The Grecians Lost Top Position
Doubtful Penalty
Goal Which Decided The Game: Crowd Angry

SATURDAY, MARCH 29TH.
Exeter City v Millwall.

This afternoon Exeter City were engaged in a struggle to re tain their leadership in the Southern League table. For the past four days they had been at the head of affairs, and a win this afternoon would mean that they would keep the position for at least another week. Hence great interest was taken in the match, and it was very unfortunate that heavy showers fell this morning, for a record gate had been confidently expected. The opposition was provided by Millwall, who had engaged the Argyle in two great struggles during Easter, and who, themselves stood a chance of the Championship. In fact, this match meant a great deal to both teams in this respect.
For today's match Bassett was retained at centre-half in the City team, and the eleven was that which had won the three Easter matches.
Millwall, however, once more expected to be without their usual right wing, Dilley and Noble, both being unfit. Wayment and Quinn were therefore chosen, while Butterworth deputised for Liddell at right-half. Despite these changes, the "Lions" were undoubtedly a powerful side, and Exonians had the chance of seeing Spendiff in goal. He was secured from Bradford City, and was, at one time, in negotiation with Exeter. These negotiations, however, fell through. Moody and Quinn are old Luton Town players, both of whom have played against Exeter before, and great interest naturally was centred in the appearance of W.O.Davis, the young Welsh Inter national, at centre-forward. He was reported to be in great form just now, and there are good judges who declare him to be the best centre-forward playing today.
Teams :
EXETER CITY
Pym Fort Hurst Rigby Bassett Lockett Whittaker Cooper Rutter Crompton Ives

Referee: Mr. R. Pook, of Portsmouth.

MILLWALL Spendiff Kirkwood Jeffrey Butterworth Wilson Voisey Wayment
Quinn Davis Moody Vincent

Exeter City's wretched luck was exampled today in the pouring rain which came on at mid-day, and continued throughout the whole of the match, completely spoiling the "gate", and rendering the ground into a perfect morass. Millwall arrived at 1.30 p.m., and announced that they would play Voisey at left-half and Butterworth in place of Liddell at right-half. There were less than 3,000 present at the start, and the rain meant a loss of at least one hundred pounds.

THE GAME.
Millwall won the toss, and Wayment went right through. He put across a nice centre which was cleared in the goalmouth. The City recovered, and Rigby put the ball out to Whittaker, who raced off along the wing on the grandstand side, and banged the ball across Spendiff's charge, Ives securing and sending wide. Rutter next got going, and manoeuvred his way past the attentions of Wilson, but when it came to shooting the new ball was slippery, and flew wide. Millwall came again, and two minutes after the start Wilson got hold of a weak clearance and scored his usual goal against Exeter with a straight drive. It was a good shot, and took the City defence completely by surprise. Millwall nearly increased their lead through a bad misunderstanding between Fort and Hurst. Later on Davis was clean through, but Pym rushed out and very neatly deflected the shot with his leg, the ball going out to the left for Hurst to kick clear.

Millwall came again, and two minutes after the start Wilson got hold of a weak clearance and scored his usual goal against Exeter with a straight drive. It was a good shot, and took the City defence completely by surprise. Millwall nearly increased their lead through a bad misunderstanding between Fort and Hurst. Later on Davis was clean through, but Pym rushed out and very neatly deflected the shot with his leg, the ball going out to the left for Hurst to kick clear.

Exciting Play.
Ives got away but was robbed by Butterworth, and Crompton put in a long shot, just wide. Nevertheless, shooting from any range was the game to play in the conditions which prevailed. Millwall were halted through Davis being offside, and Rutter made a good attempt to get past Jeffrey and Kirkwood. Jeffrey just beat him, and the City leader was laid out in the skirmish. He quickly re sumed, however, and there was a spell of long kicking by both the Exeter and Millwall backs. Exciting play in midfield now ensued, and a free kick to the City put them in a good position, but Cooper shot behind. A neat round of passing by Crompton and Rutter nearly ended in a score, but chiefly because of the slippery and muddy state of the ground nothing came of it. Rutter missed a fine pass from Whittaker when well placed, and Davis, who was very fast, went right through the home defence until Fort charged him off the ball before he could shoot.

