SPOILS WERE SHARED AT HOME PARK

Plymouth Argyle v ECFC (D 2-2) Scorers: Compton, Blackmore Attendance: 20,000
Saturday, December 26th 1925.


The Argyle's sensational defeat at Exeter yesterday by four goals to nothing seemed to have little effect on the size of the crowd, for there was fully 18,000 present five minutes before the kick off, and every indication of an attendance of 20,000. On the way to Home Park opinions were freely expressed concerning the Christmas Day beating, but on the whole the defeat was taken philosopically. Apart from losing the four goals, it was the first time that the Argyle had failed to score in a League match in the present season.
Neither side made any alteration in their team, and the players lined up as follows:
ARGYLE
Craig
Price Russell
Logan Pullen Smith
Corcoran Forbes Cock Leslie Black

Referee: Mr A.J.Bissex, of Midsomer Norton.

Compton Lievesley Blackmore McDevitt Matthews Shelton Potter Pullan
Charlton Pollard
Bailey
EXETER CITY

That the Argyle meant business was evident by the way they started off, Forbes being nearly through, and immediately afterwards Cock headed into Bailey's hands from a corner taken by Corcoran. Exciting incidents followed in quick succession, but not all around the Exeter goal. Bailey was fortunately in the way of a hefty shot from Pullen, but could only put it behind for a corner. The corner kick produced some fierce defending on the part of the Grecians, and Cock almost got the ball into the net. In doing so he was injured, and had to leave the field for attention. He was away for about five
minutes. In the meantime Craig displayed his abilities when he kept out a splendid shot from Lievesley, whilst when Blackmore, Price, and Russell were floundering on the ground in front of the Argyle goal Craig darted out and picked up the ball just in front of Compton. Lievesley was then very near with a fine header, the ball travelling at speed just over the bar.
PULLEN ON THE TARGET.
The next incident of note was a long shot by Black, and then Pullen repeated his performance early in the game by putting a free kick direct on the target, but fortunately Bailey was in the way of the shot. The excitement continued around the Exeter goal, and a succession of shots charged down contributed largely to the pleasure of things. At the Plymouth end Blackmore got the better of Russell and Price, and raced through, but Craig made a fine save when he slid to the feet of the City centre-forward and took the ball away from him. After half an hour the City went ahead, and great was the delight of the many visiting supporters when Compton found a way through the home defence. Logan put the ball back for Price to clear, but Price was not well placed to do so. He made a good effort to get at the ball, but only put it at the feet of Compton, who cut in towards goal and scored with a low shot in the corner of the net. At this point it is now worth noting that Exeter in the two matches had scored five times against the Argyle without reply.

BLACKMORE ON THE MARK.
Exeter were much quicker than the Pilgrims in breaking away, and it was again evident that McDevitt was the inspiration behind many of the moves. Blackmore was continually on the mark, shooting hard and straight at every opportunity. And in defence Charlton was kicking and tackling with admirable correctness for Exeter, whilst Bailey was always on the alert. On one occasion the Exeter goalkeeper ran out for the ball to within about fifteen yards of the half-way line after he had made a great save when Cock was racing through. Exeter held on to their lead until the interval, when the score was:
Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Exeter City

The second half was even more exciting than the first, for within ten minutes Exeter had become two up and the Argyle had equalised. The Argyle went at their work with renewed enthusiasm, and Forbes was the to get on the mark. Only Bailey's expert goalkeeping kept the ball out of the net. Then Leslie, with a perfect header, was unlucky to be just wide, but only four minutes had elapsed when Blackmore headed a beautiful goal, putting the City two goals in the ascendancy. The ball came in from Shelton on the left, and after being headed by Russell was directed into the net well out of the reach of Craig by the young City centre-forward. The Plymothians pressed strongly, and Pollard was spoken to by the referee after he had brought Cock down very heavily, and the next incident was a fine save by Bailey from Smith, whilst Compton, at the other end, was only just wide with a rasping ground shot.

