Saturday, December 25th 1909.
CHRISTMAS DAY FOOTBALL :
ARGYLE v EXETER CITY
Southern League Match
at Home Park:
Plymouth Argyle beat Exeter City by the only goal at Home Park on Christmas morning, in the third meeting of the Devonshire clubs this season. Exeter had won both the previous encounters, 1-0 in the cup competition for Southern clubs, and 2-1 in a friendly at St. James's Park.
The Exeter City party left at 8.30 on Friday night, the previous plan to journey early on Christmas morning having fallen through. In spite of some doubt concerning his fitness Evans was able to play, though Green was taken in case of emergency. Garside had sufficiently recovered from a bad cold to be able to turn out again, but Bell was still absent, and Hartley was played at inside-left once more, with Copestake as Watson's partner on the right. Tierney again featured in the half-back line.

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE:
Sutcliffe Butler Atterbury McCormick Wilcox Baker Griffiths Raymond Hindmarsh Burch Lamb

Referee:- Mr J.H.Smith, of Doncaster.

EXETER CITY:
Crossthwaite Crelley Jones Tierney Chadwick Atkinson Copestake Watson Evans Hartley Garside

It was not a very good game at Home Park, and the Argyle certainly cannot boast that they scored a great victory. As a matter of fact, they were rather lucky to win by the one goal which decided the issue. Twelve thousand people saw the match, which was scrappy and rough. In fact roughness became so much the order of the day that at half time the referee gathered the players together and administered a general warning. This had the desired effect save for one or two doubtful tactics towards the end, but sufficient illegal practice took place in the opening half to stamp the game as discreditable to both sides. The weakness on both sides was at forward, and the shooting left a lot to be desired. The defences, on the other hand, were splendid, and Exeter's held out unscathed so long that they were unlucky, as already stated, to be beaten at all. The one goal was scored in the second half. The Argyle had broken through on the right, and when tackled in possession by Griffiths and Raymond, Jones was forced to concede a corner. Griffiths had the good fortune to place the ball from the flag kick straight to Burch, wide out. The latter chanced his arm with a volley, and the ball sailed into the net well out of Crossthwaite's reach. Twice towards the end Exeter City came near to equalising, and on the very call of time Sutcliffe saved brilliantly from Copestake.

FINAL SCORE:
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 1, EXETER CITY 0.
Copestake, in this game, showed evidence of having completely recovered his form, and was generally spoken of as the best of the City forwards. Evans, on the other hand, was not as good as he was at Exeter the week before, while Hartley's chief forte was his hard shooting, two of his volleys missing by hairbreadths only. Crossthwaite, in goal, was great, and some of his saves roused the crowd to a high pitch of enthusiasm. The best of the Argyle forwards were Lamb and Griffiths, the inside men failing too often near goal. Combination was never at any time a marked feature. The robust nature of the game in the opening stages developed quickly into roughness, and this effectually blotted out all chance there had ever been of good, cohesive play.

PLYMOUTH AND DISTRICT LEAGUE:
City Reserves Lost at Home.
The Exeter City Reserves lost to Plymouth Argyle Reserves by 2-0. The Plymothians were undoubtedly the better team, yet the Grecians had enough chances in the second half to have won easily. There was the biggest crowd present ever to have patronised the Reserves, between four and five thousand, at St. James's Park, and they got as good value for their money as is ever expected from the second string of the Grecians. The home defence was splendid, and easily as good as the Argyle's, but in the forward line combination was sadly lacking, and it was entirely this fault which accounted for the loss of two points.
Hoskings (first half) and Worden (second) scored for the Argyle.

CITY RESERVES:- Sturge; Heppell, Craig; Ambler, Letheren, Pym; Drew, Bevan, W.Wells, White, and Bates.
ARGYLE RESERVES:- Tyrrell; Fagan, D.Black; Simmonds, Boyd, Haynes; Leavey, Meager, Worden, Hoskings, and W.Black.