Exmouth Town were involved in two highly competitive matches this past week, suffering a 3-1 defeat to high flying AFC Totton on Wednesday and then a 1-1 draw with Bristol Manor Farm last Saturday.
AFC Totton are currently second in the table having suffered just three defeats all season and are managed by Jimmy Ball, son of ex-Exeter City manager and World Cup winner Alan Ball. Ball said after the game that his side’s performance in the first half was the best they had played all season, as they went into the break 2-0 ahead.
Despite being down to ten men they added a third before Tom Gardner was also shown red. Town kept plugging away and were rewarded when an Ethan Slater volley was deflected in and a 20- yard drive from Ben Steer clipped the crossbar.
A valiant performance and perhaps not a surprising result but Town would have been disappointed with the manner in which the goals were conceded.
The Exeter City connection continued on Saturday when ex-City players Jake Gosling and Frankie Artus lined up for the opposition. Manor Farm arecurrently languishing near the bottom of the table and had beaten Town 2-0 in the reverse fixture.
They started brightly but it was Town who created the first real chances. A fine ball from Aarron Denny put Dean Billingsley through but his effort was thwarted by the onrushing ‘keeper and then Billingsley set up Ace High, who could only lob a bouncing ball over the crossbar.
Town were made to pay minutes later when Owen Howe rifled a shot into the net after excellent approach play by Gosling. As Town looked to respond, Dave Rowe saw his volley from a corner saved and then he had the ball in the net but was ruled out for offside.
A goal down at the break, Town struggled to make inroads against an uncompromising defence but equally were solid defensively and scored the equaliser their efforts deserved on 76 minutes. A well-taken free-kick from Steer found Mark Lever ghosting in at the near post to head firmly home.
Lever was then in the right place to clear off the line as both sides had to settle for a point apiece.
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