Points slither away in mud.

Exeter 1-1 Plymouth Argyle 

Match Report by Martyn Dean 

AFTER more than three weeks of starvation, almost any fare can seem like a feast. But having had time to digest yesterday's 1-1 draw between Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle, supporters might perhaps be excused for having wished for something a little more appe- tising from the traditional Devon derby.

As is so often the case on occasions like this, the commitment and the enthusiasm were a little overdone, while the entertainment and the excitement were a little too rare. Live action In fairness the waterlog- ged pitch and the heavy rain hardly provided the recipe for a classic and in the light of the way in which the Iweather has decimated the sporting programme over the last few weeks, one should perhaps be grateful for even a taste of live action once more.

The end result was at least satisfactory as far as Plymouth Argyle and the police were concerned if not entirely to the liking of City's manager Brian Godfrey. After seeing two more precious home points slip almost literally from his side's grasp, Godfrey was left to curse the elements for the contribution they had made to Argyle's controversial equaliser. He complained that the waterlogged pitch had been more at fault than Martyn Rogers for the fall by Kevin Hodges which led to referee Colin Downey awarding a penalty five minutes from time. "Their lad was already on his way down when Martyn slipped into him," said Godfrey. "I thought it was a harsh decision considering the conditions." Chris Harrison a reluctant volunteer for the job in the absence of regular penalty takers Jeff Cook and Mike McCartney made no - mistake with the spot-kick. And regardless of the arguments that raged afterwards about the justifica- tion, or otherwise of Mr. Downey's decision, a draw was probably a fair reflection of the match. The penalty was not the only decision from Mr. Downey to cause consternation in the City camp, however.

His booking of Lee Roberts in the 66th minute for a foul on Tony Dennis could have equally serious consequences in the long term. It is almost certain to bring Roberts four more disciplinary points, taking his total for the season to 20, and making him eligible for a two- or three-match suspension. Roberts has been in tremendous form all season, but it will be particularly unfortunate if he is suspended now. His new partnership with George Foster was one of the most promising things to emerge from yesterday's game. It cannot have been the easiest of debuts for Foster, playing against the club he has been with throughout his career, but on the evi- dence of yesterday's per- formance he looks as if he could be the answer to City's central defensive problems. "I thought George settled in extremely well in his first game," said Godfrey afterwards. "It is nice to know that we have managed to get at least one match out of him before his loan period is up." Another of the pleasing aspects as far as City were concerned was the return to goal-scoring form of Tony Kellow. He had been going through a pretty lean spell by his own high standards and before yesterday had not scored since November. But the way in which he slotted in his 12th goal of the season from Joe Cooke's 70th-minute knock-down was vintage Kellow. It was just as well that Kellow chose that moment to demonstrate his finishing skills, for chances were generally pretty thin on the ground. Kellow and Cooke managed to mess one up between them on on the hour, and Forbes Phillipson-Masters missed out on a golden opportunity to get his con- siderable name on the score sheet after a rare misunder- standing in the City defence. Leigh Cooper's free-kick beat the offside trap and with Ian Main slipping in the mud, Phillipson-Masters was left with the goal at his mercy, but he somehow managed to screw his shot wide. Apart from the two goals, the only other notable scoring attempt came from Peter Rogers three minutes from the end. His shot looked as if it might still net City all three points until Harrison appeared on the scene to make a desperate goal-line clearance.

Attendance: 9,144.