Exeter hit back to force a draw as Town run out of steam

HUDDERSFIELD. (1) 1
Cox 10 
EXETER (0) 1
Pullar 86

IF matches lasted only 60 minutes, Town would have had every reason to feel satisfied with their performance in the opening Third Division game of the season on Saturday.

For, in the first hour against Exeter City, they carried on just where they left off in the destruction of Barnsley the week before.

Town scored early on, could have perhaps had three other goals, but then, in the last crucial half-hour. their grip gradually weakened.

Exeter slowly began to exert more of an influence and, at the third time of asking, Dave Pullar equalised with a goal of some quality to deny Town two extra points.

Mick Buxton's team just appeared to run out of steam and some of the players looked, as he said "to be running in quicksand." Without wishing to make excuses (although when any manager talks of injuries people always interpret his words to be just that) the Leeds Road boss said after- wards that four players were not 100 per cent fit. Roy Greenwood, Brian Stanton, Dave Cowling and star of the show Maurice Cox were struggling the longer the game went on. None of them had been able to train fully and Buxton said that when he with- drew Cox after 70 minutes the player virtually said: "Thanks very much." Cox's substitution pro- voked derision from the shirt-sleeved crowd of more than 5,000 and when the No 8 board was raised on the touchline, boos rang around the ground.

They turned to cheers, however, when 22-year-old Cox, released by Torquay and on trial with Town, hauled his weary body down the tunnel. Cox, who put Town ahead in the ninth minute with as clinical a piece of finishing as we shall witness at Leeds Road this season. may be on trial as far as Buxton is concerned but in the crowd's eyes the young striker passed any examination of his playing creden tials with flying colours. It's not quite as simple as that, of course, and Town's boss is the one man he mus: impress most. Explaining the substitution Buxton said: "The lad couldn't run any more. He'd given all he could.

"Managers are never popular with substitutions unless the No 12 comes on and scores a couple of goals." And on Cox (who has a one-month contract so far) he added: "We offered him a trial and it's up to him. We know he can control the ball and pass it. But he's not the quickest player in the world.

"His future depends on whether he's got a real will to succeed and go in where it hurts and where players can get banged around." Whatever Cox's deficiencies, he certainly dominated the first half. He almost scored with a delicate chip after Exeter full-back Keith Viney (the first player to be cautioned at Leeds Road this season) sold his goalkeeper suicidally short with a pass back, he stabbed home a close-range goal after a fine near-post cross from Peter Valentine and he provided co-striker Roy Greenwood with a chance. Cox and Greenwood have struck up an instant rapport and presumably their understanding will be even better when they've had a few more games in harness up front. Overall things didn't start slipping away from Town until some legs became heavy in the last third of the game. Then Exter grapsed the initiative and Pullar's goal -a spectacularly struck 20-yarder came as no real surprise. It was just so dis- appointing for Town because it meant they drew a match they should have won with chances to spare. Before the decisive strike five minutes from the end, Pullar had a goal disal- lowed on 70min and then he stumbled over a chance as Brian Cox, making his first important save of the match, pushed out a long- range effort from Viney.

Town
Cox (B), Brown, Valentine, Stanton, Sutton, Hanvey, Lillis, Cox (M), (Hotte 70 min), Greenwood, Wilson, Cowling.

Exeter Bond, Kirkup, Viney, McEwan, Ro- berts, Rogers (M), Harle, Rogers (P), Kellow, Delve, Pullar. Sub: Pratt.

Caution Viney (Exeter).

Referee R Guy (Kirkby, Merseyside).
Town man of the match - Maurice Cox.

Attendance 5.168