SATURDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 1976

CITY CRASH TO HEAVY BUT UNJUST DEFEAT

Watford 4 Exeter City 1

Watford team: Rankin, How, Walsh, Craker, Eades, Garner, Bond, Joslyn, Poole (Coffill), Mercer, Hayes.

Exeter City team: Key, Templeman, Hore, Morrin, Saxton (Jordan), Hatch, Jennings, Kellow, Robertson, Beer.

Scorers: Watford: Poole, Bond, Mayes, Joslyn. Exeter: Beer.

Attendance: 5,079

Exeter City suffered their biggest defeat of the season because they played attacking football. Such is the fate of a side that persists in going forward. City conceded two goals in the closing minutes as they threw everything into attack looking for an equaliser. Thus the final score was a heavy defeat for Exeter, yet they were in the Watford half for a good two thirds of the match..

Bobby Saxton once again had to leave the field through injury, this time with a hamstring problem in the first half.

Watford's opening goal came after 21 minutes when Poole netted his first goal for the club.

Alan Beer equalised for City five minutes later when Graham Weeks headed the ball down to him, and he made no mistake. John Templeman, who had been playing an excellent game, blotted his copybook in the 34th minute when fouling Mayes. Bond gave Watford the lead once again from the resultant penalty.

After the interval Beer went extremely close to equalising with two shots that were brilliantly saved by Rankin. With all their efforts concentrated on attack in an effort to save a point, Exeter left gaps at the back which Watford exploited to the full in the last eight minutes. Mayes made it 3-1 to Watford in the 82nd minute and with two minutes remaining Joslyn added a fourth.