Exeter City 0 
Chesterfield 1 (Baines) 

lley goes for star man Barnard after Exeter run ends

CAPTAIN BAINES SCUTTLES CITY
Report by By Trina Lake (Echo Sport)

EXETER CITY slid back to their early season slipshod ways on Saturday and paid the penalty of losing their first home match since mid- December.

They were beaten by a 35th minute goal from Chesterfield skipper Steve Baines in a game that lacked commitment, incident, and excitement. In fact there was probably more action at Chesterfield's ground where Arthur Scar- gill was rallying support for the miners.

The game was played almost at half pace with the notable exception on City's side of Leigh Barnard. The John Travolta look alike tried repeatedly to inject some Saturday afternoon fever into City, danc- ing up and down the left flank tirelessly.

He came closest to scoring with a second half header but in the end his only rewards were the man of the match honours. It was Barnard's last game at the end of his one month's

loan from Swindon and the bewildered midfielder left St James's Park with his future still hanging in the balance.

City manager Jim Iley planned to talk to Swindon chief Lou Macari today in the hope of persuading him to release Barnard on a free transfer.

Barnard has proved himself to be a valuable asset in his six appearances for City and if he does have to return to Swindon, he could hardly have gone out on a higher note.

"Leigh was by far our best player. Today we had too many bad players and as a result it was one of our worst performances at home for quite some time," said Iley.

City made the elementary mistake of playing to the opposition's strengths instead of their own. Chesterfield are one of the biggest and brawniest sides in the Fourth Division and it is suicide to take them on in aerial combat. But that is exactly what City tried to do and predictablly failed miserably.

"We have no excuse at all. We were bad and that's it," admitted Iley.

Chesterfield were not much better but at least you had the feeling that they were playing within them- selves and had more to offer than they actually bothered to show. They are not a particularly attractive side to watch but they could not care less as they sit in fourth place in the division, poised for promo- tion.

John Duncan's side looked little uncomfortable a during a good early spell from City but they needn't have worried themselves unduly. For all City's possession and probing, their final pass into the penalty area was still painfully poor on too many occasions.

And with both Ray Pratt and Trevor Morgan right out of touch City were on a hiding to nothing from the start.

In fact, in a game sadly lacking in goalmouth incident, both sides created fewer than a handful of clear cut chances each in the entire 90 minutes.

The pattern was set in the first five minutes when the ball must have spent 75 per cent of the time in the air.

Morgan had City's first on target effort but his shot after a good interchange with Pratt was so weak that goalkeeper Chris Marples almost had to come out to meet it before it stopped short.

Symon Burgher showed good skills in a promising eight minute move but Danny O'Shea mis-hit the final shot and sent the ball sailing high over the cross-bar.

City, usually so keen to get their wide men involved, made far too little use of Martin Ling and Barnard the men who looked most likely to cause Chesterfield's defence problems.

Ling, struggling with a thigh injury that eventually forced him off in the 65th minute, decided to go after the ball himself in the 21st minute instead of waiting in vain for it to come to him.

He robbed casual full- back Shaun O'Neill just inside the Chesterfield half and raced goalward. Instead of having a crack at the target himself he tried to curl in a high cross for the incoming Morgan, but Ling got it all wrong and goalkeeper Chris Marples gathered comfortably under no pressure.

New signing Forbes Phillipson-Masters could hardly have picked a worse match to make his return debut for City. The central defender, on his second loan spell with City in nine years, hardly got a look in against Chesterfield's big strike pair of Ernie Moss and Bob Newton.

But he made his present felt in attack in the 32nd minute, almost forcing a goal. He back-headed a Ling corner and caught Marples unawares. The ball bounced off the 'keeper's hand and Moss was there to hack clear. Three minutes later Chesterfield were in front, capitalysing like many before them on City's inability to clear their lines effectively enough, and Jeff Wood's hesitancy on crosses.

The goal came from Chesterfield's first corner. It was only half cleared and Steve Kendal crossed from the right for Baines to send a virtual free header crashing in from the edge of the six yard box.

City's most concerted attempts at reply came just before half time with impro- ving young defender Phil King, holding on to the left back spot and forcing Keith Viney into strange territory at right back, involved in two useful moves. He first combined with a steadier Nick Marker to create an opening for Pratt but he drove a shot straight into a crowd of players, and then King sent Barnard clear but his cross was put into the side netting by Pratt, at full stretch.

City's overall ineptitude and Chesterfield's hustling in midfield and dominance in defence meant that Iley's men were restricted to just one good chance in the second half.

It came in the 70th minute after Steve Spooner, the hard working Newton, and Kendal had all gone close for Chesterfield. 

Barnard got in a glancing header to a Viney free kick and as the ball looked like it might creep just inside the post, Marples leapt to his right to pluck it out of the air.

Barnard may have deserved a goal but frankly City didn't deserve to equal- ise. They should have been completely buried in the 83rd minute when more good work by the indust- rious Newton put Kendal in, but he completely missed his kick and the ball ran to Spooner who shot too high.

Newton spoilt a fine afternoon's work by needlessly wasting injury time and get- ting himself booked.

Exeter City: Wood, King, Viney, O'Shea, Marker, Phillipson-Masters, Ling, Burgher, Morgan, Pratt, Barnard. Sub: Smith (on for Ling, 65 minutes).

Chesterfield: Marples, Ferguson, O'Neill, Matthews, Baines, Hunter, Spooner, Moss, Newton, Henderson, Kendal. Sub: Scrimgeour.

Attendance: 2,401.