TORQUAY LEAD 2-0 THEN CITY MAKE IT A DRAW.
EXCELLENT DEBUT BY BRIAN BIRCH OF BARROW.
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20th
CITY 2 TORQUAY UNITED 2.

Devon "Derby-day" brought easily the biggest crowd so far to the Exeter ground this season for the fiftieth League encounter of the Grecians and Torquay United.

Brian Birch, aged 27, transferred to Exeter from Barrow yesterday, made his debut (and a very good one) at inside-left. Birch started his Football League career with Manchester United in 1949, and has since played for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Lincoln City, as well as Barrow, for whom he has scored 27 goals in 60 League games. There were close on ten thousand people present when Torquay kicked off against strong sunshine.

Exeter City:- Hunter; Foley, MacDonald; Mitchell, Oliver, Harvey; Stiffle, Rees, Calland, Birch, Dale.

Torquay:- Gill; Bettany, H.Smith; Lewis, G. Northcott, Johnson; Baxter, James, T. Northcott, Mills, Pym.

Referee:- Mr P.G. Brandwood of Kidderminster.

The City did really well to fight back from being two goals behind. At one stage in the second half they were playing Torquay off the field and looked to be convincing winners. But that stage did not last quite long enough. The newcomer, Brian Birch, was impressive, especially in the first half, in both his use of the ball and his willingness and ability to take a shooting chance.
Goalscorers:-
Pym and Baxter (Torquay),
Calland and Rees (City).

SOUTHERN LEAGUE:
WEYMOUTH 2 CITY RESERVES 2.

Hill put in one very good shot early in the game at Weymouth today, but it was a very long time before anything else was seen of the City forwards.

Weymouth: Beal; Stevenson, Stocker; Sheppard, Langman, Anderson; McGowan, Gleadall, Heffer, Dobbie, Gaillard.

City Res:- Brown; Rutter, Whitnall; John, Packer, Carberry; Atkins, Pulman, Hill, Nicholls, Cruz.

Starting more briskly, Weymouth went ahead after 5 minutes through Dobbie, but Hill equalised two minutes from the interval. The same pattern of scoring was repeated by the same players in the second.

EXETER CITY RESERVES 3 CAMBRIDGE UNITED 3.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24th SOUTHERN LEAGUE.

The City Reserves forced a draw with Cambridge at St. James's Park on Wednesday evening, but only because of goalkeeper Harry Brown. Dislocating two fingers when letting in the second Cambridge goal, a soft shot which he should have stopped, Brown came back to play on

the right wing, Butterworth going in goal. And when the Reserves were 3-1 down in the second half Brown crossed

one ball which Atkins pushed through for Robinson to score, and then put over another one from which Atkins headed the equaliser. Exeter's first goal was scored by Hill before the interval.