Histon 24/11/07
D 2-2

Attendance 973

We caught our first glimpse of the 'Glassworld Stadium' as we drove past it on route to the pub. Such was the minimalist design of the stadium, in the sense that it looked very much like a playing field with a fence around it, that many on the bus argued that it was instead the local leisure centre. The Rose and Crown was a nice little pub in a very picturesque location, next to a duck pond. Given the arctic conditions at Histon that day, its most important feature was the welcoming fire which we crowded around. After a brief stay we reluctantly left the fire as we set off on our twenty minute walk back to the ground we had already passed.

Walking to the away end of the ground a steward came over to us and said that a visit to Histon must be a come down after our clearly world famous games against Manchester United. To this we added our recent visit to that place with the arch, and for good measure, games at Torrington, Cullompton and Barnstaple. This confused him somewhat, clearly unaware of the in-joke the Grecians around him were sharing!

The staff inside the ground were very friendly, and clearly surprised to see a large away support. A particularly nice steward organised some chips to be transferred from the home end as they weren't selling them at the away end. The man with the microphone was like nothing I've ever heard. His broadcast was a full blown radio show, asking for song requests, before proceeding to play 'Stop' by the Spice Girls which he dedicated to the match officials.

The game saw welcome returns for both Danny Seaborne and Andy Taylor who were injured many months ago at Bodmin, and Altrincham respectively. It was also the first outing for Citys unnecessary 'third' kit that looks suspiciously like a Liverpool away kit from many seasons ago. The away fans target of harmless abuse this week was the Histon captain whose last name was the same as their nearby arch rivals, Cambridge! We took the lead through a Dean Moxey goal but went in at half-time 1-1 after conceding a soft goal in front of the Exeter fans. Half time

We saw over officious activity by the local police force who were out in unnecessary strength. The unfairly targeted City supporters did themselves and the club proud by failing to react to their hounding tactics. The second half saw the temperature plummet even further, but City fans were momentarily warmed up as Jamie Mackie scored a brilliant goal in front of the away fans to put us back in front. This marked an impressive 6th goal in 6 consecutive games, a brilliant record from the young striker. However, the lead didn't last long as City almost instantaneously allowed Histon to equalise. City failed to monopolise on the chances that came their way in the remainder of the second half and luckily for us, so did Histon. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and the 973 bumper crowd left the ground in search of somewhere warm to thaw out. After the game, many were quick to point out that Histon are part-time and should have been beaten as a consequence. However, these people would do well to realise that the league table differentiates on the basis of playing ability and not the employment status of the players. With Histon one point above us going into the match, the draw was a fair result and the one point taken back to Devon better than none.