Exeter 'reaction' praised despite Reading defeat

Finland international Ilmari Niskanen scored his first goal since joining Exeter City in the summer of 2023

Exeter City's players showed an 'outstanding' reaction to being 2-0 down in their 2-1 loss to Reading, according to manager Gary Caldwell.

The Grecians conceded inside the first minute before Michael Craig added what proved to be the decisive goal nine minutes before half-time.

Ilmari Niskanen pulled a goal back after the break and later hit the post as the Grecians created a host of chances to score again without doing so.

The loss for Exeter was their first for more than a month and it was the first time they had conceded a goal in seven games in all competitions.

"I thought we were outstanding in the reaction we showed to being 2-0 down," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon.

"I thought it was a big test for us to see where we are as a group and as a team and what our character and our play looked like second half.

"I thought we answered a lot of questions, but when you give yourself that much of a mountain to climb it's never easy and you need everything to go your way in the second half and it didn't.

"That's football, we've had that go our way in recent games, it didn't tonight, but the players can take a lot of credit from their second half performance."