Swansea City 2 Exeter City 0.

Saturday 8 August 1998.

JOHN Hollins has been in football long enough not to get carried away by the headline waiters proclaiming victory on the opening day of a new campaign.

The game has a nasty habit of biting back and exposing any sign of weakness as Swansea dis- covered when they rattled off three straight home wins 12 months ago and ended up finishing 20th in the Third Division.

But for a manager with the declared intention of creating a Fortress Vetch, Hollins was not about to disguise his delight at seeing his team win a League game for the first time.

"We started very nervously and it did take the goal to lift us and the crowd. But we improved as the game went on and I was very pleased with our overall perfor- mance," he said.

Hollins had every reason to feel a sense of pride even though it took almost 45 minutes before Swansea were able to banish all thoughts of deja vu and get on with the serious business of rebuilding. New players, a new manager and a new system. Getting everything to gel is going to take time but the signs are promising.

Two goals either side of the interval from two of the smallest players on the pitch finally exorcised the lingering doubts from a winter of discontent when Swanse kept pressing the self destruct button.

While sanity and stability appear to have returned, it still needed plenty of patience from a big crowd which went rather quiet and a bench which looked a little concerned before Martin Thomas removed the anxiety with a stunning goal in first-half stoppage time.

Exeter, pressing without the cutting edge, had just won a corner when Swansea broke quickly to snatch the lead. Striker Julian Alsop, on the field barely two minutes for the injured Aidan Newhouse, combined with the excellent Steve Watkin to bring the supporting Jason Price into the game. The long striding full-back delivered a superb low cross and Thomas crowned a hard working debut with a volley from six yards.

Ninety seconds after the restart Exeter's static defence was exposed again. Richie Appleby planted a free kick deep into the heart of the goalmouth and Watkin could not believe his good fortune when he was left with a free header.

For a team operating with three tall centre backs it was shoddy defending, but with goal scoring opportunities at a premium Swances were certainly not complaining. As they grew in confidence after a shaky beginning, Swansea could have won by more even though they never really fired on all cylinders.

Alsop's header went over the top after Ashley Bayes had punched out a Thomas cross, while the busy Exeter goalkeeper smothered at the feet of the Swanses attack when Appleby delivered a teasing ball after a well worked free kick. There were opportunities, too, for substitute Dave O'Gorman, on in place of the injured Appleby, but he chose to go it alone when an early pass might have produced a more positive result. But while the passing and option taking left a lot to be desired at times, Hollins had cause to smile not least at all the positive aspects, a defence which restricted the Exeter attack to just one opportunity. New central defender Jason Smith grew in confidence after a shaky start, but the strength of a new-look back four lay in the understanding and ability to cover quickly when a colleague was in trouble. Price, Matthew Bound and Michael Howard, starting a League game for only the third time, under- lined that quality whenever they were under pressure and their steadiness and discipline served to ensure that Roger Freestone had a relatively quiet start to the new season. In midfield Nick Cusack and Thomas worked industriously, while up front Alsop and Watkin developed a good understanding after the departure of Newhouse. Elsewhere Jonathan Coates never really got out of first gear while Appleby, clearly hampered by injury, only showed glimpses of the form which last season marked him down as one to watch.

But there was no need for recriminations. As an hors d'oeuvre it was passable. Now we await the arrival of the main course. As players and management kept stressing the important thing was winning. "It's great to get three points under our belts, especially on the opening day of the season. One down, 45 to go," quipped Hollins.

Referee: B Knight

Attendance 5809

SWANSEA: Freestone, Price, Howard, Cusack, Smith, Bound, Appleby (O'Gorman 65), Thomas, Newhouse (Alsop 43), Watkin, Coates. Sub (not used): Jenkins.

EXETER: Bayes, Gale (Richardson 84), Power, Curran, Blake, Gittens, Rowbotham, Rees, Flack, Clark, Breslan (Crowe 70). Sub (not used): Holloway.