Matt Grimes is learning that practice makes perfect having scored his third free-kick of the season at Accrington Stanley on Friday night.
The talented 19-year-old curled home a stunning 30-yard free-kick at Accrington Stanley on Friday to help the Grecians to a superb 3-2 League Two victory.
It was his arguably his best goal in a City shirt, but such is his dedication to practising the art in training that it came as no surprise to his manager Paul Tisdale.
Tisdale joked: "I thought it was a bit too far out for Grimesy, but he's proving that he's better from 30 yards than he is from three!
"You have to say that he has the talent, but talent alone doesn't do it. You have to practise it and he practises it. He gets his range and he hits his range.
"We had someone else taking a free-kick recently and I was unhappy that Matt didn't take it. The reason being that Matt practises it.
"If you practise it every day of every week and you hit the target and put it in the top corner, then you are entitled to take them. It is no fluke, as we have seen a few times this season.
"He has scored three now this season and hit the post and crossbar a few times as well. He is becoming an expert at it. It was as good as you will see at any level."
Grimes' goal was one of five quality strikes at the Crown Ground, with Liam Sercombe's sumptuous volley and Tom Nichols 20-yard rocket sealing another impressive Exeter win.
After the weekend games, the Grecians sit just a point outside the play-off zone with confidence high ahead of Saturday's home clash with fellow promotion hopefuls Burton Albion.
It is an incredible turnaround for a team who failed to win any of their first seven league games and were rocked bottom of League Two at one stage. Now, City's excellent form has fans dreaming of an unlikely promotion push, although Tisdale is not getting carried away.
"We are not halfway yet," he said. "Let's get to the New Year when we will have played everyone once and then we can start looking towards the end of the season.
"We are nowhere near that yet, but we have had a good run. We have had a dozen or so games where we have been very productive, so it bodes well.
"But the league is very tight and, like I have said before, it can change very quickly.
"I am pleased with where we are, there is a long way to go and we are certainly looking no further than playing against Burton on Saturday and trying to get another win. But it's one step at a time."
