Luton Town 1-0 ECFC
Attendance: 6000



Saturday, October 13th.

Played at Ivy Road, Luton. 

Luton: Gibbon; Anderson and Till; Walker, Jennings, and Millar; Hoar, Butcher, Kerr, Hoten, Danskin.

City: Bailey; Charlton and Coleburne; Hunter, McIntosh, and Gilchrist; Matthews, Kirk, Edmondson, Gallogley, and Dockray.

Referee: Mr J.W.Lucas, of London.

DESCRIPTION

The journey to Luton was uneventful, and the Grecians arrived at their destination with plenty of time to spare. Bright weather favoured the match and the ground was in ideal condition.

The spectators came in early to hear the local Red Cross Band play the test piece with which they scored their success at the Crystal Palace Bras Band Championships.

Bailey was given a great ovation from his old supporters when he came out with the rest of the City team, and it seemed, also, that the Grecians had a good number of their supporters present. The sun was shining straight across the ground, and there was a stiff breeze blowing diagonally from corner to corner. Hunter won the toss, and immediately made headway, but Gibbon ran out to the edge of the penalty area and cleared with a huge kick which sent the ball well over the half-way line. Hoar forced a corner, but then sent behind from the flag-kick.

Exeter Unlucky.

Hunter, with an excellent tackle, prevented Hoten from getting into a scoring position, and then set up an Exeter attack, giving Matthews a long forward pass. Matthews outwitted Till by cutting into the middle of the field. Although hampered by the attentions of Anderson and Jennings the young Bristolian let fly from twenty five yards, giving Gibbon a rare handful. The leather bounced from the goalkeeper's hands on to the under-side of the crossbar, from where Gibbon caught it and kicked clear, much to the relief of the home supporters. It was a grand move, first by Hunter, and then by Matthews, and the City could count themselves unlucky not to have scored from it. A smart break-through by Kerr followed, but was stopped by Charlton.

Three minutes before the interval Millar took a hand in a fast Luton attack, and prevented Coleburne from clearing. The ball went out to Danskin, who eluded Charlton and passed to Hoten, and the latter's first-time shot entered the net well out of the reach of Bailey.

Half-time:
Luton Town 1 Exeter City 0.
Second Half.

Luton resumed without Danskin, who had been hurt in the movement leading up to Hoten's goal, and Dockray after an injury to his left foot, retired to the dressing room for treatment. Play was stopped for nearly a full minute while the referee lectured Kirk and Kerr, who had got at loggerheads, then Gallogley was crippled and had to retire just as Dockray returned, limping badly.

Exeter's cup of sorrow was not yet complete, for Kirk was badly knocked out in collision with Butcher. Play became very rough, and the casualties mounted alarmingly, with Gallogley fouled by Walker at one end of the field and Jennings by Kirk at the other.

Players Ordered Off.

The match, over which Mr Lucas appeared to have little control, degenerated into nothing more than a scramble. Exeter were making a big effort to get on terms, and Matthews and Gallogley kept the home defence busy, and McIntosh was a great stumbling block to the Luton forwards. Gallogley was laid out again and carried off, this time for good.

Till was ordered off the field midway through the second half for kicking Matthews, who had to be carried to the side lines for treatment. With a quarter of an hour to go Charlton was the next to be sent off for a bad foul on Butcher, leaving the City with eight men and Luton with nine.

The spectators were in a ferment, and the game, which had been allowed to get out of hand, had become an absolute farce. Towards the end the Exeter City eight played up very pluckily, and all but succeeded in levelling the scores. A dashing solo raid by Kirk resulted in a corner. Coleburne took the kick, and Millar cleared

his lines just as the whistle blew for "time." The referee, whose performance had been very weak, was booed and jeered by the crowd as the players and officials left the field.

The football in the first half had been surprisingly good, with no hint as to the unfortunate and regrettable incidents which were to follow. Subsequently it was a case of the fittest," and there was very little football worthy of the name, at "survival of the least, from the viewpoint of team work and combination. No time was allowed by the referee for all the stoppages.

Southern League 
CITY RESERVES V PONTYPRIDD.

Details

Played at St James's Park, Exeter. Attendance 2,600.

CITY RESERVES 2 (Davis, Shelton.)
PONTYPRIDD 5 (Hargreaves 2, Groves 2, Spence)

Referee: Mr H.F.Curtis.

City Reserves:- Pavey; Whelan, Flynn; Crawshaw, Crompton, Potter; Lievesley, Davis, Batten, Lowson, and Shelton.

Pontypridd:- C.Thomas; Hicks, Macrill; T.Thomas, Deacey, Woodland;
Barrett, Heathcote, Hargreaves, Groves, and Spence.

DESCRIPTION

Shelton led the first Exeter raid but was crowded off the ball in the Pontypridd penalty area. The visitors then gained ground, and a defective clearance by Whelan let Hargreaves through to score with a fast ground shot in the corner of the net. Exeter had the worst of luck in a sustained attack. Shelton swerved in and shot, but the ball was intercepted and partially cleared. Lowson returned it to the goalmouth with force, and the defence again prevailed. After twenty five minutes the visitors gained their second score, Hargreaves tricking both backs and netting the ball in the corner once again. The Reserves then attacked in a business-like manner, and after one shot had been cleared Davis followed up and rammed the ball hard home off the under-side of the crossbar. At the half time interval Pontypridd led by two goals to one.

Almost immediately on the restart the visitors further increased their lead, Groves heading a goal from Barrett's centre. Pavey was beaten for the fourth time by Spence, a terrific rising shot from the winger finding the top corner of the net. Two more goals were obtained in the last five minutes, by Shelton for the Reserves, and Groves for Pontypridd.