The Short Hops

Our return trip to St James Park will occur on Saturday, April 2. 

The Greens have the upper hand in terms of all-time clashes, winning 42 of the century of competitive fixtures between the rival sides. After the Grecians recorded their first double over Argyle in the 2013-14 campaign for over two decades, the Pilgrims came firing back last season, recording two emphatic victories over their old adversary. 

Argyle’s first home game of the 2014-15 season saw them comfortably see off City, first with an excellent Tyler Harvey free kick, before Reuben Reid and Curtis Nelson put the game beyond doubt.

 

Then, in February, the 100th meeting of the sides aptly created some historic achievements, as Argyle secured their first win at St James Park in well over a decade. Defying an Arron Davies goal for the hosts and the controversial sending off of Olly Lee, Reid became the first ever player in a green shirt to score a hat-trick on Exeter’s home turf to earn his side a 3-1 win. 

The Pilgrims will renew acquaintances with Dockyard Derby rivals Portsmouth in our first home league game of the season on Saturday, August 15, with the return fixture at Fratton Park on Saturday, April 16.

Pompey and the Pilgrims both took home victories in their League 2 meetings last season, with the game at Home Park seeing one of the Greens’ most impressive displays of the season – Reuben Reid scoring twice, either side of a Lewis Alessandra goal, to see off the visitors inside of half time. 

Thanks to their promotion to League 2 via the Conference play-offs, Bristol Rovers will once again meet Argyle, beginning at Home Park on Saturday, September 19. We travel to Rovers on Saturday, January 23. 

The Greens have only won one of the last five meetings between the sides but, in 2011, Argyle completed two memorable turnarounds at the Memorial Stadium, coming from 2-0 to win 3-2 in January and December. Bradley Wright-Phillips, Joe Mason and Stephane Zubar were the goal-scorers first time round, before Warren Feeney, Nick Chadwick and Ashley Hemmings repeated the feat 11 months later. 

Yeovil’s second successive relegation means they and Argyle will play in a competitive fixture for the first time in four years, first on Boxing Day at Home Park, then again at Huish Park on Saturday, February 6. 

Paul Sturrock, now the manager of Yeovil, will make his return to Home Park, facing off against the club he guided to promotion from the fourth tier of English football, and laid the groundworks of their promotion to the Championship in 2004, before taking the managerial role at Premier League side Southampton. 

The two-time Argyle manager’s last visit to the club during his stint in charge of Southend United in 2012, when goals from Alex MacDonald and Britt Assombalonga cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw. 

All fixtures are subject to confirmation.