Exeter City crept into the top seven this week with a last gasp win against Crewe.

Trailing to Shaun Miller's 88th minute strike, they looked unlikely to steal a play off spot. A quick-fire double in injury time gave them the win they needed to slide quietly into seventh place.

It wasn't surprising though, the Grecians have a good record against teams in the bottom half of the table, but not so good against those they need to beat. Struggling Crewe were typical Exeter fodder, bottom half and out of form. The victory halted a winless run of three matches, not surprisingly against sides in the top half.

On the face of it, a 1-0 defeat against Luton isn't a bad result, nor is a draw with Wycombe, but Paul Tisdale's side have made a habit of not beating the teams in the top half. Sadly, if you want promotion, you have to beat the other teams chasing the same prize.

A busy March sees the Grecians in action seven times, five games are against bottom half teams and just two against their promotion rivals. Their record this season against the bottom sides is twelve wins and just four defeats. With that sort of ratio, they can expect to pick up twelve points or more from those five matches. However, a punishing schedule ends with a visit from Swindon and a trip to Lincoln, the latter coming on Good Friday and capping a run of four matches in just thirteen days.

Against sides in the top half, Exeter have won five, drawn four and lost seven. They should take heart from knowing one of those wins was against Lincoln and they held Swindon at St James Park too, but it still a statistic that concerns Exeter fans.

The Grecians have delighted and frustrated in equal measure, with the right set up and in good form they're as good as anybody in the division, including leaders Luton Town. All too often they've struggled for consistency, losing to Colchester, Yeovil and Newport but beating Notts County, Accrington and Stevenage. Their fans often only find out at 3.05pm on a Saturday afternoon which side has turned up and whether they're in for delight or dismay.

That highlights the size of their achievement even more, if they can meander into the top seven without ever finding a consistent pattern, what might Paul Tisdale's side be capable of once they settle and find their method?

Exeter fans need not panic just yet, that run of five matches in March might give them the momentum they need to yet again be involved in the end of season play off lottery.