THE CLOSE OF A PATCHY SEASON. EXETER CITY'S IN-AND-OUT PERFORMANCES IN 1929-30.

ONE BRILLIANT MONTH.

Exeter City's performances in their last two home matches were typical of their work throughout the season. On Easter Monday they beat Northampton Town, one of the best teams in the Southern Section, by six goals to four. Five days later, and in the last Football League match of the season at home Exeter were beaten by Newport County, a club with an inferior record, by four goals to nil. The forward line was the same in both matches, but there was a whole world of difference in the way the men set about their job. On the Monday the quickness of the Grecians did the trick, enabling them to beat a decidedly clever team in remarkable fashion. By the time the Saturday came around, however, the City front line men, or most of them, had quite forgotten the lesson of the Bank Holiday game, and as they dawdled about with the ball on the edge of the field they made things easy for the enemy defenders.
MARTIN SHOWS THE WAY.
Half an hour of Exeter ascendancy was wasted very prodigally, and afterwards the County forwards in a series of sharp and capable raids showed the City how the thing should be done. It is true, of course, that Martin's "hat trick" - in the quarter of an hour before the interval was made comparatively simple through Exeter's lack of an experienced goalkeeper. Alderson and Holland were both on the injured list, and McMullan, who stepped into the breach at the call of the club, found things difficult because of the way the County forwards were coming through on their left wing. So Martin, at one stroke, jumped to the second place in the list of Southern Section scorers, with 35 goals to his credit as compared with the three dozen obtained by Goddard, of Queen's Park Rangers. McMullan did better in the second half but had no chance with the closing shot by Seymour, which counted as Newport's fourth goal.

SLUGGISH HOME FORWARDS.
Why the Exeter forwards did not speed up their work in this match, as in the Northampton one, is a mystery. The slackness of the vanguard probably cost the club the two points. Newport's superiority in the forward line was very marked when once the "Ironsides" began to get the ball away from their own half of the field, while Blakemore, as everyone knows, is a splendid goalkeeper, and showed it in a few of his saves. Serious injuries to players have had a considerable effect on Exeter City's match records, no doubt, but the vagaries of those last two home games were typical of the erratic work of the team this season. After obtaining five goals in their first two games the Grecians went through five without scoring at all. Then in October a brilliant six-one home triumph at the expense of the Palace, of all clubs, was followed the very next Saturday by a game in which the Grecians could only share two goals and the points with Merthyr Town, of all clubs.

THE FEBRUARY FLUTTER.
February was the Exeter club's best month, and a brilliant month it was. With ten points secured from six games in that month, including three away matches, the City's position in the League was practically assured, and locally lest there should be a repetition for the club of the troubles which the anxiety were present twelve months ago, when re-election had to be sought at the May meeting of the League, was completely allayed. The Grecians' run of success started with the re-introduction of Mason and Clarke at half-back, on the first day of the month, and the supporters will not soon forget the amazing victory over Clapton Orient at St. James's Park on the following Wednesday. Then, with Varco and Doncaster both injured, and with Hemingway deputising at centre-forward in the emergency, the City put on four goals in the second half.

HEMINGWAY AS LEADER.
It was the recollection of that fine achievement which prompted the Exeter City Directors to pick Hemingway for the middle position in the front line for the holiday games with Northampton, because from the end of February to Easter Monday the Exeter team had played eight matches without winning any of them, goal-getting being a lost art among them for the time being. Hemingway got six goals in the two Northampton games. His form in the match against Newport was not so good, but he suffered from the slowness of the other forwards in getting the ball to him in front of the visitors' goal, and so the City attack dropped back into the bad old style and vexed the club's following by a very disappointing performance on their last appearance at the "Park." The programme was wound up on May 3rd with a visit to Torquay, where the issue at stake was of more concern to the Magpies than to Exeter, because although the Southern Section members in a body have recommended the Football League to re-elect the club which finishes next to the bottom, and to substitute Thames F. C. for Merthyr Town, the longer a club can postpone an S. O. S. in the matter of membership the better for its health and longevity as a League unit. However, as far as Torquay United were concerned, all is well that ends well, and two goals by Pointon to one by Houghton lifted the Magpies above Bristol Rovers and Gillingham, and of course Merthyr, in the chart.

