OCTOBER 24th 1984

EXETER CITY 1, SWINDON 1

By DEREK LEAN

JUSTICE was finally done so far as Swindon were concerned. Ten minutes from time they got the equaliser their power soccer had richly deserved.

But at one time the Wiltshire side must have thought the blindfold was covering both eyes, because in a hectic 12-minute period they had two goals disallowed for offside. Swindon dominated the second half even though they still trailed to the goal Exeter top scorer Ray Pratt - it was his eighth of the season had scored in the 23rd minute. They almost laid seige to the Exeter goalmouth, but for a long time it looked as if luck had totally deserted them and that no matter what they did they were not going to score. They just kept pushing forward and Exeter desperately tried to keep them at bay. In the 56th minute a Lee Barnard cross was touched on for Peter Coyne to flick into the net, but linesman Culverwell from Barnstaple already had his flag up for offside. In the 68th minute Swindon again got the ball into the net as Gary Nelson's cross was flicked on for Alan Mayes to pick a spot and firmly drive the ball into the net.

Once again, though, the linesman had seen the offside and Swindon were denied an equaliser. It looked as if Exeter might somehow hang on to their lead by the skin of their teeth, but in the 80th minute Swindon finally cracked their defence. A cross from player-manager Lou Macari was delicately headed in by Coyne, and this time there was no doubt. It was unquestionably only the reward that Swindon deserved, because on top of their second half performance they had been in plenty of action earlier on, but then their finishing let them down. In the 89th minute Swindon came within inches of grabbing victory as a beautiful chip from Alan Mayes had the beating of Geoff Wood, but hit the crossbar.

It was a far cry from the start of the second period when a dazzling run by Steve Neville, City's most dangerous player, came mighty close to bringing Exeter a second goal that at that time might have clinched the game.

The first half was full of old-fashioned end to end play, but although Exeter went in at the interval one up there had not been a lot to choose between the sides. In the opening minutes a cross from Steve Neville was picked up by midfielder Danny O'Shea, who curled a shot just outside the upright. Then a long ball out of defence by Keith Viney sent Neville away, but this time 'keeper Scott Endersby won the race for the ball and fly kicked it to safety. Swindon were laying on plenty of lively approach work, but their finishing was poor.

Mayes, for example, laid on a perfect chance for Paul Batty, but although in an ideal shooting position, he put the ball weakly wide. Exeter had a little luck after a corner and Swindon forced four in the first 15 minutes – when a blistering shot from Mayes was blocked. Then in the 23rd minute Exeter went ahead. Once more it was a long ball out of defence from skipper Viney that set the movement up. Neville collected the ball and chipped a cross into the middle where Ray Pratt was waiting to stroke the ball in from close range.

Attendance: 2,139.

Star players:

EXETER, Steve Neville.

SWINDON, Alan Mayes.