Nuneaton Borough v Exeter City 

SATURDAY 9th DECMEBER 1967.
THE GOAL THAT NEVER WAS ?

F. A. CUP Round One.

NUNEATON BOROUGH 0
Crump; Jones, Hope; Watts, Aston, Hill; Ashe, Keeley, Richards, Cutler, Smith,
EXETER CITY 0,
Smout; Embery, Smyth; Blain, Newman, Huxford; Hart, Banks, Curtis, Crawford, Fudge.

Attendance: 12,359,

EXETER HOLD ON
10-minute fury shakes them
FROM:- THE SUNDAY EXPRESS LONDON DECEMBER 10 1967
Nuneaton 0 Exeter 0:
by HENRY BLOFELD

NON-LEAGUE Nuneaton, fighting desperately for the Cup glory that was theirs last year, hit Exeter with everything except the trainer's bucket in a last 10-minute onslaught for the goal which would take them into Round Two. But they didn't get it, and must fight again in a replay at Exeter on Wednesday. If they sustain the fervour of these last 10 minutes, they must be certainties to go into the bag again.The assault started when they swept upfield and Tony Richards's header found Mick Keeley-but he was off balance and could not get his shot in. Then, moments later. centre half Stan Aston
headed just over the bar. Back came Borough. Another Richards header was desperately cleared for a corner. Norman Ashe's kick came over and. with a mass of Exeter red shirts in the penalty area, Alan Jones jumped to the ball and watched his header slash inches wide. This last rally came after a long period of Exeter pressure when their cooler midfield football looked like bringing them victory. They were desperately unlucky in the 70th minute when inside left Campbell Crawford unleashed a fierce 25-yard drive which
caught 'keeper Fred Crump out of position. The ball hit the underside of the bar and bounced out to Mike Fudge, about five yards in front of goal, but he was slow getting to it and the Borough defence scrambled clear. But in the ice-bound conditions measured football was out of the question. The ball bounced unevenly and tight control was impossible in fact the players found it difficult even to stand up.
Minor miracle
Both sides did their best. but faced with two hard-tackling defences, the forwards never had time or room to control the ball before It was a minor miracle that the game was played at all. Nearly 100 people started sweeping six inches of snow off the ground at 7 a.m. and even so the surface was iron hard. The Borough went straight into the attack at the start. They forced three corners and almost scored in the 7th minute when Mick Keeley soared high to head.  Johnny Watt's chipped free kick over the bar. Exeter's best effort in this half came from a 25-yard drive from left-back Cecil Smyth. Then
towards the end of the half, Paul Cutler and Richards leading goal scorer in the Southern League Premier Division last
season with 63 goals missed chances for the Borough. Two minutes into the second half, all Nuneaton held their breath as Crump punched the ball away from Alan Banks's head. Banks was Exeter's cleverest forward, and he was now able to slow the game down and draw the Borough defence out of position. A glorious through ball from Banks put Crawford clear. but Crump came tearing 10 yards out of the penalty area and booted clear. From then on it was mostly Exeter until that final furious 10 assault. 

MONDAY 11th DECEMBER 1967.

REPLAY IS STILL ON.
Although there is six inches of snow covering St James' Park Exeter City's first round F.A,Cup replay against Nuneaton Borough is still onWith the weather forecast being a gradual thaw, City officials do not anticipate any trouble in staging Wednesday's match, Nearly 100 supporters from Nuneaton are flying to Exeter for the game for a return fare of £9,10s, a number are also travelling by road.