Weymouth 24/03/08

Lost 3-1.

Attendance: 2995
Report by Kirstie Bowden

In a rare break from tradition, family Bowden (and Grecian the Lion) travelled to Weymouth by car. Consequently the 'embargo' over references made to journey incidents has been lifted and I can write anything! Therefore I feel it necessary to criticise the chief navigator of the journey to Weymouth, my Dad. After being given details of a meticulously planned route by my Mum he ignored them and placed them on the floor, adamant that he knew the way. It was only on my later examination of the planned route whilst stuck in traffic that I discovered that we had taken the wrong turning at a roundabout some miles back in Bridport and were going the very long way round. His earlier comments that a car full of Grecians were going the wrong way at the aforementioned roundabout proved suitably ironic!

Immediately in the ground I was confronted by an ominous sight, City in the dodgy white kit. I was then surprised to hear the announcement of two new signings, Steve Ba' Shem and Alan Harley. This surprise soon turned to disappointment as we realised that of course, there were no new signings, except Ben Watson. He was back in the squad following his debut for the reserves, where in true Exeter City style, he got injured.

And so to the game. Oh dear. I'm writing this some 6 hours after the game (whilst waving to Sacha Opinel playing live on Setanta!) and I would guess that our friend Mr Halliday (who should have taken a holiday) is still filling in his match report. He awarded cards as if his life depended on it, 8 yellows and 1 red in total. Top marks go to a great shout from a nearby City supporter - "Are you on a yellow card bonus ref?" Notable yellows went to Rob for pushing the linesmans flag out his way and Deano for being pushed to the ground. The awarding of the latter was a theatrical performance that even Tim Sills would be proud of. After talking to the offender and the victim and sending them on their way, the ref then blew his by now, worn out whistle, called them back and proceeded to book both of them. By this point words failed me, although this can't be said for the Grecians around me who directed a multiplicity of fruitful comments towards our friend in the black. When the game wasn't stopped for one of the refs many moments, City's performance, which culminated in a 3-1 drubbing, was best described as rubbish. My mum suggested that they needed recycling! Thankfully, the view at Weymouth from the stands was so poor that I was spared the full terror that the 'Terras' inflicted upon us. Always seeking to be positive however, Matt Taylor's goal was brilliant and Ben Watson showed promising potential.

After managing to finally clear the Weymouth car park we set off on our journey home, with my Dad navigating again. Luckily I became aware of this before it was too late, stripped him of navigational duties and engineered a new route home, using my geography degree to great effect! Just when we thought that City had caused enough of a commotion for the day, sitting in traffic in the narrow, heavily congested streets of Abbotsbury (where Julian and Nicky were running the streets clutching pasties!), we saw the team-bus approaching in the distance. I imagine they were met with a similar reception to the one given to them earlier when leaving the pitch.