Saturday, January 15th 1910.
CITY V SALISBURY
A Friendly at St. James's Park

Exeter City, being out of the Cup Competition, had to be content with a "friendly" this afternoon at St. James's Park, the opposition being provided by Salisbury City, a Second Division Southern League club. Salisbury were to have visited Exeter at Christmas-time last season, but the match was put off owing to the ground being covered with snow, and was finally played on February 17th, when a draw of a goal each resulted, McGuigan scoring for the City. In today's game Exeter City played Heppell at right back for Crelley, Letheren at left-half, and P.C.Evans at centre - forward, while Salisbury had Hollands for Stead in goal.
EXETER CITY:
Crossthwaite; Heppell and Jones; Ambler, Tierney, and Letheren; Copestake, Hartley, Evans, Bell, and Green.
SALISBURY:
Hollands, Heslam, and Cooper; Dawley, Monk, and Simmonds; Keast, Kingsford, Sawkins, Cavendish, and Gatford.

Referee:- Sergeant-Major Adams.

The attendance, thanks to the big counter-attraction at the County Ground, where Exeter Chiefs were playing Newton Abbot, and election fever, was small, less than two thousand turning out. The weather was cold, but fine, and the ground was more mud than grass. The City, who won the toss, at once got going, and receiving the ball from a throw-in Green forced Hollands to his knees, the latter being glad to tip round for a corner. Bell shot wide from this, and from another forward rush Tierney shot inches over. The City already had the measure of their opponents, and when Evans fed Copestake the right-winger forced a corner off Cooper. Copestake beat Cooper again directly afterwards, and dashing inwards, struck the upright, the ball bouncing behind. When Salisbury started a promising movement Gatford was pulled up for offside. Kingsford shot wide in attempting a pass, and the same player was afterwards checked by Letheren just in time, with Crossthwaite coming out of his goal. Hartley and Evans dashed through, but the amateur dribbled too hard, and the ball went over the line with Evans pitching up on to the bank in trying to save it.
Bell kicked high over from a free kick, and Green then forced a corner, but Bell's huge plunge for goal was charged down. Bell then headed over the bar from another corner, while yet another corner in the City's favour proved equally futile. Bell shot wildly over from a headed pass by Evans, and then Ambler shot hopelessly wide. It was all one incessant series of attacks by the City, but no goals so far.
Sawkins was loudly applauded for an effort to give Salisbury the lead, and then from a centre by Copestake the City at last scored, Evans beating Hollands with a good hard shot. The goalkeeper got the tips of his fingers to the ball, but it was more than he could hold, and it dropped behind him into the net.
ALL IN FAVOUR OF THE CITY, AND ANOTHER GOAL
Subsequent to this the game went all in favour of the City, they doing pretty well as they liked against weak opposition. Keast once had a good chance of centreing across the goalmouth, but in his final kick he shot the ball on to the advertisement hoardings. A "pile-driver" by Hartley led to a corner, but the same player headed wide from Green's flag kick. What looked perilously like a trip in the penalty area by Jones was ignored by the referee; the City rushed the ball down to the other end, and Heslam in bewilderment kicked the ball over his own goal-line. From the flag kick Copestake passed to Hartley, and the City inside-right, swinging himself round, scored with a fine shot. Sawkins subsequently had the Exeter goal at his mercy, but slipped on the greasy turf, and Gatford shot wide. Half-time 2-0.

THE SECOND HALF
Immediately upon the restart Bell shot wide, then Hartley, trying one of his celebrated "lunges" missed the ball altogether. Directly after this, however, Bell received the ball from Green and scored the third goal with a full-blooded drive. 
Salisbury then got into the game to a greater extent than they had throughout the first period. Kingsford, with a splendid try, grazed the bar, then the veteran Cavendish got in a shot which Jones diverted for a corner.
A capital run by Copestake was followed by a lot of midfield play, and the City gradually resumed the upper hand. On one occasion Evans shot over the bar when clean through, and in another instance the Salisbury goalkeeper was almost rushed into the net by Hartley, but managed to throw the ball clear. The crowd became impatient with the City's failure to score more goals, but in the last minute Copestake cut inside and drove the ball into the net from close quarters.