Jay Stansfield makes emotional debut in Exeter’s win over MK Dons

Jay Stansfield made an emotional debut for Exeter as former academy graduate teammate Cheick Diabate grabbed the winner in a 1-0 victory over MK Dons.

Fans were on their feet in the 79th minute after Stansfield, who came through the youth ranks at St James Park before signing for Fulham in 2019, came off the bench following his deadline-day loan switch.

Stansfield, 19, played in the number nine jersey worn by his late dad, Adam, who died of cancer at the age of 31 in 2010 while playing for the Devon club.

And the striker’s hero’s welcome capped a perfect day for the Grecians, who picked up all three points thanks to Diabate’s 66th-minute header.

The central defender ghosted to the far post to latch onto Jevani Brown’s header and planted a powerful header past Jamie Cumming.

Cumming had been the star of the show up until the deadlock being broken after tipping Tim Dieng’s header on to the post before scrambling Pierce Sweeney’s follow-up header off the line.

Cumming once again excelled after the break, pulling off a smart save to deny Jack Sparkes who let fly with a piledriver.

Exeter’s pressure paid off midway through the second half when Diabate struck to send the home fans into raptures, but Stansfield’s homecoming stole the show as Exeter climbed to seventh.