point at Wigan will only prove to be a good or a bad one if they win their next League One fixture.
The Grecians dug deep to secure a goalless draw at the Brick Community Stadium, as Caldwell and his former Celtic and Scotland colleague Shaun Maloney had to share the spoils.
Caldwell, whose side play Leyton Orient next, said: “I think it will prove to be a positive point if we go on to win our next game on Tuesday.
“I always think when you draw a game of football, if you pick up three points in the next game it becomes a bigger point than if you lose.
“I thought we controlled the game very well. The only thing lacking was a cutting edge, we just didn’t look ourselves in possession, which can happen, but I thought both sides cancelled each other out.
“We set up slightly differently, we knew Wigan would set up aggressively, and try to press with their two centre-backs, but I thought the energy and spirit of the players was very good.
“The clean sheet is always a great starting point, we just needed to add a little bit more in possession in the final third.
“We didn’t look after the ball well enough, we still had moments in the game where we could have scored, we had a lot of set-pieces, but we couldn’t take advantage of those.”
Wigan almost won it at the death when former Exeter centre-back Will Aimson headed James Carragher’s cross towards the top corner, only for Joe Whitworth to pull off a superb save.
“Goalkeepers are there to keep the ball out of the net and – as Roy Keane would say – he’s just doing his job,” smiled Caldwell.
“It was a fantastic save, but it was probably only the fantastic save he had to make in the game. Everything else was pretty much down his throat.
“He’s been brilliant for us in terms of personality and how we can build through him, and use the quality he has with his feet.
“When he was needed, he was there for us and that’s four clean sheets in seven games, which we’re delighted with.”
For Wigan boss Maloney, it was a fourth clean sheet in a row – but a third goalless draw on the spin.
“It’s not easy to get four clean sheets in a row, and I think the whole team has to take credit for that, in terms of how aggressive we are starting with our forward players,” he said.
“Today was quite a hard game, they tried to play without a number nine, meaning our centre-backs had to be really aggressive.
“Defensively we were very good again, but obviously I want the other side as well. I think we can definitely create more chances, but we are creating chances big enough to win games.
“There’s probably frustration there that we didn’t win the game today, because we had enough chances – Silko (Thomas) in the first half, Dale (Taylor) in the second – to do so.
“But credit to their goalkeeper, he produced a brilliant save in the dying seconds to keep us out. I’d probably be more frustrated if we weren’t creating the chances, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
