Exeter City 0-1 Plymouth Argyle: Pilgrims go top of League One after Devon derby win

Former Plymouth defender Will Aimson deflected Matt Butcher's effort into his own net

Matt Butcher's second-half goal saw Plymouth Argyle beat fierce Devon rivals Exeter City to go back to the top of League One.

A tense first half saw Demetri Mitchell have an early shot saved by Argyle keeper Callum Burton, while Finn Azaz went close for the visitors.

Butcher's effort, after a pass from Niall Ennis from a short corner, deflected off former Argyle defender Will Aimson to leave keeper Jamal Blackman with no chance of saving it.

The win sees Argyle moves to the top of the League One table, two points clear of rivals Sheffield Wednesday with Ipswich Town four points behind before their games later on Saturday.

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher made six changes with attackers Niall Ennis, Sam Cosgrove and Finn Azaz all coming in after the 2-0 defeat by Lincoln on Monday, while Exeter were buoyed by the return from injury of Jay Stansfield.

The game had the feel of a local derby from the first whistle - Exeter's Kegs Chauke was booked after a nasty-looking challenge on Jordan Houghton after just 90 seconds, as both sides fought to gain control.

Plymouth keeper Callum Burton made a 10th-minute save from Demetri Mitchell, after a pull-back from the industrious Jay Stansfield, while the Fulham loanee was put through soon after but could not get the ball out from under his feet under pressure from the Argyle defence.

The game began to get more and more niggly as the half wore on - Argyle had a decent penalty appeal turned down when Piers Sweeney collided with Saxon Earley after 28 minutes, while Azaz had Argyle's first decent chance two minutes later which was blocked by Aimson.

Azaz curled an effort just wide of the post a minute after restart, while Sam Nombe almost pounced on a mix-up between James Wilson and Burton five minutes later.

But Butcher broke the deadlock to send the packed away end at St James Park into raptures and ensure they ended the day in the automatic promotion places with five games to play.

Having brought on top scorer Ryan Hardie and fellow attacker Callum Wright, Argyle upped the pressure as Exeter began to chase the game.

City substitute James Scott blasted over from the edge of the box with five minutes left after beating a couple of defenders, but the Pilgrims held out to record a league double over Exeter - having won 4-2 at Home Park on 31 October.

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell told BBC Sport:

"I thought we were the better team, I thought we were in control, they totally changed the way they played, they didn't once pass the ball out through the back, they played very direct.

"They tried to play football that takes the anxiety off the team and puts the defenders under less pressure and we knew that before the game - they'd lost two in a row and are going for promotion, and we were ready for that sort of challenge.

"I thought we defended well, we could have maybe passed a bit better when we won the ball back, we were a bit eager at times to go forward when I think it was there for us to play more controlled football.

"But we created the better chances, I didn't feel under any threat from what their gameplan was, the only thing that was going to kill us was a mistake, switching off, or a set-piece, and that naivety is the one thing we have to learn, we have to be better in big games to understand that if we can't win the game we definitely don't lose the game."

Plymouth Argyle manager Steve Schumacher told BBC Sport:

"I'm absolutely buzzing with the win.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough game, we didn't think it was going to be the type of game that was too free-flowing and was going to be a battle, and for the first 45 minutes that was what it was like.

"But second half we managed to get ourselves in front and did the business, which is the most important thing.

"Coming into a derby game it's important not to lose, but to go away from here with three points feels special."