Exeter City F.C. - Match Details

Saturday 15th March 1997

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Gary Jones' 64th minute goal ended the Iron's 32-year wait for a St.James's Park victory, maintained the guest'stunning transformation since Law's appointment last month and kept Scunthorpe's promotion play-off aspirations alive.

Meanwhile, City counterpart Peter Fox was keeping his immediate views on his side's seventh home defeat of the Division 3 term to himself. Fox, unusually, declined to appear for the customary post-match media grilling, preferring to express his dismay to the club's directors. But if the length of his inquest into a dismal display is anything to go by(the Grecians boss remaining locked in the home dressing-room with his players for more than an hour after the final whistle), Fox was furious.

Rightly so. The timing of Exeter's feeblest performance in weeks couldn't have been worse, witnessed as it was by the club's third-biggest crowd of the campaign. the 3,378-strong gate was the result of a scheme devised and bankrolled by the City Supporters Club that allowed youngsters to see the games for nothing. this was dreary lower-division fare at its worst. Exeter showed only fleeting glimpse of attacking enterprise before Jones made the breakthrough and even less initiative after they had gifted Scunthorpe the lead.

And with basement rivals Hereford, Darlington and Doncaster all producing creditable results, Fox's men have once again been sucked into the quicksand. City's approach was unimaginative and littered with basic errors. in truth, their guests - one of the section's form teams after four maximums in a five-match unbeaten sequence - were no more inspired. But once Jones, in the final appearance of a month's loan spell from Notts. County had capitalised on his gift-wrapped opportunity, Scunthorpe had little trouble preserving a fourth consecutive clean sheet to halt their Exeter voodoo.

The winner was almost a microcosm of the match,. Grecians midfielder Chris Myers was fouled by Jamie Paterson on halfway and City trooped forward en masse to compete for Jason Minett's free-kick. Chris Hope headed firmly clear and, incredibly, Jones was left alone against the isolated and flat-footed Minett to race 40 yards before calmly beating Ashley Bayes.

Loanee striker Glen Crowe - wasting a glorious early opportunity to grab a confidence boost in advance of his Republic of Ireland B debut in Dublin on Monday- and substitute Leon Braithwaite were the major culprits. Darren Rowbotham's seventh minute pass sprung a shoddily-laid Scunthorpe offside trap to send Crowe racing clear. But the borrowed Wolves teenager hesitated fatally and goalkeeper Tim Clarke did sufficient to extinguish the danger.

David D'Auria and Patterson had efforts blocked as Law's men responded, Rowbotham's free-kick was fractionally wide and Myers smashed a 25-yarder too high. Minett's Last-ditched tackle then denied John Eyre a breakaway opener, the outstanding Barry McConnell just failed to make a Hughes's teasing centre and Crowe volleyed ambitiously past Clarke's left-hand upright.

Within four minutes of the restart Noel Blake contrived to bundle a fierce Hughes cross over from three yards - an offside flag sparing the assistant-manager's blushes. And City enjoyed their best spell, Rowbotham unleashed a long-range effort that didn't dip enough to embarrass the stranded Clarke before the Grecians' leading marksman and Crowe both had shots blocked. But when Jones seized his breakaway opportunity the tide turned. The only genuine glimmer of an equaliser saw Clarke smartly deny Braithwaite following a neat 86th minute exchange with Rowbotham.

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Page last updated: 17 June 1997