English Cup Tie

FIFTH QUALIFYING ROUND:
EXETER CITY v BATH CITY
Saturday, December 2nd,
at St. James's Park

EXETER CITY 1-2 BATH CITY 

Favoured again today by the luck of the draw, Exeter City's chance of passing through to the Sixth Qualifying Round of the F. A. Cup Competition at the expense of Bath City was regarded as very rosy. It was recognised, however, that Bath City, who have previously beaten Ebbw Vale, Cardiff Corinthians, and Welton Rovers, in the same tournament, might prove to be a Cup team of altogether higher calibre than their League record suggests.

It is one of the curiosities of the season's "soccer" that whereas Torquay United at Plainmoor beat Bath City by six goals to one in a Southern League match, Bath were able to beat Welton Rovers 4-1 in the Cup on the Rovers' ground, where Torquay's Cup dreams had been dispelled six weeks before.

The Bath City team left home at 10.10 oclock this morning and reached Exeter just before 12.30, which gave them ample time to settle down before the kick-off, timed for 2.15 p.m.

FLYNN AGAIN IN GOAL

The visiting club relied on the eleven which proved successful in their last three Cup engagements, while Exeter City decided to field the team which beat Boscombe, the chief topic of interest being the reappearance of Flynn in goal.

Teams :

Exeter City:
Flynn; Pollard and Ackroyd; Rigby, Mitton, and Crompton; Matthews, Kirk, Vowles, Mathieson, and Shelton.

Bath City:
Reed; Sanders and Smith; Nuth, Tout, and March; Bolston, Dallimore, Dore, Williams, and Woodward.

Referee: Mr A.F.Davis, of Bristol. Linesmen:- Messrs S.F.Hyde and R.Attwood.

The early start militated against the attendance being large at the time of the kick-off, but for all that there were 2,000 present when the teams appeared. Bath City looked a smart lot of players in their black and white striped shirts. The ovation they received from the grand-stand and popular bank showed that many of their friends had made the journey.  The weather was fine and the air still. The ground had been carefully prepared for the match, and the players therefore had every chance of distinguishing themselves.

Crompton and Tout greeted one another cordially, and the Bath skipper, winning the toss, elected to face the St. James's Road end during the opening half.
Ackroyd repelled the visitors' first raid, and Exeter swarmed to the attack. Two free kicks were given to the Grecians for over-robust tactics on the part of the visiting defence. A pretty bout of first-time passing on Exeter's right ended in Kirk storming through to shoot fiercely close. to post, and in the next minute Kirk headed over the bar from free-kick by Matthews. 

WILLIAMS'S GRAND SHOT

Bath City took the ball to midfield, but were soon defending again, and Mathieson made a clever opening for Vowles, but Nuth saved the situation by kicking behind. Shelton's flag kick was headed clear by Tout, and the visitors had a brief respite.

Exeter, however, continued very aggressive, and their forward work had many bright features. A corner was won by Bath City in a sudden breakaway on their left, and the corner kick, although partly saved by Flynn, caused some trouble. Then Exeter took the play to the far end, and there was much strenuous manoeuvring for an opening, all the inside forwards taking part. Eventually. Mathieson fed Shelton with a wide pass, and from the return ball Vowles headed strongly just under the bar, but Reed managed to spring up and reach the shot, and ushered it to safety.

Bath then had another look-in. Dallimore was going through, when he was unfairly charged over near the penalty line. From the free kick Bolston took a direct shot, and Flynn saved on the goal-line. Bath quickly returned to the attack, and Williams, from Woodward's pass, shot grandly at 20 yards' range, the ball beating Flynn all the way and entering the top of the net for the opening goal. The game was just fifteen minutes old.

SCORES EQUALISED BY SHELTON

Exeter pressed the visitors hard in the next few minutes, and their goal had several narrow escapes. Two corners gave trouble, and Reed had several close range efforts to deal with. A swift run through by Shelton looked promising, but the young winger attempted too much on his own, and Smith smothered his shot. 

Eight minutes after Bath had scored Shelton forced the ball home for the equaliser. Rigby and Matthews had co-operated neatly on Exeter's right wing, and Matthews's centre to the goalmouth was fumbled by Reed. The ball came through to Shelton, who rammed it into the back of the net with the Bath defence all at sea. Half a minute later Shelton was again showing his paces when he was heavily tackled by Sanders, and had to be assisted off the field with a damaged knee.

MATHIESON'S HARD LUCK

At quarter-time the crowd numbered six thousand. Shelton came back to the field after an absence of five minutes, and again the visitors were busy defending. Smith headed out a dangerous cross kick, with Kirk hot on its track. Reed fielded a ball sent in direct from the touch-line by Matthews, and Kirk made three great attempts to net the ball, but each time sent it over the bar.

Mathieson was conspicuous with some clever jugglery, and then a pass from Crompton to the outside-left position emphasised the fact that Shelton's injury had compelled him to leave the field once again. The game was interrupted by an injury to Matthews, and while the trainer was engaged with him Shelton reappeared, to the relief of the crowd.

