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EXETER will be without the services of the country’s fourth leading marksman Jamie Cureton for tomorrow’s Bootham Crescent clash against York City.

Only Port Vale’s Tom Pope (21) and Championship pair Glenn Murray (22) and Charlie Austin (20) have claimed more goals in England’s top four divisions than Cureton this season.

The 37-year-old veteran has struck 16 times, taking his career tally to 242, but will be suspended against the Minstermen after being sent off on New Year’s Day for kicking out at Wycombe defender Anthony Stewart.

It is a big blow for the Grecians with ten of Cureton’s goals also coming away from their St James Park home during 2012/13.

The former Bristol Rovers and Norwich forward’s absence could mean a first senior start for teenage striker Jamie Reid although visiting boss Paul Tisdale is more likely to pack his midfield, meaning a recall for fit-again Tommy Doherty or Arron Davies.

John O’Flynn is set to lead the line for the visitors, having scored the only goal at Wycombe on 81 minutes after Cureton had been dismissed midway through the first period and former on-loan Minsterman Artur Krysiak had saved a Joel Grant penalty.

The victory was Exeter’s fourth in a row on their travels after previous wins at top-half-of-the-table hosts Rochdale (3-2), Gillingham (3-2) and Bradford (1-0).

Conversely, during that run, the Devon outfit have failed to win any of their four home fixtures and a sizeable 25 of the team’s 38 points this term have now been collected on their travels.

In fact Tisdale’s team’s record of eight away League wins can only be matched by the division’s top two of Gillingham and Port Vale.

The Grecians, who currently lie two points and two places outside the play-off zone, have only one injured absentee with Liam Sercombe nursing a broken ankle.

Exeter (probable): Krysiak, Tully, Woodman, Coles, Baldwin, Bennett, Oakley, Doherty, Gow, O’Flynn, Keohane.


Match facts

The Grecians are making their first Football League visit to Bootham Crescent since April 2003 when they won a Third Division (League Two) fixture 2-0.

In total, they have made 18 League trips (1958 to 2003) winning seven times and drawing time.

The biggest of City’s eight victories was 6-1 in 1960/61 when Colin Addison (2), Billy Hughes, Norman Wilkinson, Peter Wragg (penalty) and Jimmy Weir were on the scoresheet.

Exeter made four trips in the Conference winning once and drawing once.

City’s two successes were 4-2 in 2005/6 and 3-2 when the clubs last met here on March 10, 2008.

Scorers that day were Martyn Woolford, Danny Parslow and Onome Sodje and the line-up was: Evans, Purkiss, Parslow, McGurk (Kelly), Robinson, Duncun (Elliott), Wroe, Panther (Rusk), Woolford, Brodie, Sodje.The attendance of 1,567 was City’s smallest home crowd in their eight years of Conference football.

Players to have appeared for both clubs include John Edgar, Barry Pierce, Tom Kelly, Gary Howlett, Craig Farrell, Manny Panther and Jon Challinor with Bobby Saxton providing the managerial link.

It happened on January 5

1952: City beat Bradford City 3-1 at home with goals from Gordon Brown, Steve Griffiths and Billy Fenton and the attendance for the Division Three North fixture was 8,068.

1974: City were second in Division Three (League One) following a 2-1 win over Rochdale at Bootham Crescent watched by 3,727. Chris Jones and Jimmy Seal were on target. It was the 20th League game without defeat.

1985: In the third round of the FA Cup, Walsall were defeated 3-0 at Bootham Crescent. The crowd was 5,493 and the marksmen were Martin Butler, Keith Walwyn and Alan Hay.

1991: A 2-2 draw at Scarborough in the Fourth Division with Nigel Pepper (pen) and Tony Canham the scorers.

2008: Onome Sodje and Craig Farrell netted in a 2-2 home draw against Kidderminster Harriers in front of 2,423.

Compiled by David Batters