Grecians Badly Beaten at New Cross
Saturday, October 7th 1911.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE:
MILLWALL v CITY

This afternoon Exeter City were opposed to Millwall. It was largely due to the good offices of Mr J.B.Skeggs, Chairman of Millwall and Member of the F.A. Council, that Exeter were first admitted to the Southern League, and the London club (one of the oldest in the South of England) therefore has always been a favourite one with Exonians.

• The first match that Exeter City ever played in the League was on Millwall's former ground at Greenwich, and on that occasion they effected a meritorious draw, after being two goals down at half-time.

The Grecians had expected to be able to field a very strong side, but it was not to be, for Rutter was suffering from an injury to his back, consequent upon a heavy fall in the match against Cardiff on Wednesday. Lockett therefore took over the centre-forward position, and Kent was telegraphed for to play inside-left.

A steady, drizzling rain was falling when the Exeter party landed at Newcross, and the light was very poor. The turf was in good condition, but the rain had made the surface slippery.

MILLWALL:
Shaw
Kirkwood Jeffrey
Frost Wilson Liddell
Morris Carvossa Vincent Quinn Lipsham

Referee:- Mr. C.R. Hall, of Birmingham.

Garside Kent Lockett Watson Parnell Griffiths Pratt Bassett Coates Evans Whittaker
CITY: 

MILLWALL 5-0  EXETER CITY 0.
Last season: Millwall 3 City 1.
In 1909-10: Millwall 0 City 0.

The popularity of Exeter City in London was evidenced by the big crowd of well over 10,000 which gathered in spite of the miserable weather, and the City team received a rousing reception. Big Walt, for the first time, wore a bright red jersey, and thus conformed with the League rule, which states that a custodian shall wear either red or blue. Exeter won the toss, but Millwall quickly got possession, and Wilson led an attack which ended with Coates giving a corner. Whittaker punched out the flag kick and Coates partially cleared, but Bassett lost the ball to Vincent, and the "Lions", with long, swinging passes, continued to be very dangerous.

Goal From a Penalty.

Exeter went off with a rush, but Shaw had no difficulty in clearing, and the Lions were soon back again. The next attack of the City's was more promising, but Frost nipped across and robbed Parnell. Then, at the other end, Griffiths fouled Carvossa with the ball close to the goal-line, and a penalty was at once awarded. Wilson took the shot and scored, although Whittaker got the tips of his fingers to the ball. Millwall at once attacked again with plenty of dash, and gained another corner, but the flag kick was sent behind. Watson shot wide from 30 yards out, but Exeter were soon on the defensive again, and Evans made a timely clearance when the position looked very ominous. Up to now Millwall had had all the best of matters, and literally controlled the game.

Misfortune for Exeter.
A flashing centre from Lipsham spelt danger, but Vincent got offside. However, in the next attack Morris worked his way through with great tenacity, and beating Griffiths and Coates, got across a centre which Vincent fell upon and toe-punted the ball into the rigging, Whittaker scrambling across his goal in a vain attempt to reach the shot. Millwall were doing all the damage, for their forwards were full of fire and dash. Exeter, on the other hand, seemed to be nonplussed by the slippery ball and turf, and were just unable to make any headway at all. At the end of another five or six minutes Vincent scored the third goal, from Carvossa's pass.

Further misfortune befell the City, for Pratt was ordered off the field despite the fact that Frost, the home captain, and several other Millwall players appealed on his behalf. He had tripped Vincent, and two previous free kicks had been given against him, which no doubt led the referee to act as he did. They were not bad fouls, however, and many referees would have ignored them.

Game Spoiled.
The game was now spoiled utterly, for the City, smarting under their misfortunes, played the one-back game, Griffiths playing centre-half and Coates coming up to left-half. Garside headed wide from Parnell's centre, and in a melee at the Millwall end Watson scooped the ball behind. Kent gave Shaw a fast grounder to deal with, but then Quinn took the ball upfield for Vincent to score a fourth goal, and the City seemed to be in for a veritable swamping.
HALF-TIME:
MILLWALL 4, EXETER CITY 0.

The fifth and final goal came directly the second half had started. There was a melee in front of the Exeter goalmouth, Whittaker failed to clear, and Carvossa scored an easy goal. The game, although heavily in favour of Millwall, was full of incident, pleasant and otherwise, although following the dismissal of Pratt much of the interest was lost. The City had no option, being already three goals down, than to resort to the "one back" game, and from then on there were numerous stoppages for offside against the home forwards.

