WEDNESDAY 1st MAY 1968.

RE-ELECTION PLACE LOOMS NEARER.

EXETER CITY 0. BRADFORD PARK AVENUE 0

Exeter Team
Smout; Smyth, Balson; Newman, Harvey, Huxford; Banks, Blain Coughlin, Curtis, Corr,

Attendance: 3,535,

Exeter City were held to a goalless draw in a game they desparately needed to win, So Exeter are still poised on a knife edge between re-election application or safety. 2 points would certainly have boosted their chances of getting out of danger, it was vitually all Exeter throughout the 90 minutes but for the most part they lacked power up front, They could not find a way through Bradford's packed defence, A defence that at times was at panic stations and desparation with their clearances, Lawson made his debut in goal and had a fine match to keep City out. Twice he saved well from John Corr, City did miss chances though, Denniss Coughlin shot over the top when he should have scored, Exeter who had already beaten Bradford away this season needed to win this game convincingly, for this was their game in hand on the rest of the strugglers. They failed to do so, and now it must be touch and go whether City will avoid re-election,

Match Summary 
Although we had 80 per cent. of the play against one of the poorest sides to visit St. James Park this season only one of our forwards, Johnny Corr, was able to get in any worthwhile shots, and these were ably dealt with by 19-year old Dave Lawson, making his debut in the visitors' goal. Even allowing for the fact that Brad ford packed their goal they often had nine or ten men in their own penalty area City should have been able to do. better.
The Bradford defence made so many mistakes that they might well have unnerved young Lawson. Seldom have we seen so many miskicks and bad headers by a rearguard under pressure, and yet we had no-one sharp enough to take advantage of any of these errors and get the ball into the net.
Indeed, to add to our dismay, Bradford nearly scored in each of three breakaways which caught our defence on the hop. Fortunately for us Bradford suffered from a similar complaint up front, although we wonder what would have happened if that shot by Geoff Lloyd had beaten the diving John Smout in the very first minute. 

Attendance: 3,535.