MX23RW : Wednesday, December 11 19:27:41| >> :600:194015:194015:
[monks data]
Exeter City
League Two
Jun 29, 2020 at 7.30pm UK
Wembley Stadium
Northampton Town

Exeter
0 - 4
Northampton


Martin (86')
Moxey (59')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Watson (11'), Morton (31'), Hoskins (80'), Williams (89')
Wharton (4'), Watson (54')

Keith Curle: 'Northampton out to nullify Exeter in playoff final'

Keith Curle is seeking a first promotion of his managerial career.

Northampton manager Keith Curle plans to "unturn as many stones" as possible in his quest to defeat Exeter and gain promotion at Wembley.

The Cobblers go into Monday evening's Sky Bet League Two play-off final as slight underdogs having finished seven points below their opponents during the curtailed regular season.

Former England defender Curle hopes his methodical planning can exploit the Grecians' weaknesses and earn him a first promotion of his managerial career.

"We are very respectful in our attention to detail regarding the opposition," said the 56-year-old.

"We've got a way of preparing whereby we show a lot of respect to the opposition, we try and unturn as many stones as we can, (discover) what gets them success.

"We do spend an amount of time on that but also within that we don't alienate our fundamentals of how we can cause them problems.

"It's about getting the balance right. We pay them attention but we also focus on ourselves.

Northampton overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Cheltenham in the play-off semi-finals
Northampton overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Cheltenham in the play-off semi-finals (Mike Egerton/PA)

"What we try and do on a game day is nullify the opposition's strengths and try and exploit their weaknesses."

The two league meetings between the clubs ended in a victory apiece, while both sides should be full of confidence having overturned deficits to win their respective play-off semi-finals.

Northampton stunned Cheltenham with a 3-0 win at Whaddon Road on Monday after losing 2-0 at home in the first leg.

Coronavirus restrictions mean there will be no supporters at the 90,000-seater national stadium, with an army of cardboard cutouts taking up some of the empty space in the stands, including celebrity Town fans Alan Carr and Shaquille O'Neal.

Curle wants his players to concentrate on the match, rather than the occasion, as the Cobblers bid to end a two-season absence from League One.

"The spirit is first class," he said. "Within that there is a focus and a desire to get the job done.

"No matter how many times you have been to Wembley it is a special place to play. We will go there and embrace things after the game but we will be going there to win a game of football.

"Everybody understands we want our supporters with us. That won't be possible on Monday, but they will be with us in spirit, we know that."

ID:404213: cacheID:404213:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:13051:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Shaquille O'Neal pictured in February 2020
Read Next:
Alan Carr, Shaquille O'Neal cardboard cut-outs in Northampton end at Wembley
>
Read more about Keith Curle Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe18124239211840
2Wrexham19124328111740
3Birmingham CityBirmingham17123232161639
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield18112528161235
5Stockport CountyStockport1996431191233
6Reading189453025531
7Bolton WanderersBolton179352827130
8Barnsley197662725227
9Lincoln CityLincoln197662423127
10Mansfield TownMansfield177372222024
11Exeter CityExeter187381619-324
12Charlton AthleticCharlton186571819-123
13Blackpool186572631-523
14Stevenage176471316-322
15Peterborough UnitedPeterborough186393332121
16Leyton Orient186391920-121
17Northampton TownNorthampton195682126-521
18Bristol Rovers186391726-921
19Wigan AthleticWigan185581516-120
20Rotherham UnitedRotherham175571620-420
21Crawley TownCrawley185491728-1119
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge1844101829-1116
23Burton Albion1825111630-1411
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1832131835-1711


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!