Chances Going Begging.
A fine pass by Bassett to the right wing was scooped up by Whittaker, who beat Jeffrey, but his shot was punched away by Spendiff. The rain was still pelting down, and the finer points of the game were impossible in the mud. Fort cleared a dangerous looking centre from Wayment, and Whittaker was given a nice pass by Cooper, but could do no better than lift the ball over the bar from easy range. With the interval approaching the City were trying desperately hard to get back on level terms. Ives beat three men in one of his typical fast dashes, but instead of shooting, he preferred passing inwards, and Jeffrey cleared. It was a good opportunity thrown away, and many chances were going begging in the mud. Whittaker roused the crowd by going past all opposition, and amid wild excitement slung the ball into the goalmouth, but Ives wasted the best chance of the match so far by scooping it over the bar.
Half-time:
Millwall 1, Exeter City nil.

When play was resumed the rain was coming down harder than ever. A long pass out to Whittaker went slithering behind, and play returned to midfield. Cooper bored his way through, but his shot was hopelessly wide. The Grecians continued to have the best of matters, and play was mostly at the Millwall end. Cooper was fouled twenty - five yards out, and a free kick awarded to Exeter. The kick was taken by Bassett, who lashed the ball hard and true towards goal; it travelled at a great rate, Spendiff jumping in vain, hit the underneath side of the crossbar and bounced down over the goal line into the net. It was a wonderful shot, and quite a sensation al goal in its way, and the crowd's delight found vent in lively enthusiasm.

A Penalty.
Now it became a fierce struggle for the lead. Millwall were thwarted on the goal-line by Hurst, but won a corner. This was cleared well upfield, and Ives slipped by Kirkwood, and flashing through at speed, shaved the crossbar with a vicious shot. In the next move Rutter followed up well, and with Spendiff out of his goal Ives appeared to have a great chance, but his shot struck the side of the net with Cooper and Whittaker both waiting to "walk" the centre into goal.
Kirkwood put himself on bad terms with the crowd by tripping Crompton just outside the penalty area as he was dashing through. The free kick was again entrusted to Bassett, and he shot low and hard, but just a yard or so wide this time. It was all Exeter at this stage, and Spendiff's goal was the subject of many assaults by every one of the home forwards, yet it was Millwall who scored, right against the run of the play. A miskick by Lockett gave Davis a clear field, and the Welsh International went ahead with Lockett and Hurst at his heels. He was partially checked by Lockett, then by Hurst, and the three players all fell in a heap inside the City penalty area. There did not appear to have been an infringement, but Mr Pook, who was some way behind, and not in a very good position to judge, came running up and pointed to the penalty spot. Pym ran out to pro test, but the referee would not listen, and amidst a storm of booing from the crowd, Wilson scored with a shot that went into the bottom corner of the net like a bullet. This was a very questionable penalty, and wretched hard luck on Exeter, who had done all the pressing since the interval. It took all the heart out of the Grecians, and after a lucky escape of Pym's charge, Davis obtained the ball about ten yards out, and whipped it into the net beyond Pym's reach, just as Fort charged into him. It was an opportunist's goal, and seemed to put the issue now beyond all doubt. The "Lions" concentrated their efforts on defence, and they played the correct game in the circumstances, hitting the ball hard every time. Jeffrey once kicked the ball away from Ives as he shot, and a corner resulted. This Ives put behind, and in the next few minutes there were fouls on both sides, Jeffrey once bringing Whittaker down in a ruthless tackle. Crompton and Rutter changed places to try to improve the City attack, but it made no difference, and a further injustice befell the City when Davis burst through from an offside position, and racing through, put in a high shot which Pym got his hand to, but could not stop. Fort, with a shot from twenty five yards, made a great effort to reduce the lead, and Millwall were lucky to clear another one from Crompton. Cooper, from a corner, headed just wide.
Final: MILLWALL 4-1 CITY

Crowd Hostile.

The referee was the subject of an hostile demonstration as he left the field, but fortunately it was confined to hooting and booing, and Mr Parkhouse and other directors saw him safely to his room. The crowd had undoubtedly been incensed by the penalty incident, but the scene, though only of a momentary character, was regrettable.

Notes on the Game.

