"We've not been a million miles away, but to score the first goal makes a massive difference"

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor believes his side are finally hitting their stride as they look to try and build momentum and keep their climb up the League Two table.

The Grecians head to Colchester United on Saturday on the back of their first away win since January 24 last Saturday at Shrewsbury Town which ended a 15-game winless run. That victory with Sonny Cox's late goal gave the City fans plenty to cheer about and saw them rise up to 14th in the table.

While home form at St James Park has remained a cornerstone for Exeter this season with City unbeaten and having conceded just the one goal on home turf in the league, things had been different on the road with Saturday's win their first away from home this season, and taking three points away from Devon has delivered a massive psychological lift to both the squad and the faithful traveling supporters.

And while City had lost all of their away games this season before the trip to Shropshire, the four in League Two had all been by a single goal margin and all on another day could have gone a different way.

"Look, we've not been that far away," Taylor said. "Every game has been a one-goal difference apart from our home win against Accrington," Taylor said. "We've not been a million miles away, but to score the first goal makes a massive difference. Clean sheets continue to make a big difference, but also a little bit of rhythm and confidence within the group."

That first goal has been vital. The last time Exeter City won a game when conceding the first goal was all the way back on October 28, 2025, when they came from behind three times to beat Arsenal U21s in the EFL Trophy. The last time they did in the league was on April 26, 2025 when they recovered from 1-0 deficit to beat Huddersfield Town. They last time they did it away from home was at Burton Albion on December 21, 2024.

"The pitch always tells you the truth," Taylor added. "The game never lies, and it's a fantastic marker to keep you honest and keep you humble. That's all I ask for the group of players: stay honest and stay humble.

"In the last few fixtures we've produced, we've executed. Our decision making has been much better, our execution has given us more output, and we've looked freer in our game as well. Having success puts the players in a better mental state, but you still need the biggest boost, which is three points and a win."

With ten games into the campaign, Exeter’s defensive base has proved vital, with just the six goals conceded, a record that is only bettered by one other side in the EFL. But the six goals scored in the fourth worst in the EFL, and so City will need to find the net more often.

"That's credit to every single player and staff member as well," Taylor said on the defensive record. "We use the word resilience all the time, and I think we're showing that. We're confident in our defensive structure and we trust it, that's a big word.

"If we can find a way to be such a defensively sound team come the end of the season, we know we'll give ourselves a chance of competing at the right end of the table. But now we know we need to add more to our game than just defensive solidity and defensive strength, and that's in the attacking sense.

"But if you're going to go away from home and then away from home again, you might as well do it on the back of an away win.

"The feeling we had at the end of the game, the feeling we had when Sonny's goal went in, the feeling on the journey home and the days after that, it puts us in a good position.

"But it will still come down to playing well, seeing out the moments, and making sure that we're there with the mentality, the bodies, and the game to win a game of football. If we can't win, we don't lose, but we want another positive performance."

The trip to Colchester is the first of three games City have over the next week, with Crewe Alexandra and then Fleetwood Town coming to St James Park