PARK REPORT:
THE VIEWS OF ANTONY MOXEY

Saturday 18th November 2006
EXETER CITY 1
KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 1

So City throw away two points in bizarre circumstances at the Park in front of 3082 incredulous fans on a bright and chilly afternoon. It was Kidderminster who started the game brightest, and Kidderminster who forced the early pace. Their industry was rewarded as early as the second minute when City allowed Russell Penn to advance into the box unchecked, and then receive the ball without challenge. Two defenders fell over themselves attempting to shield his low drive but succeeded in merely unsighting Paul Jones who just couldn't drop quickly enough onto the ball thus gifting an easy 1-0 lead to the visitors.

Five minutes in and the first chance for City from the opening exchanges came about when an intelligent Challinor ball dinked down the left invited Phillips to give chase. Cutting in from the touchline level with the edge of the box, Phillips blazed past two defenders before letting fly a stinging drive that was deflected wide for a corner. Phillips was again involved minutes later feeding Challinor out wide. He in turn fed Stansfield who charged round the outside of a defender at lightning pace toward the goal line. Unfortunately his cut back to Phillips was smartly intercepted and hacked away to safety.

Chances became scarce as City weathered some sustained pressure - without ever really giving Jones cause for concern but gradually the tide turned in City's favour and midway through the half Buckle delivered an inviting ball over a square defence for Stansfield to run onto after easily beating a half hearted offside trap. He raced to the goal line and fizzed the ball across the face of goal but unfortunately no-one could match his electric pace and there was no-one there to convert into an empty net from no more than six inches out.

City's now dominant play got their just desserts on 28 minutes when a sharp Billy Jones interception saw the ball poked forwards to a central Stansfield. He turned and raced toward the box delivering a delicious low cross towards the penalty spot where Billy Jones had continued his run and beat Phillips in the race to slide the ball home under the onrushing keeper for a fully deserved equaliser.

Cay's tails were now well and truly up, and minutes later Woodards charged down the right skipping past tackles at breakneck speed. He crossed the ball in from the edge of the box to the only other player on the team quick enough to keep up, but Stansfield's snapshot was desperately blocked at source. Stansfield had an even better chance when a free kick broke to him just inside the box, but after watching in honor as his first time smash was blocked, horror turned to disbelief as somehow the keeper palmed a rebounded drive away to safety from point blank range.

looked as though City's somewhat purple patch was going to be rewarded further seconds later when once again Stansfield was making a nuisance of himself in the box. Spotting Jones cutting in on a clever run, he played the back to Jones who was unceremoniously upended by a clumsy challenge two feet inside the area for an obvious penalty. After dusting himself down Jones stepped up and confidently struck the ball low and hard into the centre of the goal, but despite diving to his right and missing it completely, it was a good job the keeper didn't bother to cut his toenails before the game as the ball cannoned off the end of his talling foot and away to safety.

But City didn't let their heads drop and continued in search of the win. A smart move involving Taylor, Phillips and Challinor exchanging diagonal passes across the pitch ended with a ferocious Challinor effort from the edge of the box shot straight at the keeper, and although City continued to enjoy the lion's share of the ball, that was it as far as action went for the remaining ten minutes of the half.

With the second half in sight City were first out onto the pitch, keen to try and keep their first half dominance going. In the fourth minute Matt Gill set off on a surging run, unfortunately being shepherded further and further wide meant his shooting angle was getting tighter as he progressed, eventually giving the keeper an easy collect with nowhere left to aim at.

But the dominance was short lived, and once again chances were at a premium. The midfields cancelled each other out, defences were on top and Phillips was perpetually and infuriatingly offside. One time he wasn't almost led to a goal. On the hour Gill sent him scampering down the touchline where he delivered the most glorious cross, but not even Stansfield busting a gut to reach it in the middle could get there in time to meet it and the chance was gone.

Midway through the first half and a somewhat rare Kidderminster attack saw them reduced to ten men. Plymouth loanee Reuben Reid muscled himself into the box but then went crashing to the ground. Reid countered with how he saw things, but the ref had seen enough and decided the intent was there so it was an early bath.
Surely now though City would go on to claim all three points, and moments after the sending off Stansfield looked to try and do exactly that, nipping back into his own half to steal the ball away from a potential cross into City box and bursting down the Old Grandstand touchline. As he surged goalwards, he was forced wider than he would have liked and was unfortunate to end up with too narrow an angle to aim at and thus his cross/shot was comfortably plucked from the air.

Stansfield was withdrawn for Mackie with fifteen minutes to go. So was our fizz, our guile, our drive and our pace. Until Moxey replaced the non stop hard working as usual Taylor ten minutes later taking Challinor's left side spot with Challinor moving to the right, we looked as though we would have to settle for a draw. Kidderminster certainly had, especially after losing a man almost 20 minutes earlier.

Billy Jones still wanted to atone for his freakish penalty miss though, and with seven minutes remaining launched in an inswinging comer from the right, was easily cleared, but only back to Jones It who ghosted past a defender and unleashed and arrow straight thunderbolt that the keeper clawed away from under his crossbar wasn't all City in the closing exchanges though, and Todd had to remain alert in the final minute when a Kidderminster forward burst into the box only for Todd to execute a perfect sliding challenge to divert the ball to safety just as the striker shaped to shoot.

But what a strange game for many reasons. Firstly, I don't think I've seen so many crosses delivered where there's been no-one on hand to even get a strike away let alone score. I suppose that most of them came from man of the match Stansfield when precious few can match his electric pace could account for it, but playing his best game for the club since his arrival according to manager Tisdale on the radio later.

Match Details 

Exeter City 1
Kidderminster Harriers 1.

Saturday 18 November 2006.

Exeter: Paul Jones, Woodards, Todd, Edwards, Billy Jones, Taylor (Moxey 81), Buckle, Gill, Challinor, Stansfield (Mackie 73), Phillips.

Subs Not Used: Rice, Cozic, Ada.

Booked: Woodards.

Goals: Billy Jones 28.

Kidderminster: Bevan, Kenna, Creighton, Whitehead, Blackwood, Davies, Hurren, Penn, Russell, Reid, Christie.
Subs Not Used: Steve Taylor, White, Reynolds, McGrath, Smikle.

Sent Off: Reid (68).

Booked: Creighton, Russell.

Goals: Penn 2.

Attendance 3,082.

Referee G Scott (Devon).