A GOAL BY JACK COCK.
Nine minutes of play had elapsed when Jack Cock got the first Argyle goal. It was a curious point, for when the ball was driven in by Corcoran from the right wing Bailey threw himself at full length to meet it and was immediately surrounded by Cock and Leslie and some of the visiting defenders. Cock eventually secured possession, and after manoeuvring amongst Pullan, Potter, and Pollard he fired the ball into the net with a strong shot. Barely half a minute later the next goal came, and the Argyle were level. This time Black galloped through on the left and sent in a rising shot which rebounded from the upright to Cock, who returned the ball to the net with an acrobatic jump as he fell. There was no letting up, and no lack of incident, most of which was now provided by Plymouth. The large crowd was kept on tenterhooks of excitement, and the Argyle, now playing with greater confidence, at last began to kick the ball about with greater freedom and so met with greater success. Exeter were hard pressed to defend.

QUESTIONABLE TACTICS.
Corner after corner fell to the Argyle, who since their second goal had come back very strongly into the game, and Cock headed the ball into Bailey's hands and Leslie knocked the goalkeeper over, but it was scrambled away from the line. Forbes then put in a remarkable first-time overhead shot, the ball landing on the roof of the net. As the minutes were ticked off towards the end of the game the pace became faster than ever, and excitement mounted. Exeter put up the most gallant and stubborn defence, although the tactics of Pollard and one or two other City players were questionable. When Black was going through on one occasion Pollard held the little Argyle winger for two or three yards before the latter managed to slip by, and the ball was carried on by Cock and Black, who were oblivious of the fact that Mr Bissex had blown the whistle for a foul. In the last ten minutes or so of the game the players were feeling the effects of the fast exchanges on the heavy turf, and they were all at one time or another weak in their kicking. Exeter's defence gave nothing away, however, and held out to the end, with the final score:
Plymouth Argyle 2 Exeter City 2.

NOTES ON THE GAME.
The Argyle were in desperate danger of a home defeat, and then they changed their methods. In the first half they persisted in their usual close passing, which was useless on the heavy ground, and it got them nowhere against the strong defence of Charlton and his colleagues. In the second half they suddenly remembered that Sammy Black was playing, and this made all the difference. The scores were levelled by two rather fortunate goals. The first might probably have been disallowed, for Bailey was being hacked by three Plymouth forwards in the scramble which led to the score. The second was the result of a rebound from the post which left the Plymouth centre-forward with an open goal, although he did have to make an acrobatic leap to get the back of his foot to the ball. Exeter, with McDevitt again their inspiration, maintained the great improvement in their form, and played brilliantly both in defence and attack. It was a truly glorious match, fought out with all the traditional. fervour of the long series of "Devon Derbies," and Exeter City can be congratulated on taking three points from the most formidable opposition in the Southern Division. It is also worthy of note that the Grecians put the ball into the Argyle net six times without a reply in the course of the first match and just over half of the second. Official attendance: 23,075.

Classic Match
Plymouth Argyle (Boxing Day) 1925
Written by Will Barrett in 2019

27th December 1925
SOUTHERN LEAGUE:
CITY RESERVES V ARGYLE RESERVES.

Exeter City's sensational success over Plymouth Argyle yesterday led to a great deal of interest being taken in today's match between the second strings of the Grecians and the Pilgrims at St James's Park, and there was a large crowd when the teams lined up.

City Reserves.
Pavey  Hawkins Flynn Crawshaw Crompton Hutchings Newman Kirk Casson Bolam Myers

Argyle Reserves.
Taylor  Cosgrove Miller Connor Deacon Voden Healey Sloan Batten Walker Macdonald

Winning the toss, the Argyle occupied the St James's Road end, and

attacked at the outset, but the City defence was never in trouble, and Pavey easily cleared a lob into the goalmouth by Macdonald. A series of exciting passages in front of the Argyle goal followed, and Taylor almost let a cross shot from Newman slip through his hands. The home forwards swarmed round in an attempt to force home the ball, but were eventually penalised for an infringement. Kirk engineered a nice move for Casson, but the centre forward was hardly quick enough, and his shot was charged down. The play then being transferred to the Exeter end, Macdonald crossed the ball to Walker, who was also too slow, and Pavey came out and robbed him. Subsequent exchanges were largely in favour of Exeter, and Kirk put his side ahead from a centre by Myers. Then Casson netted the ball after Taylor had fumbled a shot by Newman.

