Match report by Stuart James Western Morning News 

EXETER City brought the curtain down on their away league fixtures for another season with a creditable share of the spoils at Leyton Orient. 

It is a rare achievement for one person to be both man of the match yet still produce one of the bloopers of the season, but that was the case for Exeter’s goalkeeper Arjan van Heusden. 

Had Dennis Norden been in attendance at the Matchroom Stadium on Saturday, then surely van Heusden’s 22nd minute aberration would have shot straight to the top of his ‘It Will Be Alright on the Night’ schedule.

The giant Dutch-born ‘keeper – either through a lack of concentration or a wicked bounce of the ball which any Indian leg spinner would have been proud of – somehow allowed a harmless through ball to slip through his grasp. The error presented Orient’s Adam Newton with the simplest tap in goal he will ever score. 

Needless to day Grecians manager John Cornforth was not best pleased. “I thought he was at fault with the goal; he could have come out and caught the ball but he says the bounce beat him. Being realistic, I was very annoyed on the bench to concede that goal,” said Cornforth. 

However, van Heusden did not let the unfortunate moment affect his display and one particularly outstanding left handed tip over midway through the second half proved a point saver. 

The Grecians had gone in front with their first genuine shot on target in the 20th minute as Steve Flack headed home Andy Roscoe’s pin-point free kick. Flack almost snatched an unlikely winner in stoppage time as he was barely inches away from converting a Geoff Breslan cross.

The draw means City will go into their final fixture of the season at home to Hartlepool United with a chance of a top half of the table finish, although it is a foray into the transfer market which Cornforth has set his sights on as he strengthens his paper-thin squad. 

“If I want to bring any players in then some others will have to go. I want to progress in management and if that means forsaking one or two players, then so be it,” added Cornforth. 

One player who seemed set to push for a place next season is YT youngster Leslie Afful. The Liverpool-born striker was handed his league debut as a second half substitute for Graeme Tomlinson. Cornforth said of the youngster’s brief showing: “I thought he did really well, he only got 15 minutes but he showed he can put himself about and he is very, very quick. 

“In this league, when you are up against big centre half’s they don’t like playing against nippy players. He showed he has got a bright future and he could even earn us a bob or two.” 

Cornforth confirmed he would be signing Afful as a professional next year. In the 12 minutes the tiny live wire forward was on the pitch, he produced one or two clever runs as well as a refreshing eagerness to succeed, as well as poleaxing an Orient defender with a mis-timed tackle. 

“I was made up just to get on and I really enjoyed it. I would definitely like to do it again,” said Afful. 

Experienced O’s defender David McGhee was the man upended by the youngster’s challenge, but the pint-sized Grecian wasn’t phased by the defender’s over-reaction. “I took him down and just turned away, but the next thing I knew he was running after me. I wasn’t scared or nothing, I just thought it was quite funny,” added Afful.

Referee: M Fletcher

Att: 5332 with 267 City fans