Joe Whitworth ready to ‘prove everyone else wrong’ when Exeter host Forest
Whitworth is on loan at the League One club from Crystal Palace.
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Your support makes all the difference.Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth is relishing another chance to silence his doubters when the Grecians host Nottingham Forest in the League One side’s first FA Cup fourth-round appearance in 44 years.
The 20-year-old Crystal Palace loanee is no stranger to the underdog role, having made his Premier League debut against Brighton as the Eagles’ third-choice keeper.
Next month will mark the two-year anniversary of Whitworth’s unexpected maiden appearance for his boyhood club, where he used his ball-boy stints at Selhurst Park as a self-taught football classroom, soaking up whatever he could glean from his heroes.
“I think (the anniversary) will be a moment of reflection,” Whitworth told the PA news agency.
“But it would definitely be a moment of motivation for me, because I want to get back to that level and play more games in the Premier League for Crystal Palace.
“It’s definitely a time for more motivation to go back and prove everyone else wrong.”
An underdog spirit is often the inevitable inheritance of those not gifted with a commanding stature, with Whitworth only 1.79 metres tall.
“I’m not bothered about my height at all,” he said.
“I can’t control it, and there’s going to be perception that I can’t do things others can, but I’ve already shown this year and hopefully I can keep doing it that I can compete with these taller players, I can come and dominate my box and make big saves in big moments of the game.
It seemed like it was written in the stars, with me being a Crystal Palace supporter
“I think every week is just playing in front of new stadiums and new crowds, new people and just proving every single person who has a doubt wrong. I feel like I’ve done that a lot this season, but there’s obviously always going to be people trying to take you down.”
Whitworth, a lifelong Palace fan and academy product, was handed his debut by Patrick Vieira “four or five hours” before kick-off at rivals Brighton after Vicente Guaita and Sam Johnstone were both ruled out.
“That’s the thing my family talk about,” said Whitworth, who at 19 years and 15 days old became Palace’s youngest top-flight keeper.
“It seemed like it was written in the stars, with me being a Crystal Palace supporter.”
Four days after that 1-0 win, Vieira had been sacked but Whitworth was back between the sticks, producing another solid showing despite a 4-1 loss to Arsenal.
Exeter have suffered a spate of injuries and dropped to 18th in League One, but Whitworth was instrumental to their early success, becoming the first Grecians goalkeeper to keep five consecutive clean sheets in the third tier of English football, surpassing a record set in 1978.
Whitworth added: “Playing them two big teams definitely helped me in my development and giving me those experiences has been massive.
“Obviously welcoming a big, big team like Nottingham Forest who are obviously flying in the Premier League, it’s going to be a big game.
“But it’s a game I’m going to look to relish and hopefully performing, especially with our team as well.
“Our focus is the next round. It’s obviously going to be really tough and you have to respect the opponents and what they are doing at this moment in time.
“But we’re going to go out there with full confidence and hopefully win the game. It’s definitely what we want to do.”