Exeter's Francis 'surprised' by goalscoring form

Ed Francis has scored as many goals in his first six Exeter City games as he did all last season for Gateshead in the National League

Midfielder Ed Francis says he is "surprised" by his sudden goalscoring form for Exeter City.

The 25-year-old, who moved to the League One side from National League club Gateshead in the summer, has scored in each of his past three Grecians appearances.

Francis netted from close range to give City an early lead as they beat Stevenage 2-0 on Saturday to claim their third win in six League One matches.

"I think it's a really positive surprise," said Francis, who also scored at Blackpool last week and in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy win over Swindon on 3 September.

"If I can add that to my game it's something that I want to [do].

"Goalscoring midfielders are hard to come by, so if I can keep scoring, keep playing and keep doing well then positive things should come."

The win moved Exeter into 11th place in League One and came a week after a heart-breaking late loss away at Blackpool where City conceded in stoppage time after Francis' 88th-minute equaliser.

That is their only defeat in their past four games in all competitions, and manager Gary Caldwell says he is impressed with how his side are coming together.

"I believe in the potential of this group," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon.

"I think of the journey we've been on since I've been at the club, to win a game as comfortably as we did, playing at probably six out of 10, shows the progress we're making at this level, the understanding of this level.

"I said to the players before the game 'think how we felt in the 94th minute last week and the journey you have to go through to get to the end of this game with a different feeling', and the players were superb in that process.

"The ownership they took on Tuesday, the discussions that we had and the learning that we tried to take from that game, I thought they carried into the game today.

"But I still think we can be better which is a great thing having won 2-0."