Hull City 4-0 Exeter City

Report by Mike Ackroyd 

EXETER City were washed back to the South West on a tide of goals delivered by a team that had not scored at home in the League since September.

If the players had shown the same determination as manager Peter Fox did in making a quick getaway from Boothferry Park it might have been a dif- ferent story. It was left to assistant manager Noel Blake to express Exeter's anguish. He said: 'You've got to give commitment and we were rather lacking in that department. We are very disappointed and the result was no less than we deserved'. The outlook was never less than bleak for the Grecians as Hull turned round with a two goal advantage and ran riot afterwards when Exeter were lucky not to see the score more than doubled. Goalkeeper Stuart Naylor responded manfully throughout the match making some fine saves, striker Gary Alexander never stopped trying and Kofi Nyamah did his best to hold midfield together. But the game ended prematurely for Nyamah when he collided with Hull goalkeeper Steve Bywater in the 78th minute and was stretchered off with a suspected broken cheekbone after a five minute delay. Dealing with Nyamah's determined challenge was teenager Bywater's biggest test in his second game on loan from West Ham. Exeter's season which took off after a 1-0 opening day home win over Hull, now looks in near terminal decline and it will take a miracle of some sorts for them to get anything from Everton in the FA Cup. It was a miserable day for about 50 Exeter fans standing behind Naylor's goal in the first half. After a low key start Hull, who have also been struggling, got the all important goal after 22 minutes - their first in the League at home in 450 minutes. Player manager Warren Joyce, once with Argyle, delivered a 40- yards free kick which Mike Edwards scrambled in off a post. Exeter skipper Jon Richardson almost pulled one back with a drive from the edge of the box. Hull dominated territorially and took command in the final minute of the half when Steve Harper's low cross cannoned past Naylor off Jamie Robinson's shins. It looked like an own goal but Harper, who scored twice more in the second half, went home with the ball after claiming a hat trick. Fox tried to change things by sending on three substitutes but it made little difference. Theodore Whitmore, Hull's Jamaican World Cup player, struck up a dazzling link with Harper, supplying a perfect through ball for his team mate to beat Naylor at the second attempt. Nyamah's injury left Exeter a man short and powerless to prevent Harper scoring again.

Exeter City 
Naylor. Richardson. Buckle Curran Gittens Rees Gale. Nyamah Boylan Alexander Robinson Substitutes: Holloway (for Buckle, 52) Flack (for Gale, 52), Breslan (for Boylan 70) Not used. Matthews, Speakman.

Hull City:
Bywater, Goodison, Whittle, Edwards, Whitney, Joyce, Whitmore, Schofield, Harper, Wood (Betsy 86) Brown (Harris 86) Not used:Bracey, Swales, Perry

Scorers:
Hull City - Edwards, 22, Harper 45, 75, 89
Bookings:
Exeter - Robinson 26, Boylan 48,

Referee:
Alan Wilkie (Chester-le-Street)

Attendance: 5.683.

*Star Man: Stuart Naylor Kept score to near re- spectablity