One of the most surprising results in the Southern League was the defeat of Exeter City, the League leaders, at St. James's Park. Millwall came, saw, and conquered by four goals to one, and although certainly lucky to win by such a large amount, they were in some respects value for both points. The heavy rain had a serious effect on Exeter's exchequer, and only about four thousand spectators attended, instead of the near record crowd that was expected. The City played against a driving rain in the first half, and the game was only a few minutes old when the East Londoners opened the scoring, Wilson netting from about twenty yards' range whilst the Exeter defence was too busy watching Davis. Millwall held their advantage, though often against the run of the play, until about five minutes after the change of ends, when Exeter were awarded a free kick for a foul on Cooper. Bassett took the kick, and saw the ball hit the under part of the crossbar and fall into the net. For a long time play remained in the Millwall territory, then the turning point of the game occurred following a mistake by Lockett. Davis dashed away towards the City goal with Lockett and Hurst in pursuit. A penalty was awarded when Davis and the two Exeter players fell together, and Wilson gave the visitors the lead from the spot-kick. Davis then rounded off the scoring with two more goals, though his second, and his side's fourth, was obtained from an offside position. Davis led the Millwall forwards in splendid fashion, and gave the City defence a warm afternoon. Exeter, contrary to all the pre-match expectations, gave a disappointing display, and their forwards were not the potent force they have been recently. They appear to be handicapped when playing on a heavy ground. Bassett played a sound game at centre-half, and Fort likewise at right back.

SHERWOOD FORESTERS v CITY RESERVES.
Plymouth and District League.

The Reserves lost all chance of the Plymouth & District League Championship by going down to the Sherwoods at Crownhill, 3-nil. The ground was a veritable sea of mud and slush, with a strong wind blowing sheets of rain into the Reserves' faces in the first half, during which two goals were scored. The Soldiers, who got their third goal just before the close, adapted themselves much better to the conditions than did the Reserves, their forwards playing a free, open game. The Foresters' attack was much too clever for Exeter's half-backs, while their defence was easily capable of dealing with the tip-tap methods of Brooksbank and Golightly. Lagan had a gruelling afternoon, but finished up in quite sound condition.

Goalscorers: Murphy, Jennings, and Armstrong.

Exeter team: Chapman, Morris and Nevin; Hunt, Lagan, and Mullineux; Arscott, Lewis, Brooksbank, Golightly, and Garside.

• IVES TRANSFERRED City's Winger Goes to the Rangers:Ben Ives, Exeter City's well-known outside-left, the scorer of eight League goals this season, has been transferred to Queen's Park Rangers. Under the new rule, the transfer needed the sanction of the Southern League Management Committee, and this having been given, Saturday's match against Millwall was the last Ives has played for Exeter. The transfer was completed early last week, but owing to the fact that it could not be made definite until publication of the Committee's decision, the Directors preferred to make no public statement; neither did they deny or affirm rumours which were circulating in Exeter all last week. Queen's Park Rangers were greatly impressed by the display of Ives against their team recently, and desired his transfer there and then. Rule II, however, prohibited it, as they were then in the running for the Championship.

Reluctant to Leave.
The amount paid has not been announced, but it is believed to be in the vicinity of £250, but less than £300. This is a larger sum than was at first offered, but not so large as Ives is un doubtedly worth. He was reluctant to leave Exeter, and informed the management that he had been extremely pleased with everything during his stay here. He would leave, however, he said, because he knew that by doing so he should be benefitting the Grecians financially. The City Management justify themselves for parting with Ives on the grounds that the gates this season have been extremely poor, that money must be obtained to meet liabilities, that the public appeal for funds has resulted in only a small sum coming in, and that they have Garside, a good player, to fall back on. It is unlikely that any more transfers will be made till the end of the season, if then. But if £500 could be secured for one other player the management would be able to go along smoothly and keep the rest of the present team.

Crompton's Influence.
Ives was secured by Mr Chadwick from Barrow-in-Furness, where he scored a lot of goals. He is a Londoner by birth, and formerly an amateur for Tottenham Hotspur. He has developed wonderfully this season, thanks largely to the influence of Ellis Crompton, and has been a great factor in Exeter's success, most of his goals earning points. He is a model professional in every sense of the word, and would be a credit, both on and off the field, to any club. Exeter City are sorry to part with him, and will wish him every future success. The player gets none of the transfer fee, but will receive bigger wages with the Rangers, so that he also reaps a pecuniary advantage.