Game Took a Sensational Turn.
The Argyle defence for some time was seriously extended, and it is doubtful if Exeter Reserves have ever played better than they were doing at this stage. The skill of the forwards was a revelation. Casson and Myers both went close with fierce shots, and Taylor was the hardest worked man on the Argyle side. A momentary slackening on the part of the Grecians, however, led to Plymouth setting up their most dangerous attack so far, and Walker missed by inches only. Plymouth were not to be denied though, and following a neat combined move, Batten scored with a powerful cross shot. Play now underwent a sensational transformation, for within a space of two minutes the Argyle had taken the lead. The equalising goal was scored by Sloan from close range, and then Macdonald netted from a centre by Healey. Half-time:

City Reserves 2-3Argyle Reserves

The second half provided another great struggle, and opened with the City doing most of the pressing. Just as the crowd was cheering the announcement of the half-time score at Home Park and speculating on a "double" victory for the Grecians' first team, Kirk levelled the scores, following a corner. This had been forced by Hutchings, from whose thundering shot Taylor had been only too glad to tip the ball around the post. Even more excitement followed, and the persistence of the Grecians' forwards almost bore fruit, when shots by Casson, Kirk, and Newman were only parried in the nick of time. It was a magnificent game, contested at a great pace, with Myers in brilliant form in the unaccustomed position of outside left. The Argyle were now penned in, and Taylor was having to perform wonders in their goal. As in the first half, however, the Argyle scored when it was least expected, and from practically their first attack. Flynn was penalised for a case of "hands," and from the free-kick, taken by Connor, the ball went to Batten, who headed a neat goal.The junior Pilgrims went further ahead five minutes later, and again it was Batten's head that put the ball in the Exeter net. It was certainly a game of fluctuating fortunes, and when the City returned to the attack appeals for a penalty were turned down. The Friernhay amateur, Hutchings, played an exceptionally fine game at left-half, and the experienced Crawshaw, on the other flank, gave close attention to defence and at the same time initiated many of Exeter's attacks with his precision like passes to Newman. Towards the end the pace slackened on the heavy ground, and the final score was:
Exeter City Reserves 3 Plymouth Argyle Reserves 5.

Official attendance 6,000.

THE LONDON PRESS ON THE "DEVON DERBY."

Sunday Express, December 27th 1925.

"Plymouth Argyle 2 Exeter City 2. Great interest was taken in the meeting of the Devon rivals at Home Park, Exeter having won a most surprising victory over the Argyle the previous day.
"Exeter captured a further point, the game ending in a draw of two goals each. The City fully deserved their point. In fact, on their form in these matches it is difficult to understand why they are in such a low position in the League table.
"The game was full of thrills from start to finish. The Argyle were continually dangerous, but good efforts by Forbes and Cock failed, while Bailey saved two good drives by Pullen in wonderful style. "When Exeter got away they required watching as they swung the ball about, and their extreme wing men, Matthews and Compton, were the chief source of danger to Plymouth. The City's first goal came when Logan completely missed his kick, and Compton seized the chance to drive the ball past Craig. "Bailey, the Exeter goalkeeper, prevented an equaliser by taking the ball off Cock's toe, the City leading by a single goal at the interval.

"There was great excitement early in the second half. Exeter began quickly, and Blackmore headed a brilliant goal from a centre by Shelton, with Russell vainly trying to intercept. The Argyle then rallied wonderfully. Their forwards tried desperately hard to level matters, and during a melee in Exeter's goal Bailey was powerless to get the ball away and Cock forced it into the net. A minute later, Black ran up the left wing and Bailey completely mis judged his curling centre, with the result that Cock had only to tap the ball into the net. From now till the end Exeter played for safety, and although the Argyle were occasionally dangerous the Exeter defence was always too good for them. Pollard and Charlton kicked the ball to touch every time it came their way."