CITY DRIFTING FROM BAD TO WORSE: ACTION DEMANDED

PATIENCE OF MOST LOYAL SUPPORTERS BREAKING

Blunders in All Departments: Another Home Defeat

Wednesday, September 18th 1935.
Exeter City 0 Bristol City 1.

Exeter City are drifting from bad to worse. Their display on Wednesday evening at St James's Park against Bristol City, was crude football of a most unintelligent type. All departments blundered, and Bristol thrived on the strange errors which the opposition so repeatedly committed. There was scarcely redeeming feature about the City's inept performance. one Three successive home defeats are a matter for grave concern, and it is clear that the side must be strengthened, and quickly at that. The patience of even the most loyal section of the club's supporters is being strained to very near breaking point. Exeter have been beaten and well beaten at that in each one of their last three home matches, convincing proof that many of the players available are not good enough.

EXETER CITY
Chesters
Gray Lowton
Clarke Robinson Angus
J.Scott Risdon R.Ebdon Dunn McArthur

Referee:- Mr E. Pinckston.

Randall Wallis Harston Armstrong Hodge
Brinton Pearce Morgan
Bridge Roberts
Dolman
BRISTOL CITY

There have been many poor matches played at Exeter, and this one was as depressing as any, and Bristol won because they were just a shade the better of two teams which on their showing have to be assessed among the Southern Section's weaklings. It was football without character, a contest which would have discredited teams in a lot lower grade of competition. For the most part the exchanges were confined to a monotonous sequence of hard kicks, and Exeter's players several times excelled at passing, to opponents. The ball was ballooned without thought or notion of where it was going, and it was not until the game was nearly over that Bristol introduced a few cohesive bursts to relieve the ruck of mediocrity.

PENALTY MISSED.

The only goal of the match was scored after the interval, when Wallis gained possession after Gray's attempt to clear had been charged down by Randall, and shooting in full stride he drove the ball into the Exeter net from about 20 yards' range. Earlier in the game the Grecians had chances enough to have led by more than one goal. Indeed the opening raids engineered by the home side altogether belied their subsequent futile efforts. For example, McArthur, taking a pass from Dunn, rattled the bar with a deceptive oblique drive a few minutes after the start and when the ball rebounded Ebdon scooped it into the net. The goal was disallowed, however, because one of the City forwards put Ebdon into an offside position by touching the ball as it came back off the crossbar. Two appeals for a penalty were ignored afterwards, but the City were awarded a spot-kick when Morgan unceremoniously barged into Ebdon as the Ottery man was chasing a ball which appeared to be going behind the goal. Lowton himself undertook to take the kick, but his shot went straight to Dolman, who fisted the ball into the air for Roberts to complete the clearance.

LUCKY ESCAPES FOR EXETER.

From then on Exeter just petered out, and Bristol City, crisper in their attacks, ought to have gone ahead just before the half time interval when a hard kick into the middle by Hodge was not cleared. The ball went to Armstrong, who had all the width of the goal to aim at but shot straight at Chesters, who cleared at the second attempt. The Grecians were a lifeless as well as an artless side in the last twenty minutes. Dunn is the only forward who has mastered the art of distribution, yet his work is not bearing fruit as it would do in an efficient side. Robinson was a good half back in defence but not brilliant in
attack. Clarke and Angus were overrun in the second half, and the play of the full-backs was not impressive. Ebdon deserved sympathy, for he rarely received the ball in a manner that was at all favourable.