Saturday, December 31st 1949

READING 3
(Edelston 2, Blackman)

EXETER CITY 2
(Smart, Regan)

GODDARD DOUBTFUL FOR CUP-TIE

By EXONIAN

Reading 3, Exeter City 2

RAY GODDARD is a doubtful starter for Exeter City in next week's Cup-tie with Nuneaton. Following a thigh injury at Reading, he was X-rayed at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital over the week-end. The X-ray plates showed that no bones were broken, but that the thigh muscles were badly bruised.

Goddard ran into trouble early in the second half on Saturday. Stretching out a leg to tackle Blackman, he hooked the ball away from the Reading centre- forward, and then both players fell, Blackman was not hurt, but Goddard, carried from the field. took no further part in the match.

Without Goddard, Exeter City fought gallantly, only to lose by the odd goal of five. The deciding goal was not scored until six minutes from the finish. when a blunder by goallie Hoyle gave Reading the Victory, which was unexpected and fortunate.

Hoyle made several mistakes during this keenly-contested match. His judgment in the air was faulty. I blame him for the first and third Reading goals, and his errors nega- tived the magnificent resistance offered by the rest of the City defence.

The quick-wekling Johnstone and the intelligent Clark were brilliant Exeter full-backs. Goddard was a dominating pivot up to the time of his injury. Powell and Fallon were industrious wing-half-backs in a team which defended stubbornly and well against a Reading vanguard that was crafty in the inside posi- tions and thrustful on the wings

The only goal of the first half was scored by Smart, tire City's foraging and skilful inside-right. He worried Wicks into losing possession and then. with two opponents trailing him, ran ahead before beating Kemp with a fast angled shot.

No danger threatened when Read- ing launched an attack which was to bring a simple equalising goal early in the second half, Clark, facing his own goal, nodded a bouncing ball back to Hoyle. The goallie came out and dropped it. Edelston nipped in and shot into an empty net.

Then came the injury to Goddard, and Reading led for the first time when Fisher centred for Blackman to head through from close range.

The City made a dramatic reply. Within two minutes Regan had restored equality with a great right- foot drive from the edge of the penalty area. A point looked to be Exeter's until Hoyle made his final mistake and was beaten by a slow ground shot from Edelston which ought to have been saved easily.

Closing thrills were a bombard- ment of the Reading goal, in which shot after shot was charged down. and a last-minute shock for the home side when a shot from Smart hit a full-back who was standing on the goal line. The ball could have gone into the net. It spun inches on the wrong side of an upright and there was no time left for the corner kick to be taken.

Half-time Reading 0 City 1,

Attendance 12,999.

Reading:- Kemp; Wicks, Gulliver; Henley, Brice, Reeve; Fisher, Edelston, Blackman, Allen, Amor.
Exeter City: Hoyle; Johnstone, Clark; Fallon, Goddard, Powell; Harrower, Smart, Smith, Greenwood, Regan.

Ray Goddard, who injured a leg, is doubtful for next Saturday's Cup-tie against Nuneaton.

Southern League 
Exeter City Res. v Bath City 

Exeter City Reserves beat Bath City at St James's Park by 4 goals (McClelland, Hutchings 3) to 1 (Kelly).

Bath made a promising start in the game against Exeter City Reserves but then their defence got in a tangle and they conceded four goals, three of them scored by Hutchings.

These goals dashed Bath City's hopes of a double and although they fought back in the second period they could only score once through Kelly and lost 4-1.