CITY ARE ON TOP BUT FOILED BY GOALKEEPER. THEN CREWE GET TWO POINTS THROUGH "GIFT" GOAL.

Thursday March 16th 1961.

EXETER CITY
CREWE ALEXANDRA (Stark) 1

Played at St James's Park, attendance 3,632.

Exeter City: Jones; Foley and MacDonald; Mitchell, Harvey, and Wilson; Bond, Rees, Jenkins, Carter, and Dale.

Crewe Alexandra:- Williamson; McGill and Campbell; D.Jones, Barnes, and Tighe; Pennington, Haydock, Stark, Shepherd, and M.Jones.

When Exeter City were losing to Crewe just before half time it was not easy to decide whether it was through bad luck or poor play. When they finished up with the score still the game it was in all probability a bit of each plus a brilliant display of goalkeeping by Williamson. For the City had more than three quarters of the game, and the Crewe defence must have taken its hardest hammering since they went down. to Tottenham last season by 13 goals to 2. The game started badly for Exeter. They were too slow and lacking in drive, and to cap it all they made their opponents the gift of a goal when Mitchell's mis-directed back pass to the goalkeeper was snapped up by Stark, who, unchallenged, placed the ball into the City's net with no trouble at all.

• And Exeter City yesterday lost one of the best players they have ever had. Jim Thompson, who came down from Oldham last season, is reported to have been unable to settle in the south of England and he has thrown in his lot with Rochdale.