Twelfth Derby Atmosphere Dozen Faze Nelse

ARGYLE captain Curtis Nelson will remind his team-mates – should, indeed, they need reminding...

...of the old adage about playing the game and not the occasion before Saturday’s Devon Expressway Derby at Exeter.

With seven games of the Sky Bet League 2 season left to play, Nelse and his Argyle team-mates currently occupy the third of the division’s three automatic promotion slots – quite a time to be heading up the Devon Expressway to be facing their nearest and not so dearest.

“It’s an occasion I enjoy,” said Curtis, who will be making it a round dozen of derby appearances against City this weekend, “but it’s just another game and it’s a game we need to go and win at this stage of the season – it doesn’t matter who it’s against or what the occasion is. 

“For the fans, it means quite a lot and, from the players’ point of view, we know what it means to the fans. We need to go out there and win the game.

“Every time we play Exeter, it’s always ramped up; the fans get behind you, and it’s always a good feeling. It shows the support we get from the fans and from the rest of the city; it’s good to have that support behind us."

Nelse’s record against Exeter is a mixed bag, with four wins, a couple of draws and five defeats, including one at Home Park in this season’s reverse league fixture at Home Park. 

He said: “It was pretty disappointing because we didn’t take the three points we needed; we need to come back on Saturday and get the win." 

Not just to get one over the old enemy, either. For all the complicated calculations about who might or might not win promotion, the equation for Argyle is, at the moment, quite simple.

“We just have to win seven out of seven,” said Nelse.

“It’s pressure but, at the end of the day, you have to deal with it and just do your job.”

NELSE’S DERBIES

2010-2011
Nov 9 JPT (H) L 1-2
Dec 11 L1 (H) W 2-0 
Apr 30 L1 (A) L 0-1

2011-2012
Aug 30 JPT (A) D 1-1*

2012-2013
Dec 15 L2 (A) D 1-1

2013-2014
Oct 5 (A) L 1-3
Mar 25 L2 (H) L 1-2

2014-2015
Aug 15 (H) L2 W 3-0 (scored)
Feb 21 (A) L2 W 3-1

2015 - 2016
Oct 6 JPT (H) W 2-0
Nov 21 L2 (H) L 1-2 

*lost on penalties