Ryan Greenaway, Fan Blogger, Monday 18th January 2010

If I were Stuart Hall it might have gone a little something like this...

As the sun began its descent for the city of Exeter, there was calmness in the air. That calmness came only from the weather. Having deposited a fearsome storm upon the city the night before, in the late afternoon there was not a hint of wind, some clear skies and a touch of warmth that had not been felt for many a day.

Calmness was not a word that could be used to describe the atmosphere at an arena in the centre of Exeter. A plot of land covering a few acres was playing host to over eight thousand frenzied football supporters, a crowd the likes had not been seen for some time.

Swathes of red and white filled terraces and Grandstands on three sides of the coliseum with Lily white opposition tucked into the fourth side. Music played, the crowds cheered and jeered in turn and there was no fear of getting cold in this atmosphere.

Floodlights flickered into life and tension began to build. Two tribes marched onto the pitch that was to be their battleground for the next 2 hours. The much vaunted team of Leeds United were the opposition, their Lily white bedecked supporters confident of victory.

However, they were on another's turf this time and deprived of the comfort of seating, roofing, big screens, booming PA and their much loved undersoil heating, they were going to have to be on top of their game if they were to live up to the expectations of their fans and experts and win this encounter.

Exeter were understandably labelled as underdogs, but in front of this crowd, with this highly regarded opposition, there was always the scent of an upset in the air. Kick off approached and the noise in the stadium began to swell. Exeter used this as an early spur, and straight away, set upon attacking their opponents down the flanks.

An early corner, an onrushing volley from Exeter's leader, Matt Taylor, and the ball flashed over the bar. This served to whip the crowd up into a further frenzy. Within a few minutes a swift move as Marcus Stewart, who's aging legs were left at home today and replaced with more energetic, springy versions, leapt to flick on a high ball which fell to the tireless, industrious and heroic Adam Stansfield. He in turn fed the ball to Steve Tully who composed himself and whipped in a delicious cross from the right hand side.

Two giant Leeds defenders patrolled the perimeter of the six yard box, but low and behold a flash of red, white and ginger, sprung between them to glance the ball towards the far corner. Keeper left motionless, a moment of silence as the ball floating through the air, everything moved in slow motion and oxygen around St James' Park was at a premium as eight thousand supporters collectively gasped. T

he net bulged, the flash of red, white and ginger wheeled away and an almighty roar was unleashed from 3 sides of the ground. The upset was on.

The lilywhites were stunned, but not stunned into life; Exeter continued to attack Leeds with raids down the left and right flanks in turn. The sticky pitch, sodden from the downpour of rain the night before was proving difficult for Leeds, who were missing their creature comforts.

Matt Taylor goes close

Crosses continued to fire in, and defenders were continually bemused, flick ons were won, second balls were picked up and fifty-fifty's were being won, the desire for rewards of victory in this game, was definitely burning brighter in the eyes of the Exeter warriors, than those of Leeds.

Slowly though, Leeds found a foothold, they scratched around to find somewhere to grip onto, on this mountain they were trying to climb. A long bomb was hurtled toward the Exeter defence from the sideline, which caused momentary confusion in the Exeter ranks, but Richard Duffy showed the presence of mind to whip the ball away from his own goal line, when others may have panicked. As the forty-five minutes ticked onwards, the game levelled up with Leeds trying to demonstrate some of their more intricate skills, all the while unable to penetrate a stubborn Exeter rearguard, formed by calm Richard Duffy, the experienced Robert Edwards and the herculean Matthew Taylor.

The ebb and flow continued till the referee called a halt to proceedings, Exeter City were treated to a standing ovation as they left the pitch for the half time interval, Leeds left the pitch with their tails between their legs, expecting a chastening from Simon Grayson.

All Exeter fans expected a tough battle in the second half and as if to add to the movie script that was being written, the heavens opened up and so began a torrential downpour. All it really needed was some thunder and lightning and some rather over the top close ups of grimacing faces doing battle to really make it a complete Hollywood blockbuster.

Leeds trooped out to the pitch early, and were followed a minute later by Exeter, to tumultuous applause from the faithful. The game kicked off for a second time, a change of approach from Leeds, saw them matching up to Exeter's formation, a compliment indeed, and allowed them to get more involved in the game. However, it was never a one way street and Exeter always provided a threat. Slowly but surely, the pressure began to build, but the defence stood firm and when breached the last man, Paul Jones continued to make fine saves, producing a solid display and assurance to his defensive line.

The rain continued and legs were becoming weary; none more so than those of Adam Stansfield, who chased every lost cause, pressured every defender and offered a threat by running the channels of the Leeds half tirelessly. The scars of battle began to show as Rob Edwards was forced to leave, bloodied and battered, toothless in mouth, but not performance. But then, just inside the last ten minutes, a moment of brilliance that would decide the game.

A throw-in, a pass, a skip from Golbourne and ball through to the Harley, he shifts the ball inside, on the edge of the penalty area, he glances to the far post, wraps his foot around the ball and unleashes a cannon into the top of the net at the near post, leaving the keeper wrong-footed and dumbfounded.

Harley celebrates his second

Hysteria at St James' Park, fans celebrate, strangers exchange hugs of joy and the Exeter players, gather in front of the masses to celebrate, a wonderful goal, and a wonderful three points as our prize for claiming the scalp of the league leaders.

The seconds ticked down before proceedings were bought to an end, crowds and tannoys alike were left "Singing in the rain" and the Exeter City players were given a rightful round of applause.

These three points may not have been worth anymore than the three points we'd gained from other matches, but for those involved there was something special about this performance.

In difficult conditions Exeter had outplayed an opposition deemed far superior. We had out battled, outmuscled, and out thought a team who are many pundits "flavour of the month". Tactically we were spot on, every player had followed the plan to a tee and each had given his all. There was not a bad performance to report and every single one of them can be proud of their effort.

However, the work does not end here. In fact, it only just begins, this is now the crucial moment where we can kick on. High on confidence with some breathing space in the league, we shall all be hoping that each player can replicate this type of performance again and again, and for the part of the crowd who witnessed one of the most complete performances by an Exeter team, we must do our part to continue to replicate the cacophony of noise that was produced throughout most of the match on Saturday.

For my own part, Exeter gave me one of the best early birthday presents possible and simply left me buzzing for the rest of the weekend. Well done Exeter, you made us all very proud.

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