CITY'S SORRY DISPLAY AGAINST WATFORD POSITION FAULTS GLARINGLY EXPOSED 

Well Beaten by a Better Team
Wednesday, September 4th 1935.

EXETER CITY 1 WATFORD 3.

Played at St James Park, on Wednesday evening, before 8,000 spectators. Exeter were beaten fairly and squarely by opponents who were just as superior as the margin of victory indicates.  The City were secondary to Watford in nearly all the essentials demanded of a team with match-winning pretensions. Bad positioning was a primary cause of Exeter's downfall, and the side suffered because there were two or three individual weakness, notably Angus and McArdle. Poulter was absent through a chill in the stomach, and it was plain to see that the City suffered through his absence. At any rate his weight and bustle would have been of good service to a forward line that had no hopes of getting the ball in the air against the taller and more powerful Watford half-backs.

EXETER CITY
Chesters
Gray Miller
Clarke Angus Fantham
J.Scott Dunn Hurst McLean McArdle

Referee:- Mr E. C. Mills.

Wright O'Brien Lane Barnett Jones Davies Armstrong Findlay
Moran Brown
McLaren
WATFORD

Watford assumed command of the situation early, and they never relaxed the grip which was a complete stranglehold on a hapless Exeter City side. The smart visiting forwards, with elusive and brainy Barnett the schemer-in-chief, streaked past a deficient half-back line, and it came as no surprise when O'Brien gained possession following a weak attempt to clear, manoeuvred for a shooting position inside the penalty area and crashed the ball into the net, well wide of Chesters's left hand. The ball hit one of the iron net supports and rebounded into the field of play. Exeter should have equalised after twenty minutes, when McLaren punched the ball straight up in the air. The ball fell behind him, and Hurst, dashing in, had the mortification of seeing his header go over the bar. Watford's next goal was created by a round of inter-passing in which Lane, Jones, and Barnett shared. Jones shot low across the goalmouth and before Chesters could gather the ball Barnett got there first and simply "walked" it into the net. Chesters evidently thought he had been fouled, for he chased after the referee practically to the half-way line protesting, but the official took not the slightest notice.

WATFORD'S THIRD GOAL.

The final nail in Exeter's coffin was hammered in just prior to the interval when three visiting forwards advanced through the centre of the field with not an Exeter player near at hand till it was too late. Then with Miller just failing to intercept a pass from Lane, the ever-ready Barnett coolly slammed the ball home as Chesters was advancing to narrow the angle. Exeter did enjoy a greater share of the game in the second half, but it was mainly that despairing sort of football which leads nowhere. Dunn and McLean both failed narrowly to score, and the Watford defence prevailed until Hurst was fouled by Brown, inside the penalty area. The offence was deliberate, and Clarke with a fast shot scored from the resultant spot-kick. It was a greatly disappointing match from Exeter City's point of view.