Exeter City 4 Swansea City 0.

BY ROSS REID

Saturday 9 January 1998

Referee: M Dean

Att: 3213

Exeter City 4 Swansea O

STEVE Flack received a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 86th minute after helping steer Exeter to their biggest win of the season. The City target man had already crowned a man of the match performance with the best goal seen at St James Park this season a cracking 25 yarder that flew off Flack's left boot like a rocket and smashed in off Roger Freestone's right hand stanchion before nestling in the top corner. Flack's super strike rounded off City's best win allied to their best performance - this was a superb team effort, and also ended Swansea's unbeaten eight match league run. It also took Flack's tally to five goals in as many games and his season's total to 11 after he had earlier scored City's second goal. Exeter were fired up from the start and never let up on their bombard- ment on the Swansea goal. Chris Fry went close in the opening minute and then from his seventh minute corner Chris Curran swept in a superb rising drive past Freestone at the near post after beating Julian Alsop to the ball and letting fly with a first time effort from 15 yards. It was Swansea centre forward Alsop who had originally put the ball out as Swansea came under early pressure and he was forced to help out in defence. In the 13th minute Freestone made a great stop to deny Brian Quailey as his drive from the edge of the box a late deflection off Matthew Bound following good work by Fry and Flack. Exeter continued to apply the pressure but what will please boss Peter Fox is the way his team performed.
Curran and Billy Clark kept Swansea twin strikers Alsop and Steve Watkin quiet as mice all afternoon. Fullback Jon Richardson and Graeme Power performed well as did all the midfielders and the front two. Keeper Ashley Bayes was rarely troubled and his team mates looked fuelled with confidence by two 3-1 wins on the trot. In the 25th minute Exeter should have had a free kick when Fry was fouled. But while their bench was still appealing Flack latched onto a poor clear- ance, took it down with his right foot and placed it with his left into the corner past Freestone from 22 yards. The former Cardiff City striker was giving Bound and fellow centre half Jason Smith, the former Tiverton player, a torrid time. As the half neared an end set-up a fine chance to Quailey and forced a couple of smart stops off Freestone after earlier having another ef- fort scrambled off the line by Watkin as the City target man caused Swansea's defence all sorts of problems. The visitors made a timid attempt at clawing something back after the break but the home side were in top form and in the 66th minute made it 3-0. Jimmy Gardner's corner from the left was met by Flack and for once his touch failed him. However, he fought back to head the ball into Quailey's path and the on loan West Brom striker bagged his chance on the turn to claim his first ever league goal. The pair combined again in the 78th minute with Flack heading Fry's far post ball back across the face of the goal to Quailey, whose header was saved at the foot of the post by Freestone. If it wasn't for him Exeter may have scored, more and even Freestone could not stop Flack's fantastic 82nd minute diagonal drive after he had turned Smith.

EXETER: Bayes, Fry (Breslan 85), Power, Holloway, Richardson, Clark, Quailey, Rees, Flack (Waugh 86), Curran, Gardner (Blake 90).

SWANSEA 
Freestone, Jones, Clode, Cusack, Smith, Bound, Roberts, Thomas (Jenkins 71), Alsop (Price 85), Watkin (Bird (60), Coates.