THAMES F.C'S. HUGE GROUND.

The Thames Association club, the candidate for election to the League, which has won the favour of the Southern Section clubs, tried hard to secure their admission last year, and would have stood a very good chance of succeeding but for the fact that old and strongly established clubs in Exeter City and Gillingham were applying for re-election. This time last year it was stated that Thames, although drawing "gates" of an average of 900 in their minor competition, had an industrial population of two and a half million within an eight-mile radius of their ground, and that if they were given the right football attraction financial success was assured absolutely. The population figure is now greatly increased with the district growing at the rate of 1,000 people a week. A huge factory is being developed in the district. The ground, at present devoted to greyhound racing, is one of the largest in the United Kingdom, with accommodation, it is said, for 120,000. The figures regarding population and ground capacity weighed heavily with the Southern Section clubs, and turned the scales against Aldershot, another club that is equally eager to enter the Football League, and whose central position in the South is a big point in favour of the military town.

NEXT SEASON.

Team-building for next season at Exeter is in progress, and will be watched with keen interest. The position of centre-half is of very great importance, and the Exeter City public will be particularly anxious to see how the club proposes to fill the Vacancy caused by the departure of Sam Mason for the Metropolitan Police. The season just ended, with no revenue from F. A. Cup-ties, cannot have been a good one from the financial standpoint, but there has been nothing in the way of a special appeal to the public for aid, as was deemed necessary at Torquay and Plymouth.

It is understood that Jimmy Gray undertook the responsibilities of marriage on April 25th, and that two of his colleagues (both forwards) took part in the quiet little ceremony.

The FA.Cup Final at Wembley Stadium between Arsenal and Huddersfield Town held more than a passing interest for the Grecians, for among the Arsenal players who received winners' medals at the end was Clifford Bastin, late of Ladysmith Road School and Exeter City. Bastin, who was at outside-left in the Final, provided the pass with which Alex James scored the opening goal, and despite his youthfulness and inexperience was acclaimed as one of the stars of the match.

Exeter City are well represented by their former members in Cup Finals at the Wembley ground. Pym in 1923 and 1926, Pym and Blackmore last year and Bastin this year have all appeared in the event.

Six penalties were given against the Grecians this season, and every one was saved by the goalkeepers, five by Alderson and one by Holland.

Trevor Martin, the Newport County centre-forward, scored a hat trick against Exeter City at Somerton Park on December 21st and another one in the return match at St James's Park on April 26th.

WHERE THEY PLAYED

GOAL : Alderson 36, Holland 5, McMullan 1.
RIGHT BACK: Gray 20, Howson 13, Baugh 9.
LEFT BACK: Shanks 36, Miller 6.
RIGHT HALF: Clarke 24, Sheffield 12, Dennington 3, Ditchburn 3.
CENTRE HALF: Mason 23, Ditchburn 15, Gurkin 2, McDevitt 2.
LEFT HALF: Dennington 27, McMullan 15.
OUTSIDE RIGHT: Purcel1 35, Armfield 7.
INSIDE RIGHT: Houghton 21, McDevitt 14, Purcell 5, Henderson 1, Thomas 1.
CENTRE FORWARD: Guyan 28, Varco 6, Hemingway 4, Henderson 4.
INSIDE LEFT: Hemingway 29, Houghton 13.
OUTSIDE LEFT: Doncaster 29, Hemingway 6, Death 4, McMullan 3.

Western League and
Southern League 
Goalscorers 

13  Henderson,
10  Corrigan, Gumm,
9.  Houghton,
8   Armfield,
6   McMullan,
4   Thomas,
3.  Doncaster, Purcell,
2.  Ditchburn, Varco,
1.  Baldwin, Death, Goldsworthy, Mason, Ware.