BOURNEMOUTH'S RAIDS INEFFECTIVE.

CITY DEFENCE HOLDS FIRM.

Saturday, April 6th 1946.

BOURNEMOUTH AND BOSCOMBE 1 (Thomas)
EXETER CITY 1 (Ebdon)
Half-time score Boscombe 0 City 1.
Attendance 10,000.

Grim defence saved Exeter City at Dean Court, Boscombe, where the second half of the game was almost a non-stop duel between the eager home forwards and the City's quick tackling backs and half backs. Bournemouth raided persistently in a determined effort to consolidate their position at the top of the Southern Section Cup competition. There were few moments of respite for Blood and his colleagues, who toiled valiantly to defend their lines. Not until the game's closing stages could Bournemouth break down the City's stubborn defence. Then they forced a corner from which Thomas shot first-time into the corner of the net to equalise the goal that Ebdon had scored before the interval.

THESE TACTICS WILL NOT ALWAYS ANSWER.

Exeter City's goal was a "picture book" effort. Ebdon beat Burke for possession, worried the Bournemouth centre half into a false position. and then veered over to the left before cracking a perfectly placed oblique drive into the net well out of the goalkeeper's reach. Judged solely on the result Exeter's second half football, when they concentrated purely on defence, paid a useful dividend. Nevertheless the speculation was extremely risky, and they are tactics that will not answer every time.

Exeter City: Lambton; Blood and Long; Cutting, Coles, and Eastham; Petherbridge, Hydes, Ebdon, Wright, and Challis.

• The City outside right in today's match, George Petherbridge, who is a native of Devonport, is on the books of Bristol Rovers.

REVIVAL OF THE DEVON CHAMPIONSHIP. EXETER CITY BEAT THE ARGYLE AT ST JAMES'S PARK.

Wednesday, April 10th 1946.
EXETER CITY 2  (Mustard, Ebdon) PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1 (Carless)
Half-time score:- City 0 Argyle 0.

Attendance 5,500.

Exeter City: Lambton; Gadsby, Long; Cutting, Blood, Walker; Mustard, Vaughan, Ebdon, Wright, Challis.
Referee:- Mr C.T.M.Bell.
Plymouth Argyle:- Shortt; Silk, Royston; Adams, Warren, Gorman; Stephenson, Carless, Brown, Mitcheson, Hurst.

The first Devon Professional Championship match since 1938 was well contested and contained some interesting phases, but as a spectacle the game fell below standard, notably in the second half, when there was an irritating sequence of petty infringements. Exeter won a narrow victory against an Argyle side which is but a shadow of some of their stylish peacetime teams. Their forwards had quite as many chances against Exeter as come the way of most teams, but not until ten minutes from the end could they find a way past the City defence, and by then the game had been won and lost. Walker started Exeter on the road to victory when he found Challis with a long crossfield pass. Tackled by Silk, the City outside left forced a corner from which he placed the ball to perfection and so enabled Mustard, a young outside right who is in the R.A.F. to make a dramatic debut by heading a beautiful goal.