Norwich City 2 Exeter City 0
Trina Lake at Carrow Road

DREAMS of what might have been are all that Exeter City have to console themselves with after their brave FA Cup exit at Norwich last night.

They came mighty close to a sensation at St James's Park on Saturday but the longer the rematch went on, the more apparent it became that City had missed the boat.

They battled courageously but rarely looked capable of upsetting the Canaries again, despite the tremendous support of around 1,300 well-behaved travelling fans. City's fate was decided by a seventh minute strike from Robert Rosario - had more than a offside about it a goal that suspicion of and a 77th minute clincher from Dale Gordon. In between City had thrown themselves body and soul into the quest for a fourth round home tie against Cup holders Liverpool. But it wasn't to be. Norwich never let them dominate in the way they had on Saturday. The First Division men always had the edge and the firm pitch helped them with the pacy attacking play that had been so seriously blunted in the St James's Park mud. City worked hard to contain them but the flair of Robert Fleck, David Phillips and Dale Gordon had them stretched at times. The game never produced the incessant goalmouth action of the first meeting bet- ween the sides and neither goalkeeper was called on to perform real heroics again but it was nevertheless an entertaining contest. City's strikers were marshalled with vice-like efficiency by the impressive Andy Linighan and his back four, offering Bryan Gunn the kind of blanket protection he had been denied four days earlier.

The midfield battle again went City's way with Ian Benjamin sticking close to Ian Crook while man-of-the- match Danny Bailey hardly gave Republic of Ireland international Andy Townsend a kick except for a few around the ankles that earned him a booking. Jim McNichol was also cautioned for scything down Fleck but City were largely well disciplined in their attempts to limit the considerable threat from Norwich's attack. When the Canaries scored so early, thoughts of Swansea's 8-0 annihilation at Liverpool the previous night came immediately to mind. But City are made of stern stuff and resiliently withstood considerable pressure to keep themselves in with a faint hope of a shock result until Gordon delivered that late stunner. Rosario, passed fit to take his place in an unchanged Norwich side just hours before kick off, had already missed a golden goal chance in the third minute before giving the Canaries a controversial lead. It was the first of many Fleck inspired moves and when he fed Townsend, Kevin Miller had to come racing out to produce a good sprawling save at the midfielder's feet. But the run of the ball favoured Norwich. It rebounded back off Townsend and spun into the path of Rosario who tapped it into an empty net. He looked offside but the match officials saw nothing wrong and the goal was given. City responded professionally by restricting Norwich toless than a handful of scorin opportunities in the rest of the first half. Fleck had a 12th minute shot deflected wide and put another straight at Miller in the 26th, Crook flashed a 30 yard drive off target on the half hour and Miller did superbly to turn away a 20 yarder from Gordon at the foot of his right hand post in the 37th minute. City's best openings before the break fell to their midfield tough guys Benjamin and Bailey. Benjamin had two shots in quick succession from the edge of the Norwich box, set up for him first by the largely subdued Darran Rowbotham and then Steve Neville, but he rushed both and Gunn saved one comfortably and the other went wide. Bailey's 42nd minute effort was a little more testing for Gunn. Norwich failed to clear a free kick properly and when the ball dropped to Bailey, he rifled it back to sting Gunn's hands just under his crossbar. City had a few slim chances early in the second half as they kicked towards their own supporters, who kept up a barrage of noisy encouragement. Neville had two penalty appeals turned down when he fell in his own inimitable style as Linighan and Ian Culverhouse produced what looked like well timed tackles; an offside flag denied City the sniff of an equaliser in the 52nd minute when Brian McDermott beat Mark Bowen for perhaps the only significant time to set up Rowbotham who missed the mark when the whistle had already gone, and Linigan denied City's top scorer a shooting opportunity with another excellent tackle in the 65th minute. But Norwich always looked the more dangerous and within six minutes of the restart, Fleck had produced one breathtaking run that ended with a cracking shot just over the bar and forced Jim McNichol into a goal-saving block and Linighan headed just wide from a corner. Townsend had the ball in the net in the 59th minute but the play was dragged back for a free kick to Norwich on the edge of the City penalty area. There was another scare for City 10 minutes later when Scott Hiley, like McDermott, a shadow of his usual self, was easily robbed by Bowen who bombed from the edge of his own penalty area to the edge of the opposition's to feed Crook but his dangerous cross just eluded Rosario. The big striker then drew a head high save from Miller in the 75th minute but the pres- sure finally told two minutes later.

And again it was the irrepressible Fleck who was at the heart of the move that brought Norwich their second goal, when City had pushed up for a free kick. He met a defensive clearance with an astute pass out to Phillips, operating mostly on the right wing against the inexperienced Tony Frankland. Phillips capped his powerful run with a perfectly weighted cross and Gordon stole in to meet it with a glorious diving header. Fleck should have made it 3-0 when Gordon sent him clean through in the 84th minute but he chipped straight into Miller's hands as the keeper came to meet him and Miller produced two great late saves to deny Rosario and then tip away a threatening corner after Shaun Taylor had headed wide at the other end. The respectable scoreline reflects how determined and thorough City were in their approach to the difficult task of stifling a First Division side full of class. But they themselves were never the potent attacking force that has frightened the entire Fourth Division this season. Nor the force that gave Norwich such a scare on Saturday and, but for a 42-second lapse after Rowbotham's 24th goal of the season, might have dumped the Canaries out of the Cup. Dreams of what might have been!

Norwich City: Gunn, Culverhouse, Bowen, Butterworth, Linighan, Townsend, Gordon, Fleck, Rosario, Crook, Phillips. Subs (not used) Sher- wood, Mortensen.

Exeter City: Miller, Hiley, Benjamin, McNichol, Whitehead, Rowbotham, McDermott (Cooper 71), (Batty 80), Frankland. Taylor, Bailey, Neville

Attendance: 18,202.