CITY DRAW 1-1
AFTER EARLY GOAL BY BANKS
By Tony Court

EXETER CITY kept an unchanged side to meet Southport, who have done well on their own ground this season,
Before the teams came out, it looked as if it would be the lowest attendance of the season at Southport, and this was not surprising, for there was a freezing wind blowing the length of the bone-hard pitch.

THE TEAMS

Southport: Rollo: Cairns, Beanland: Rutherford, Wallace, Tighe: Dagger. Russell, Ambler. Spence, Peat.

Exeter City: Barnett; Smyth. MacDonald; Mitchell. Harvey, Anderson; Rees. Banks, Curtis, Grace, Thorne.

Referee: Mr. D. W. G. Brady (Rotherham).

City got a goal in the first minute. Adrian Thorne floated a ball right across to Rees on the other wing: Rees lobbed it into the middle: and as Curtis let it drop over his head it fell to ALAN BANKS, who carefully shot low from six yards. A great start for City-but South port tried to hit right back, and Peat sent in a shot that had Barnett diving to hold it. Exeter were not defending for long and after Rees's free klok on the right was cleared by Wallace, the Southport centre-half completely mis-kicked as he tried to clear, a Mitchell lobb. It would have been an open goal if any City player could have dashed in in time, Anderson nodded a dangerous bal for a corner as Southport moved up, but it came to nothing, and even at this stage it seemed that if City kept their heads they would not have too much trouble in winning. Another goal might have come as a long ball gave Banks a run through. He tried to shoot too hastily, and was well wide.

Danger man
Southport's next direct effort was a shot from Tighe, which Barnett easily held. Again it was Banks who was Exeter's danger man. This time. though, the inside-right just over ran a pass from Grace on the edge of the penalty area. So far it was a scrappy game with t a lot of mistakes from both sides- perhaps only natural under the con ditions. Where Exeter looked superior, though, was in attack, where all their moves had method as against Southport's long ball tactics. When Banks was nudged in the back by Wallace. Exeter had a dangerous free kick on the edge of the Southport penalty area, but it came to nothing as Grace shot and wide. The game did not go all Exeter's way. But when Southport did attack. the City defence seemed to have little trouble in dealing with what was mainly a series of individual rushes. City were moving and helping each other well with Banks shining in the attack, and they looked far the better side so far.

Speedy Thorne

Then came a desperate moment for Exeter when Ambler beat Harvey for the first time. His shot went right across the face of the City goal as Barnett scrambled to reach it. Southport went on to have a five minute spell of their best football so far and should have scored as Peat swung at a right-wing cross right in front of goal-but hit it wide. As half-time came it was Exeter attacking again, with Thorne shoot ing over the bar as he first-timed a Banks pass. 

Half-time: :
SOUTHPORT 0-1 EXETER CITY 1

Only tight marking by Tighe stopped Banks from getting a goal in the opening seconds of the second half as he chased through on to a poor back pass. Exeter kept going forward, and Mitchell had two scoring chances, but he put the first well wide and the second yards too high.

Sticky patch
Southport showed more life in the opening minutes, and long passes into the City goalmouth kept the Exeter defence busy for a while. Again they were going through their notoriously sticky patch-the opening 15 minutes of the second half. To overcome it everyone-including centre-forward Curtis-dropped back when they had to defend. Southport's most dangerous movement so far came when Ambler found himself in a shooting position only six yards out. Barnett, however, was very well positioned to hold his shot. Gradually Exeter seemed to be
working their way out of trouble, but they were still not able to get the midfield control they had in the first half, and their raids broke down too easily. After Rees had shot over from a Banks pass, Southport were back on the attack again, and as the ball bobbed around in the City goal mouth only a point-blank diving save by Barnett stopped Spence from equalising. But 15 minutes from the end SPENCE did just that after another series of Southport rushes, and he hammered in a close-in shot that gave Barnett no chance at all.

Transformed
Could the City hold out now? It looked as if they would do better then that as they went strongly into the attack for a short spell. But they were beaten back again by suddenly transformed Southport, and Smyth had to save them with a goalmouth clearance. Southport kept City penned back for most of the time until the end. with only a couple of individual runs by Grace and Rees to ease the pressure.  And as the end came City just seemed to be finding their feet again,
Result
SOUTHPORT 1-1 EXETER CITY
Attendance: 1.618.

COMMENTS

This game turned surprisingly in the second half as Southport suddenly got a grip on themselves, and Exeter, who had been a far superior side found themselves struggling to play their usual style of football. It was as well that Banks grabbed an early goal, for in the second half City had very few chances, All the same, it was a very useful point, and under these conditions no one could expect too much in the way of good football. Once again Alan Banks was the main danger man in the City attack but of course a lot of credit must go to the men who made the openings and created the spaces for him. 

Western League 

EXETER CITY RESERVES 2. BRIDPORT 1.

Scorers
Exeter City Riding, Rutley
Bridport Donovan,

WEDNESDAY 23rd JANUARY 1964.

PHOENIX TO SIGN FOR SOUTHPORT.

Exeter City winger Pter Phoenix is to sign for Southport today. He joined Exeter last October from Rochdale, but he has missed the North and his friends there, he took only a few hours to make up his mind to join Southport. Phoenix has made 15 Leaque appearances and scored one goal in his brief spell at St James's Park, Exeter will receive a small fee for the player