2nd September 1972 
Football League
Exeter City 3-1 Cambridge United

What the papers say Cambridge News 

Report by Mike Finnis 

Cambridge United goalkeeper Peter Vasper must have felt like throwing himself off Land's End when the final whistle signalled another 3-1 away defeat for United at Exeter on Saturday. For the second time in the week he had cracked and the United defence collaps- ed. Last Wednesday it was three goals in a nine-minute first half spell at Mansfield; on Saturday it was three goals in the last half-hour. A goal up until then, United hopes crumbled when Exeter began to torture Vasper with deep crosses from the right. Exeter manager, John Newman said: "We aimed to play wide and put over deep crosses from both sides in the second half. We had only been working the left side in the first" Vesper started the game with two superb saves from headers by Dick Plumb and Tony Morrin and looked secure encugh during the first half. Keith Pointer, recalled in place of Peter Phillips, gave United the lend in the 24th minute when he chased hard after a return pass frem Chris Foote deep into the penalty area. Full-back Jimmy Blain's fatal hesitation gave Pointer the chance to push the ball past goalkeeper Bob Wilson. United spluttered through the half in fits and starts. Exeter found it uncomfortably easy to expose them down the left flank, where Bryan Conlon and Terry Eades looked much less happy covering Jimmy Thompson than back in the middle. Ron Walton was able to give little support to Brian Greenhalgh and David Lill in the front line. Yet they looked capable of repeating last season's victory at the interval. That's how bad Exeter had been. The home side's substitution, of Johin Wingate for Graham Parker after 34 minutes helped them wrest midfield control from a United trio, who worked but never sparkled. Exeter managed to exert pressure on the United defence and Vasper began to black out against crosses pumped from the right. He raced out to a 60th minute corner but under pressure, could only tip it away Dave Gibson picked the ball up, chipped back to the far post and Wingate rose above Eades to head into an unguarded net. Nine minutes later the United keeper missed another high ball under a strong physical challenge from Mike Balson, and Fred Binney was on the spot to net as the ball dropped. The ball had just been swept from the other end where Exeter's Wilson had pulled off a fine save from Greenhalgh. While Vasper tremored, Wilson shone. Walton should have equalised when presented with a bad back pass, but he allowed the keeper to block him. Greenhalgh might have done so too when slipped through in the area with ten minutes left-but again Wilson saved. Alan Guild went on as substitute for Chris Foote with eight minutes left. Conlon, who had done an efficient job at the back, was pushed up in a last effort. The golden chance fell to Walton. however, and he missed out again in the dying minutes. A Vic Akers centre curled across the goalmouth and he ran it in towards the net. But Wilson's hand snaked out once more to pluck the ball away. The contrast was complete when Vasper dropped an innocuous centre, and Morrin blasted Exeter's third into the roof of the net. Said United's assistant manager, - John Simpson: "One up, we were cruising along quite nicely at half- time. Then they started putting the crossed balls in-it speaks for itself." And the Exeter manager .commented: "When you play badly and get results, you are very pleased about it."

Exeter: Wilson; Crawford, Blain, Parker (Wingate 54th), Giles, Balson, Morrin, Binney, Plumb, Gibson, Scott.

Cambridge United: Vasper; . Thompson, Conlon, Eades, Akers; Pointer, Foote, (Guild 82nd), Collins; Walton, Greenhalgh, Lill.