Last game for the Big Bank, before being demolished.

Exeter City 2 Halifax Town 1.
Report by Ross Reid

Saturday 8 May 1999.

Referee: David Crick

Att: 3180

CHRIS Curran scored a sensational winner in the third minute of injury time as Exeter City ended Halifax Town's play-off hopes and finished above arch rivals Plymouth Argyle. Both sides had missed six-yard sitters to seal victory in injury time when the visitors conceded a corner in front of the fans massed on the Big Bank. City substitute Geoff Breslan steered the flag-kick in and when it fell to Welsh midfielder Jason Rees on the left-hand side of the box he floated it back again to the far post. Central defender Curran, who has just signed a new two-year deal to stay at Exeter, rose above all and sundry to power his header across the face of goal and past Halifax keeper Lee Martin. The winner was Curran's third successive home goal and helped secure his club's third home victory in a row. Just a few seconds earlier City fans could have been forgiven for thinking their last chance for success had passed them by when Martin made a superb stop to deny Chris Fry. Late substitute Warren Waugh had set fellow forward Steve Flack free down the left and his pin-point cross found Fry unmarked, but Martin managed to beat away the City midfielder's effort. If Halifax, who needed a win to stand a chance of making it into the play-offs, thought they had received a late let-off they were wrong. No-one in the visi- tors' side was more disappointed as the final whistle blew than visiting goal scorer Justin Jackson. Striker Jackson had the perfect opportunity to add to his 43rd minute opener in the first minute of injury time. City skipper Jon Richard- son failed to clear Halifax substitute Chris Newton's cross from the right and the ball fell invitingly to Jackson. But as he let fly City keeper Danny Potter flung his body at the drive to make the save of the day. Jackson had beaten Potter to lob the visitors ahead in the first half. He sprang the off-side trap to pounce on a wind-assisted 50-yard pass from Halifax sweeper Jon Brown, the former Gre- cians defender who received a grandstand ovation when he was substituted in the second half. Within 30 seconds of Jackson's goal City levelled in bizarre circumstances. Darran Rowbotham passed out wide to Jon Wilkinson on the right wing and the youngster thumped in a tremendous cross which flashed past Martin before crashing off defender Andy Thackeray and into the net. City started much brighter than Halifax, with Jon Gittens looping a header just over in the opening minute and Martin doing well to hold Rowbotham's sweetly-hit 25- yard volley in the fifth minute. Martin made another good save to deny Flack in the 16th minute and the towering 15-goal striker was unlucky not to get a final touch to Richardson's excellent cross a minute later. Richardson made a great tackle to deny Kevin Hulme as he broke through in the 19th minute. Both sides had opportuni- ties to score early in the second half, Graeme Power sending in a superb 50th minute free-kick which just eluded his forwards. Mark Sertori will still be wondering this morning how he did not score on the hour. A bad clearance fell to him but his goal-bound close-range shot smashed off Halifax substitute David Hanson on the line and away to safety. Helpless Hanson nearly made amends straight away but his header from Jamie Paterson's cross was just tipped over by Potter. Martin did well to palm out Fry's 30-yard dipper in the 66th minute, which Flack nearly turned in.

Exeter City 
Potter
Curran
Power.
Holloway
Richardson
Gittens
Rowbotham
Rees
Flack
Fry
Wilkinson
Substitutes:
Breslan (for Wilkinson, 61 mins),
Smith (for Holloway, 76),
Waugh (for Rowbotham, 76).

Halifax: Martin, Thackeray, Lu- cas, Sertori, Murphy, Stoneman, Paterson, Hulme (Hanson, 46 mins), Jackson, Brown (Newton, 66), Butler, Sub: not used: L Power

Scorers:
Exeter - Thackeray og, 44 mins, Curran, 90;
Halifax - Jackson, 43.

Bookings:
Halifax - Hulme, 18 mins: Martin, 45.

Referee: David Crick (Worcester Park) ✰✰✰. Attendance: 3,180.