8 September 1998  (Tuesday)  League Division 3

Exeter City  1   Brighton and Hove Albion  0 

---


St. James Park, Exeter
Conditions:  Balmy.  Pitch: excellent

Gary Hart (Albion) suffering from a cold, but plays.
Danger player:  Darren Rowbotham (Exeter).
Stafford Browne (Albion)  plays his second senior game in place of Richie Barker, injured with concussion.

Brighton scores placed first.


---


Jef Minton (Albion) caught in possession and gave the ball away to give the home team a chance. 11 mins.
Micky Bennett (Albion) gets his shirt tugged going forward.
Jeff Minton takes a free kick in a dangerous position.
Exeter City quick to break, but the Albion patient attacks give the visitors more possession.
Jason Rees went close for Exeter with a shot a foot or so over the bar.
Patient build-up by Exeter, with Ross Johnson deflecting the ball for a corner.
Another corner for Exeter with a sustained period of attack. 28 mins.
Graeme Atkinson (Albion) with an excellent corner that was missed by everyone. 30 mins.
Very long kicks by the Exeter keeper: Ashley Base.
Darren Rowbotham (Exeter) mishit a Jason Rees pass.
Chris Holloway (Exeter) corner for the big man John Gittens (defender) to head wide. 36 mins.
Lots of crosses from Exeter.
ht:  0-0

Stafford Browne (Albion) off the pitch injured. He returns after a minimal delay.
Gary Hart (Albion striker) uses his pace defending, closing down an Exeter player.
Whereas the first half was evenly matched, Exeter edge the early exchanges in the second half.
Jamie Moralee (Albion) running wide on the left wing.
Steve Flack (6'4" Exeter striker) comes on as substitute for ****.
Andy Ansah (Albion) on for Stafford Browne.
Paul Armstrong (Albion) positioning himself well and getting the hang of the right wing-back position.
0-1  Jeff Blesslan (Exeter) shots well in when the Albion defence are caught out from a long punt from keeper Ashley Base via Chris Fry. 69 mins. Breakaway.
Danny Hinchelwood (Albion) debuts as substitute.
John Westcott (Albion) substitute.
Bilic (Croatia)-style play-acting by Steve Flack as Exeter make a pigs-ear of a free kick in a dangerous position.76 mins.
Graeme Atkinson (Albion) natural left-footed corner headed back by Jeff Minton but the ball eludes everyone. 82 mins.
John Westcott (Albion) blazes a fair chance over the bar. 90 mins.
Steve Flack (Exeter) gets a lucky break, but his shot is well saved by Mark Walton. 91 mins (4 mins of injury time remain).

Not much to choose between the teams. One lax moment by the Albion , compounded by skill by Chris Fry (Exeter). Albion created no clear cut chances.

FT:   0-1


---


Ref:  Stephen Bennett.
Albion Team:
Mark Walton
Paul Armstrong, Ross Johnson, Ian Culverhouse,  Derek Allan, Graeme Atkinson,
Jeff Minton, Michael Bennett.
Jamie Moralee.
Stafford Browne, Gary Hart.
subs:  Danny Hinchelwood, John Westcott, Andy Ansah.
Attendance:  2519


---

Forecast:   Probably 0-1. If Albion win the 5-3-2 system must be better than I give credit for.
Will Brian Horton pay attention to how badly Glen Hoddle's team came a cropper in Saturday's 1-2 defeat in Sweden? when the national team were lucky to suffer just a narrow defeat. In my contention it was the 5-3-2 system that was badly exposed.

Albion's and Gary Hart's three match run comes to an end.
1991:  Last time Albion won 4 consecutive wins in Division 2 (now Division 1).
Kurt Nogan was the last Albion player to score in 4 consecutive matches in 1994.

Albion Index:   Historical Pages and more
 
 
 EMail