Phil Yelland dips in to the archive to find out how Exeter City have fared during previous visits to Barrow ahead of Tuesday evening’s encounter.
On Tuesday we welcome Exeter City to The Progression Solicitors Stadium for what will be The Grecians’ tenth visit here, and all have been on league business at this level.
Their first visit came in 1958 after Division Three North and South had been reformed to be Divisions Three and Four. They were our second visitors in the new fourth tier and they provided us with our first home success, with the only goal of the game coming from Jimmy Rolfe – a summer signing form Southport. It was his first of just three goals for the Club.
City’s first, and only, win to date here came on 2nd March 1963. That was our first home defeat of only two that season when they reversed the 2-0 score line in Devon in mid-October. The game was only our second league outing of the year following the big freeze in the winter of 1963 – the previous game had been two weeks earlier when Darlington visited. The season had to be extended that year until the third week of May.
Our biggest win against them came in the 1966/67 season as we won promotion. The 5-0 triumph in early October was our first home win of the campaign after four draws and a single defeat. We had five different scorers that afternoon – Billy McAdams, Jim Mulholland, George Smith, Roy McCarthy and Malcolm Edwards.
Our last two meetings here in 1970/71 and 1971/72 both ended level. In the former, in November 1970, Bobby Svarc got our goal as we continued to search for our first home league win of the season. In March 1972, on a spring evening, neither side could find a goal.
So, the nine meetings here to date have seen us win three times, lose once and draw five times; let’s hope Tuesday can be win number four.