Banks Rattles the bar and Scunthorpe

SHARED POINTS WERE HARD ON CITY

Saturday September 6th 1969.

SCUNTHORPE UNITED 0 EXETER CITY 0.

by Tony Phillips 
Express and Echo 

Exeter City obtained their first "away" point of the season today when they held Scunthorpe United to a goal-less draw on the Old Show Ground. The crowd of 4,073 was Scunthorpe's best of the season.

Scunthorpe: Barnard; Foxton, Barker; Deere, Holt, Welbourne; Davidson, Keegan, Cassidy, Heath, Rusling.

Exeter City: Shearing; Blain, Morris; Parker, Sharples, Balson; Giles, Banks, Wingate, Mitten, Pleat.

Subs: Jackson (Scunthorpe) Walker (Exeter).
Referee:- Mr E.Jolly of Manchester.

This was a good result for the City, and one for which the team worked hard. The match was often tough, and Parker was cautioned in the first half when there were numerous free kicks for fouls. Exeter came nearest to scoring when Banks rattled the crossbar in the 55th minute with a vicious right-foot shot. Both teams were unchanged, Scunthorpe, unbeaten in their last three games, for the fourth successive time. A long pass from Morris meant for Wingate was just too strong. Banks quickly seized on to a poor clearance and centred, but Giles 's header ended up well wide of the posts. When Scunthorpe threatened Davidson was penalised for pushing.

Shearing Hurt 
A good run by Heath had the Exeter defence in some trouble, the ball bobbing about and being blocked before going for a corner. Before the corner could be taken. Shearing needed treatment for what looked like a face injury. He recovered to see a Heath drive blocked, but Scunthorpe quickly followed with a second corner. They failed to take advantage of it. Banks and Pleat tried un successfully to break through the Scunthome defence Then Wingate, chasing a long clearance, was outnumbered. Morris played himself into trouble on his own bye-line, and when the ball came over, Heath hooked his shot high and wide. Wingate neatly flicked a header forward to Banks, who tried to put Pleat through, but the winger was given offside. A Giles-Banks-Parker move ended with Parker punting his shot low and wide Scunthorpe immediately counter-attacked to force a corner Down went Parker in his own six-yard box and needed treat ment to his leg. This held up another Scunthorpe corner, which was never properly cleared until Keegan hit his shot over the top from a half-chance. A long clearance by Shearing resulted in a three againt three situation just inside the Scunthorpe half, but the home team came out on top.

Near thing

After a Scunthorpe free kick, the City defence dashed out to catch the home forwards offside. The move succeeded. although Heath went through the motions and put the ball Into the Exeter net. A minute later another free kick was awarded to Scun thorpe, three yards outside City's penalty area and Heath proceeded to put the ball into the back of the stand. A quick break by Banks ended with Wingate's shot being blocked. Then it was Exeter's turn to see if they could take advan tage of a free kick midway Inside the Scunthorpe half. They falled, although Mitten had an attempt which was too high. In the 35th minute, Exeter were unlucky not to go ahead. Banks fastened on to a mistake by Holt, but with Barnard beaten. his shot from 18 yards struck the Scunthorpe crossbar. A minute later. Sharples certainly appeared to push Cassidy over in the City penalty area, but the referee ignored the appeals for a spot kick. When Exeter moved forward. Blain came up on the overlap and crossed to Banks, who glanced his header wide. In 40th minute, Parker scythed down Heath as the inside-forward was breaking clear, and quite rightly the Exeter man had his name taken. Pleat beat three men as he cut inside and put in a shot which brought Barnard to his knees at the foot of the post. Exeter had a reprieve when Cassidy and Keegan both had shots blocked with Shearing unsighted. This came about after a foul by Balson. Within a minute, play had switched to the Scunthorpe half for a City corner. Sharples went up for the ball, but failed to connect properly with his head. A sandwich on Wingate gave Exeter a free-kick, but the Intended Blain-Pleat move did! not pay off.

Half-time: Scunthorpe 0, Exeter 0.

Mitten's attempt to play Giles through only just failed, Pleat went past two men but his cross was turned by Barker on the near post. Successive corners followed to Exeter with out success. Shearing made good ground off his line to pick out Foxton's free kick. Exeter kept up two minutes' continuous pressure on the Scunthorpe goal, and successive corners followed, but to no avail. Back came Scunthorpe, and in went Cassidy, but his header was weak and well off traget. It was Cassidy again with a strong shot which was so high that it hit the roof of the stand behind the Exeter goal, and knocked out a small piece of galvanised sheeting. Balson hooked the ball off Rusling's foot for a corner as the winger was poised. Banks was not far off reach ing a dangerous back pass by Barker. A quick throw in by Parker caught out the Scunthorpe defence, and Pleat pulled the ball back for Banks, who could not bring it under control to put in a shot.

Loose ball

When Shearing dashed out to floating cross, he failed to make contact, and Balson was injured in clearing for a corner with his goalkeeper in trouble. A minute later, however, Shearing saved Exeter when he first dived at Cassidy's feet.and then lunged a second time as three forwards swarmed in on the loose ball. A fine run by Heath as he left two Exeter defenders stand ing ended with Sharples inter cepting his cross and heading over the top for a corner, which Shearing dropped. Davidson hit the ball too high. There was a tremendous scramble in the Exeter area before Pleat hooked clear, but Scunthorpe had a casualty in Davidson, who was soon on his feet after treatment.

Just wide

Another Heath run forced Exeter into conceding a corner, which they cleared Only an inch or so stopped Scunthorpe going ahead in the 75th minute, when Davidson's shot was just wide of the post. Morris twice kept his head when under pressure to play the ball back coolly to Shearing. When Exeter came out. Pleat was brought down to the left of the Scunthorpe area, and Barnard cleared the free kick at the second attempt. Heath, Scunthorpe's main danger, gave Exeter another anxious moment. but fortun ately he kneed the ball behind when trying to set himself up from close range. Exeter certainly had to thank Shearing in the 80th minute, when the goalkeeper dived full-length to his right to clutch a close-range shot from Cassidy which looked goalbound. Sharples was now limping after being injured minutes earlier. In the closing minutes. Pleat dashed away down the right, but was brought down a yard outside the Scunthorpe box. The low, hard free kick was cleared
Result: -
SCUNTHORPE 0-0 EXETER CITY

Attendance : 4.073.