CITY'S DEFENCE HOLDS OUT: ROVERS BLAME THEIR FORWARDS.

TUESDAY APRIL 2ND 1963

DONCASTER 1 EXETER CITY 1.

Arnold Mitchell and Colin Tinsley were the men Exeter had to thank the most for their point at the Rovers' ground, Doncaster. These two players stood out defensively like two massive lighthouses over what might, had they been absent, very troubled waters. Penned inside their own half and often inside their penalty area for almost the entire game Exeter were regarded by some Rovers' fans as fortunate to take a point, and to some extent of course they were. But it was Doncaster's poor finishing as much as anything else that allowed Exeter to stretch their unbeaten run to eight matches.

Doncaster Rovers:- Hellewell; Raine and Meadows; Windross, White, and Ripley;
Robinson, Hale, Booth, Broadbent, and Wallace.

Exeter City:- Tinsley; Smyth and Patrick;
Mitchell, Harvey, and Anderson; McMillan, Carter, Henderson, Pierce, and Jenkins.

When Booth put his side ahead after 35 minutes a home win looked more than possible, but then, for almost the first time in this game Exeter revealed their attacking power with Henderson racing through in the next minute to drive home the equaliser. From there to the end it was the Rovers throwing everything except their none-too-brilliant floodlights at the City defence, but with this defence in great form, and with Mitchell and Tinsley in the most brilliant form, the Devon side's defensive curtain was not pierced again.

"What can we do to win?" asked a Doncaster Rovers director at the end of the game. The answer is "simply score in proportion to the side's outfield superiority."