Matthews then resumed, and nearly got round Smith, but dwelt too long on the ball and was robbed. Five minutes from half-time Mathieson had hard luck with a scorching drive which sailed just over the bar, and Exeter were swarming all round the Bath goal when the interval arrived with the score:

EXETER CITY 1-1 BATH CITY

The first-half has been fast and exciting. Practically all the good football had been shown by Exeter, whose forwards and half backs specialised in constructive work, but attack after attack had broken down at the critical moment through lack of finish.

Bath's best moments were seen just after they got their goal, but when Shelton scored the equaliser they became very wild. The Grecians now, as in the Boscombe match, were called upon to face the "impossible end," and conjecture ran high among the crowd.

Bath City won a corner immediately upon the resumption, and Bolston's flag-kick was tapped into the net by Woodward. Stung by this second reverse the Grecians crowded on "all sail," and in a sharp attack Kirk shot with all his force, the ball being turned on to the upright and outwards by Reed. The visitors now were playing with the greatest confidence, and Exeter, faced with the threat of a possible defeat, showed signs of going to pieces. Williams was injured in subsequent play and limped off.

The visitors adopted every legitimate means of wasting time, an art in which Tout showed himself to be a past master.
Matthews was fouled by Smith, and from the free kick Reed took the ball over the line for a corner. Shelton's flag-kick led to an exciting attack, Matthews finally shooting over. Then Exeter got clean through, a cross from Shelton being turned into the goalmouth by Mathieson. Reed parried the ball, and whilst still falling turned around the post a second shot by Matthews when a goal seemed absolutely certain. Half an hour's play remained.

Following a brilliant bit of play by Mathieson, a shot from Vowles flashed inches wide of the goal, and every moment was tense with feeling. Mathieson put Shelton through, but the centre fell behind Vowles and his other forwards. Crompton shook the bar with a tremendous long shot, and Reed conceded a corner which led to another hectic scramble. Then Ackroyd tried to emulate the feat of Crompton's a little earlier, but the shot was wide.

LAST MINUTE DRAMA: A MISSED PENALTY

The game became scrappy and the players somewhat heated. Bath showed to greater advantage than Exeter at this stage, with their forwards being very quick on the ball. Kirk and Vowles exchanged places in the hope of levelling the scores in the last fifteen minutes. Bath City wasted so much time whenever the opportunity offered that the referee had to remind them repeatedly to "get a move on."

All the Bath team was now concentrated on defence, and Exeter appeared to be chasing a hopeless cause, so much so that scores of the spectators began to move towards the exits.

Exeter continued to strive hard, but the Bath defence never looked like being beaten by such haphazard methods as were being employed. In the closing minute of the game, however, the ball was whipped from midfield by three quick passes to Kirk, who took an immediate bee-line for the Bath City goal. Beating Sanders with a rapid burst of speed and tapping the ball round him, Kirk was racing to regain possession when he collided with Sanders, and both men went sprawling. The referee signalled a penalty, though the infringement was by no means clear. Tout and his colleagues protested vigorously, but the referee was unrelenting. The spot kick was entrusted to Ackroyd, and to the utter dismay and almost disbelief of the spectators he put a moderate shot two or three yards wide of the goal. The Bath players, who could hardly credit luck, were still turning catherine-wheels and somersaults when the final whistle sounded.

NOTES ON THE GAME

Bath City are to be congratulated on their great success. If sheer enthusiasm and determination to make the most of everything in attack, in midfield, and in defence counts for anything, Bath deserved their triumph. In defence they snatched at straws, and in attack they did the same.

Nobody would have thought that Williams was going to score in the first half, when he got the ball about twenty yards from the Exeter goal, but he took his chance, and it came off. The visitors' second and deciding goal was the result of a

sudden breakaway, which won a corner. Exeter had literally dozens of corners in the course of the game, and yet Bath City, and not Exeter, got a goal from a flag-kick. Bath were out for glory, and to "do or die." They succeeded, while Exeter were still making up their minds that something or other ought to be done, and looking to one another to do it.

It was a great afternoon for Tout, the old Swindon Town foot balling general. His cool-headed work at centre-half was very remindful of another great veteran, scanty of hair, who used to appear in the pivotal position for Exeter City in days when the team knew better how to fight for victory. The reference is, of course, to Chadwick.

A Sad Reflection

Exeter badly lacked method. The work of the forwards carried no conviction, and constantly broke down. A stranger, happening on the game, might have been excused for thinking that the men were playing together for the first time. Matthews was the better of the wing forwards, for Shelton shot from hopeless positions, when his inside men were right on the spot.

It is a sad reflection on the inside trio that, for all their striving, they could not conjure up a goal. The missed penalty was the last straw. Ackroyd, who was not too sure of himself all the afternoon, was entrusted with it, shot hastily, and wide of the mark. It seems obvious that either Rigby or Crompton should have taken the penalty. As it is the failure has cost the club dearly, both financially and in "soccer" repute.