SATURDAY 11th JANUARY 1969.

VICTORY FOR CITY AT GRIMSBY.

GRIMSBY TOWN 1: Macey: ?

EXETER CITY 2
Shearing; Crawford, Blain; Harvey, Sharples (Kirkham), Newman; Corr, Mitten, Curtis, Balson, Pleat,

Scorers:
Grimsby: Cockburn,
Exeter: Kirkham, Pleat

Attendance: 2,869.

One swallow does not make a Summer, but it is a start and one wonders if we will now see Exeter City start to climb out of trouble in the Fourth Division. They broke their run of 6 League games without a point, They created more chances that they have had for some weeks and could have won by a bigger margin had they been takenCity outplayed Grimsby in the last 20 minutes and the home side looked shattered, During the first half City had a few chances to take the lead, Dermot Curtis, Dave Pleat, and John Mitten all had good opportunities and they were containing Grimsby quite easily, but it was against the run of play in the 67th minute that Cockburn gave Grimsby the leadWithin seven minutes City were deservedly on terms when John Kirkham hit a high shot into the net. Exeter now had a marvellous spell playing some delightful football and forcing Grimsby back, Mitten worked effectively in midfield and he found time to have a shot that rebounded off a post and then with time running out, just two minutes to go, Dave Pleat scored a deserved winner, A good all round performance.

Match Summary

City were always the more superior side in this game and could easily have doubled their score had they shown a little more steadiness in front of goal. Grimsby scored first through Keith Cock burn but Johnny Kirkham equalised with a terrific shot, and Dave Pleat got the winner shortly before the end.

GREEN LIGHT IS SHOWING.

Exeter City believe they have now turned the financial corner, Chairman Les Kerslake said that the road ahead is now much clearer and that they must now build from here. Given reasonable luck the club will by the end of the season reduced their debts by several thousand pounds. The time has arrived for Exeter City to set their sights on the future and this will be discussed shortly by the directors, Kerslake said that given reasonable support over the remaining games, the board was confident that at last the club can meet all it's remaining commitments and are sure with this support, the financial position at the end of the season will be radically different from that of two years ago when the club was near to folding up. The financial position of the club is now more stable than it has been for years.

BROOM JOINS ELMORE.

David Broom, 18, former Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle apprentice professional, recently released by Argyle, has signed for Exeter and District League side, Elmore, Broom, who lives at nearby Halberton joined Exeter from school, and left for Argyle where he made several reserve team appearances.

WEDNESDAY 12th JANUARY 1969.

CITY SIGN GOALKEEPER TROUT.

Dawlish Town goalkeeper Mike Trout has signed amatuer forms for Exeter City as a stand in for first choice keeper Peter Shearing. Trout, 21, who has represented Devon, has been with Dawlish for 2 seasons, before joining Dawlish he was the regular keeper for Newton Abbot Spurs and had several outings with Torquay United Reserves. He had trials for the England Youth squad in 1966,

FRIDAY 17th JANUARY 1969

PITCH WATERLOGGED.

Exeter City's scheduled Fourth Division match with Workington at St James Park tomorrow is off, The pitch is waterlogged after the torrential rain that has swept across the Westcountry, After a pitch inspection this morning revealed the worst, City contacted the Workington party who were having lunch in a motorway service restaurant and prevented them travelling any further.

TUESDAY 21st JANUARY 1969.

NORMAN DEAN EXETER BOUND?

Exeter City officials would not comment on a report that Barnsley forward Norman Dean would be joining the St James' Park staff. It is understood that enquiries have been made about the player. It has been suggested that Dean, Barnsley's £8,000 signing from Cardiff City will join Exeter, With the City in obvious need of a forward, manager Frank Broome has been looking at several players during the past few weeks.