Exeter City's Great Win

BRISTOL CITY OUTGENERALLED AT ASHTON GATE
Monday, September 1st.

BRISTOL CITY 0 EXETER CITY (APPLEYARD) 1.

Last season: No match.

BRISTOL CITY
Vallis
Glenn Banfield
Paul Hawley Torrance
Worlock Mays Walsh Smailes Kirk

Referee:- Mr A. J. Bissex.

Compton Davis Appleyard Pullan Matthews
Potter Crompton Coleburne
Charlton Pollard
Bailey
EXETER CITY

Fifteen thousand people assembled at Ashton Gate on Monday evening to congratulate Bristol City on winning their first match of the season, at Aberdare, and in the confident expectations of cheering a victory at the expense of Exeter City. They were rudely disappointed. Clever first-half football by the Bristolians was met by sound and stubborn resistance on the part of Exeter's defence. Four minutes after the change of ends the Grecians went ahead with a particularly inspiring goal, coolly and smartly obtained, and from that moment to the finish the men of Exeter worked hard and methodically to preserve their advantage, and the issue never appeared in doubt.

SCORING CHANCES WASTED.
Kirk, the new outside-left from Albion Rovers, and Hawley, the centre-half, each had a splendid scoring chance towards the end of the game, but by this time the Bristol team was unsettled, and the failure of these two individuals to drive the ball home was simply an indication of the narvousness which affected the whole side. In the end the Grecians proved themselves a capable, solid eleven, well versed in the strategic arts, and thoroughly good value for the two points. The play of the team was distinctly better than in the match with Reading at St James's Park on Saturday, the forwards being more purposeful under the leadership of Appleyard, who more than justified his inclusion by giving point and direction to almost every move by the attack. The half-backs quickly settled down to their old workmanlike form of the latter part of last season, and the defence was, apart from one mistake by Pollard, brilliant. In short, the Exeter City Club, in this match reaped the reward of retaining so many of last season's men.

BAD DAYS SHOULD BE FEW.

The success was due entirely to the complete understanding that existed between the men behind the forwards, and their confident reliance one upon the other. With a continuance of this strong and aggressive play the Grecians' bad days should be indeed few, and far between, and there should be many good ones, especially if the halves and full-backs take a leaf out of Bristol City's book, and keep the ball low, and present it to their front liners in really acceptable fashion. It was because of their superiority in this last respect that Bristol had so much of the early play. Hawley particularly, and to a lesser degree Paul and Torrance, were masters at capturing high balls and turning them to good account. They strangled several of Exeter's attempts to get on the move and saw to it that their own inside men got the ball temptingly. Smailes was exceptionally well favoured in this respect, and Walsh was also very well catered for. But the Bristolians relied too largely on the genius of Smailes to see them through, and it did seem in the early part of the contest that this stocky little inside left would prove the trump card.

DID NOT HESITATE TO SHOOT.
The opening play ran decidedly in favour of Bristol, and for long periods the Grecians' rearguard was busily engaged in trying to counter the threatening moves of the opposing forwards. Bailey distinguished himself in that period by fisting away a centre from Worlock of the "classic" variety with Walsh in eager attendance, and by a lightning jum to pull down the ball from another centre by Worlock. In yet another Bristol attack a corner was conceded, and when the ball came out from the scrum Smailes pounced on it and drove for goal with tremendous force, but Bailey had got into the line of flight, catching and holding the ball, and finally booting it away down the field to safety. In one respect the home forwards shone at this stage. They did not hesitate to shoot at any time when the opportunity arose. Mays and Walsh each let fly, and each time the ball went over the bar. Then Bailey saved a terrific shot from Kirk, and that was the sum total of Bristol City's most buoyant efforts in the first half. But Exeter had not been defending all the time. There was a lot of midfield play, and once a miskick by Banfield led to a big fight for possession in which Appleyard, Pullan, and Matthews joined up. Matthews was fouled just outside the penalty line, and Coleburne, from the free-kick, shot over the bar. Crompton then tried one from long range with the same result.

SECOND HALF.

Hesitation on the part of Pollard in dealing with a ball which was driven through, low, from Hawley, gave Smailes his cue, and with the Bristol man close up Pollard tried to pass back to Bailey but instead trod on the ball and lost it. Charlton was on hand to relieve the situation, and it was he who then kicked the ball back to Bailey, for the goalkeeper to clear with a long punt. Almost directly afterwards Exeter's goal was scored, and the move was started by Pollard, who headed forward to Coleburne, and there was Pullan in the correct position to receive from the "skipper". Pullan turned the ball over to his centre-forward, and Appleyard instantly lofted it in the direction of the far goal-post, Davis closing in at speed and heading it over Vallis upstretched arms. All that remained then was for Appleyard to walk the ball into the unguarded goal. Bristol, however, were not in the mood to accept the situation, and they struggled gamely, with Torrance especially enterprising and determined. Potter headed a dangerous ball from Kirk out of the City goalmouth.

CHARLTON TO THE RESCUE.

From a corner on the Bristol right, well placed by Worlock, the ball sailed right across to Kirk, who, at five yards' range, and unmarked, had half the goal to aim at. He hesitated, and then shot too squarely. Bailey pushed the ball up in the air, and with three of the Bristol forwards rushing in a goal was imminent, and from all round the ground the exultant yell of "Goal!" arose. But they had reckoned without Charlton, whose ever-reliable left foot got to the ball first and thumped it away and out of danger. In the last minute Hawley fired wildly over the bar from a good position and Bristol's claim for a penalty was refused.