Notes on the Game.
Morris was in wonderful form for Millwall, his pace and cleverness in manipulating the ball made him stand out head and shoulders above the other players in the home attack. But Vincent played excellently in the centre, and he deserves more credit for some of his shots that did not score than for the first two that did. Altogether it was a very fine line, well backed up by a trio of half backs as good as any club could desire, and whose placing of the ball to the men in front contributed in no small measure to the five goals scored. The Millwall defence was not severely tested, but the same cannot be said of Evans on the losing side. For the greater part of the game the brunt of the attack fell to this sturdy back, who deserves infinite credit for his grand display. Of the remainder of Exeter's team, perhaps the less said the better. Rutter was badly missed in the centre, for neither Lockett or Kent were ever seen to any great advantage. Exeter were unfortunate to lose Pratt fifteen minutes before half time, but there are one or two players in the side who would be far more effective if they devoted more attention to the ball and less to the man.

CITY RESERVES v R.G.A.
Plymouth League Match
at St.James's Park.

The City Reserves played their second Plymouth and District League match at Exeter this afternoon. There was a fairly good attendance. The visitors had until today not been defeated, and brought up their strongest side to keep their record. The Grecians, however, fielded a formidable side, which included Fort, Rigby, and Enos Whittaker. Owing to the similarity of the colours, the City played in green and white striped shirts, and were photographed before the commencement of the game.

The Garrison won the toss, and Taylor kicked off for the Reserves towards the city end. Chapman had to save a long shot from Green in the first minute, but a free kick at the other end saw Waller save from White. The soldiers' forwards became aggressive, and Chapman saved well with two or three men on him.

Goal Disallowed.
A free kick close in looked dangerous for the Reserves, and one of the visitors netted, but the goal was disallowed. Following a corner taken by Whittaker, Waller had to save from Lewis, conceding another corner, but this time Rigby fired over the top. The visiting forwards again got away, and a good dribble by Green gave Collyer a fine opportunity to score, but he shot weakly and Chapman saved.

A Penalty.

Just afterwards the soldiers were awarded a penalty for a foul, and Green netted. The City Reserves were being severely pressed, but they got away and forced a corner which was put behind the line. Bailey and Lewis made good efforts to score, but they found the visitors' defence very sound. At the other end Jackman hit the side of the net with a long shot. Shortly before half-time the home goal had a narrow escape, the ball travelling right along the line for Fort to clear.
Half-time:
Royal Garrison 1, City Reserves 0.

Second Half.

At the restart the soldiers at once broke away, Chadwick ending the move by heading behind from Jackman's centre. At the other end Taylor had an excellent opportunity, but shot right into the goalkeeper's hands when about five yards out. Rigby was playing a good game at right-half, sending over some excellent passes to both wingers, but generally they were made poor use of. Martin tried to get through but lost the ball. It ran on to Bailey, whose shot went yards wide. The Garrison just about deserved their victory, by a goal to nil.

Reserves:- Chapman (J); Fort, White; Rigby, Martin, Clarke; Whittaker (E), Chapman(A), Taylor, Bailey, and Lewis.

Garrison:
Waller; Reilly, Mansfield; Balmer, Kerrick, Hewitt; Dillow, Chadwick, Green, Collyer, and Jackman.




Wednesday, October 11th 1911.
Friendly:
Portsmouth v Exeter City.

Originally arranged as a Southern League fixture, today's match was played as a "friendly" at Fratton Park, before a crowd of about 2,000. Neither team was at full strength, the opportunity being embraced of playing several reserves, but despite this the game was splendidly contested.

Portsmouth:- Simms; Warner, Croft; Turner, Wardrope, Reid; Dowling, Stringfellow, Cullen, Hunt, and Duncan.

Exeter City: Whittaker (W); Evans, Coates; Bassett, Pratt, Griffiths; Whittaker (E), Watson, Bailey, Cornan, and Garside.

Referee: Mr. H. Wilding.

In the opening half Pompey, playing with a glaring sun in their eyes, commenced attacking, but were not as dangerous as the Grecians. Simms had some good shots to save, notably a brilliant oblique drive by Bailey.
At the interval neither side had scored, but afterwards the City had by far the better share of the game, giving the local defence a rare gruelling. After ten minutes Cornan scored with a long, swerving shot, and Enos Whittaker, ten minutes later, increased the lead.
Portsmouth then played up with increased zest, and from a well placed free kick Hunt seized on the ball and drove it past Whittaker.

Final:-
Exeter City 2 Portsmouth 1.