Luca Woodhouse’s 94th minute equaliser ensured it finished 2-2 at Reading
22:04, 27 Jan 2026Updated 22:05, 27 Jan 2026
Goal celebrations for Pierce Sweeney Captain of Exeter City after scoring the opening goal during the Sky Bet League 1 match between Reading and Exeter City at Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading on 27 January 2026 (Photo: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)(Image: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)
Exeter City extended their unbeaten run to six after a stoppage-time equaliser away to Reading meant the points were shared.
Pierce Sweeney put the Grecians ahead with 13 minutes played when Reece Cole’s volley from the corner hit the skipper on the heel and bounced in from close range. City were totally on top, but in first-half stoppage-time, Will Keane volleyed in a first goal since his joining in January.
A flat and uneventful second half sprung to life with 15 minutes to go when Paudie O’Connor was unmarked from a free-kick to volley home despite the protestations that the defender was in an offside position.
That looked like being the winner, but in the 94th minute, Exeter drew level through Luca Woodhouse’s first goal for the club when the defender’s deflected effort from the edge of the box made it 2-2.
City dropped down to 11th in the table, but their unbeaten run stretched to six. Reading stayed 13th as their play-off push stalled with the draw.
Gary Caldwell made three changes to the Exeter City side who beat Port Vale 3-1 on Saturday. Carlos Mendes Gomes and Jake Doyle-Hayes both missed out on the squad entirely, thought to be injury related, especially as the Irishman didn’t train on Monday. In came Jack McMillan and Sonny Cox to replace them, while Cole came in for Jack Aitchison in a third change. Johnly Yfeko and Akeel Higgins were back in the squad on the bench.
City fashioned the first chance when Jayden Wareham was left in space down the right, and his cross found Cox, but the flicked effort was turned behind for a corner. The Royals had a better chance shortly after when Jack Marriott got on the end of a cross for Haydon Roberts, but Joe Whitworth was equal to the task and impressively from close range denied the striker.
Goal celebrations for Pierce Sweeney Captain of Exeter City after scoring the opening goal during the Sky Bet League 1 match between Reading and Exeter City at Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading on 27 January 2026 (Photo: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)(Image: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)
Liam Oakes saw a shot deflected behind for a corner on 13 minutes. But from that corner, City went ahead. Ethan Brierley floated the set piece to the back post, Cole smashed it back across goal, and it hit the heel of skipper Sweeney and went in. The captain maybe didn’t know a lot about it, but he celebrated his second of the season in style against the club he started his career at.
The Royals didn’t respond well to going behind as City were pressing high up the field, and only a soft decision given against Cox stopped Oakes from being one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Wareham’s looping header from a Sweeney cross was saved by Joel Pereira as it was the visitors on top.
McMillan squandered a chance from the edge of the box as he dragged wide, before Cole went for goal when he had men in support on the break as the chances were all one-way. However, on the stroke of half-time, Reading levelled. Roberts got down the left and put in a first time cross to an unmarked Keane, on his first start, whose volley went in off the post to make it 1-1 at the break.
Neither manager made a change at half-time, with Caldwell’s side having to put that disappointment of the equaliser behind them and go again. The second half took time to get going with little in the way of chances before Timur Tutierov and Aitchison replaced Cole and Cox just before the hour.
Wareham, desperate for a goal against his former club, saw a volley deflected just wide as it was still Exeter creating the better moments. Yfeko then replaced McMillan who seemed to pick up a recurrence of the calf injury which had affected him at the start of the month, as injuries for both sides saw the contest become very stop-start with all the rhythm lost and little in the way of action.
Goal celebrations for Paudie O’Connor of Reading after scoring their side’s 2nd goal for 2-1 during the Sky Bet League 1 match between Reading and Exeter City at Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading on 27 January 2026 (Photo: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)(Image: Alan Stanford/PPAUK)
Or so was the case until the 75th minute as Leam Richardson’s side went ahead. Lewis Wing swung in a free-kick from deep and O’Connor arrived at the far post unmarked to volley home. The Grecians players furiously appealed for offside, but referee Charles Breakspear and his officials waved the appeals away.
Caldwell made two final changes in response with Ed Turns and Josh Magennis replacing Wareham and Sweeney. But Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan nearly made it three with a powerful strike which Whitworth did well to get down to keep out, and the goalkeeper again was called into action to deny Marriott.
11 minutes were added-on after the series of stoppages in the second half, but City had seemed as if they had run out of ideas and had stopped creating anything, as it was Reading on the offensive, with Wing the next to test Whitworth.
But four minutes into added-on time, Exeter were level in unlikely fashion. Brierley swung a seemingly aimless ball into the box but it was only half cleared to Woodhouse on the edge of the area. He let fly and his first time shot took a wicked deflection to beat Pereira and level things up at 2-2.
Now both sides were going to win it and Ryan Nyambe was perhaps lucky to only be booked for hauling down Tutierov on the break. Ehibhatiomhan was inches away from getting a touch on the cross as the hosts went for the winner as well, while the Ukrainian for City was booked late on a dive in an attempt to win a penalty.
Exeter City are back in action on Saturday when they host Rotherham United at ST James Park.
Exeter City: Joe Whitworth, Pierce Sweeney (Ed Turns, 77), Jack Fitzwater, Luca Woodhouse, Ilmari Niskanen, Jack McMillan (Johnly Yfeko, 65), Ethan Brierley, Liam Oakes, Reece Cole (Jack Aitchison, 58), Sonny Cox (Timur Tutierov, 58), Jayden Wareham (Josh Magennis, 77)
Subs: Jack Bycroft, , Akeel Higgins,
Booking: Woodhouse, Tutierov