Barnsley 1 Exeter City 2: Jack Aitchison haunts former club as Grecians end Reds run

The Reds had not tasted defeat in League One since November but paid the price for a lacklustre first-half display against the Grecians. Former Reds frontman Jack Aitchison came back to haunt his old employers with the opener before Reece Cole doubled the lead with a stunning strike.

Mael de Gevigney struck late on but his header proved to be a mere consolation for the hosts.

Exeter entered the encounter as underdogs but it was the Grecians who spent the entirety of the first half on the front foot. Barnsley, meanwhile, barely laid a glove on the visitors in the opening 45 minutes.

Liam Roberts was called into action to push a Cole free-kick round the post early on, before having to beat away a bullet header from Vincent Harper.

The visitors were soon rewarded for their early pressure when a Barnsley clearance looped up in the air rather than away from danger. Former Barnsley forward Aitchison reacted quickly in the box to gather possession and fire beyond Roberts.

Exeter did not ease off the gas after taking the lead, instead opting to continue taking the game to Barnsley. Aitchison almost doubled his tally after bringing the ball down beautifully and surging into the box, but saw his effort blocked.

The lead was then doubled in stylish fashion, when Cole unleashed a curling effort from distance that rendered a stretching Roberts helpless.

Exeter continued to cut through Barnsley like a knife through butter, circumventing the Reds defence with relative ease. Harper found himself in space on the left-hand side of the box but was denied by Roberts at close range.

A deft backheel then set Sonny Cox through on goal, but the Grecians forward clipped the post when he should really have had the net bulging.

Boos rang out as the half-time whistle and it was difficult to argue the discontent in the stands was not justified.

The Reds emerged from the break with some newfound gusto and had an early opportunity to put Exeter on the ropes. A punt from Roberts was flicked by Sam Cosgrove into the path of McAtee, who was thwarted by Viljami Sinisalo between the Exeter sticks.

Urgency continued to creep into Barnsley’s game, even if they did not appear particularly slick in the final third. Devante Cole capitalised on a mix-up in the Exeter defence to race through on goal, but took the ball wide before being denied from a tight angle.

Barely a minute later, Adam Phillips rattled the crossbar with a thunderous effort with pressure on Exeter growing. Cosgrove then had a golden opportunity to score when he was found by Nicky Cadden, but the substitute steered wide.

The tide continued to turn in Barnsley’s favour but Grecians stopper Sinisalo proved tough to beat. McAtee did have the ball in the back of the net after latching on to a floated ball over the top, but the offside flag was raised.

Cosgrove was afforded another chance when he was teed up by Cole, but rifled over the crossbar to the delight of the travelling supporters.

Barnsley did eventually pull one back through de Gevigney, who stooped to guide a header past Sinisalo.

However, Exeter battled to survive Barnsley’s rally and clinch three points, giving themselves some breathing space in the battle to avoid the drop.