Talk about making a good first impression. After leaving Rangers over the summer in pursuit of regular first-team football, this was a very intriguing hint at things to come.
Borna Barisic made a career out of whipping pinpoint crosses in from the left-hand side.
Whether his fellow left-back ever ends up nailing down a place of his own on the Rangers’ flank is anyone’s guess. But Johnly Yfeko’s Exeter City debut certainly shone a light on many of the attributes Grecians boss Gary Caldwell spoke about when bringing him to the south coast on a season-long loan deal.
Caldwell, the former Celtic defender, hailed Yfeko’s physicality, his size, his pace, his qualities in possession, and a natural left-footedness which gives balance to the Exeter backline.
And was with that trusty left boot that came to the fore on Saturday; the London-born 21-year-old marking his first ever senior league appearance with the sort of assist the recently-departed Barisic would have been proud to call his own.
Rangers loanee Johnly Yfeko shining at Exeter City
Taking a throw-in high in the Rotherham United half, Yfeko then got the ball back, shifted it to the side and fizzed a stunning cross into the penalty area.
Caleb Watts’ 71st minute winner – promotion favourites Rotherham suffering a shock defeat on their return to the third-tier – was arguably more difficult to miss given the sheer quality of Yfeko’s delivery.
Formerly of Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City – like another ex-Rangers leftie in Calvin Bassey – this was Yfeko’s first professional appearance since Rangers beat Morton in the Viaplay Cup back in August 2023.
12 months is a long time to wait. But Yfeko looks like a man ready to make up for lost time after a year honing his talents in the reserves.
“In his first loan, to put in a performance like that and get an assist was incredibly impressive,” Football League expert George Elek says on the latest edition of Not The Top 20 podcast.
This season feels like a crucial one in Yfeko’s career. At the age of 21, there may be a feeling that, if he was going to break through at Rangers, he would have done so already.
Then again, with Ridvan Yilmaz not exactly thriving in the left-back spot under Philippe Clement and Jefte very much a work in progress, Yfeko’s performances south of the border will not go unnoticed.
Particularly if he can maintain this highly-impressive start.
Ibrox loanee has a ‘massive amount of potential’
“Johnly has been excellent,” Caldwell said on Exeter City’s official YouTube channel, Yfeko winning the Man of the Match award on his Grecians bow and departing to a standing ovation.
“He came in a little bit later so, physically, (he is) not quite where we want him to be. But a young player making his league debut, probably hasn’t seen that sort of physicality before, (Yfeko) stood up to it. Never took a backwards step.
“Has quality with the ball and without the ball, defends extremely really well. He’s another young we’re delighted to have at the club but I think he has massive amounts of potential.
“We have lots of work to do on the training pitch. But he showed a glimpse of what he can produce today.”
