Two goals in two minutes - for Watford Women in the first half and Exeter after the break - saw the season end with a 2-2 draw at St James Park as the Hornets secured third place in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.
The Hornets flew out of the box and took a stranglehold on the game by racing into a 2-0 lead inside five minutes.
That allowed them to settle and relax, while the home side took time to recover from the shock.
Although Exeter had their moments, keeper Hermione Cull was not seriously tested and had the Hornets found a better pass or finish towards the end of the first half they could gone into the break with a larger lead.
Within five minutes of the restart Watford had lost two of their starting back three to injuries, and that forced some major reshuffling.
Bianca Baptiste had to come on and play at right-back as the Hornets switched to a back four, but it clearly unsettled them and the home side roared back.
Like the Hornets had, Exeter netted twice in the space of two minutes to make it 2-2 and a game that had been controlled by Watford in the first half suddenly swung in totally the other direction.
From having third place in the table firmly in their grasp, Watford now knew another goal for their hosts would see Exeter leapfrog them in the table.
However, they saw the game out in front of the west country’s record home crowd of 3,197 to secure the point that confirmed third place in the table.
Here’s how the game unfolded:
2 – Exeter 0 Watford 1 (Fisher)
The home side failed to clear their lines from a corner and when Haines played the ball back into the box, Fisher controlled it superbly at the back of the six-yard box and hammered a shot past Giles.
4 – Exeter 0 Watford 2 (Fyfe)
A good start got even better when Fyfe’s cross was misjudged by Giles, who then saw the ball come back off the post and go into the net off her.
15 – Haines won the ball 25 yards out, took a touch and then fired a shot that Giles held.
19 – Gillies received a pass in space inside the Watford box, but pulled her shot wide.
21 – Watford were caught by the home side’s high press, but when Gillies steered the ball wide of the advancing Cull she knocked it too far and it went out of play.
22 – Fyfe beat her defender and then stood a cross up which Haines met at the back post, but her header came back off the post.
25 – A corner reached Taylor at the back of the box, but she drove her shot across the face of goal.
27 – Exeter’s fast counter attack ended with Stacey through on the right of the box, but her shot was straight at Cull.
28 – Gale outstripped her full-back, got into the area and then sent a low shot past Giles but narrowly wide of the back post.
44 – Haines picked Fyfe out on the right. She controlled the ball and sent it towards the near post where Giles tipped it wide.
45 – A corner from Haines landed in the six-yard box, Fisher prodded it goalwards and the effort was cleared off the line by Baker.
Half-time – Exeter 0 Watford 2
58 – Penalty to Exeter as Gillies gets behind the Watford defence and is brought down by Cull just inside the box.
59 – Exeter 1 (Stacey) Watford 2
Cull goes the right way but Stacey’s spot-kick is struck well into the bottom corner.
61 – Exeter 2 (Zuurmond) Watford 2
The Hornets didn’t deal with a cross from the left from Pollock and Zuurmond lashed home the loose ball from six yards.
70 – City robbed Watford midway inside their own half but Gillies took on the shot early, snatched at it and pulled it harmlessly wide.
85 – The Grecians took a short free-kick to Baker but her shot from 30 yards was always rising and cleared the bar.
87 – Watford got caught trying to play out from defence and lost the ball, but Pollock’s snapshot was blocked.
88 – Toogood’s cross went way up in the air and appeared to be drifting out of play, only to drop in the six-yard box, bounce up and hit the bar before Watford cleared.
90+4 – Davison hits a 30-yard free-kick straight at Giles.
90+4 – Perry is played in behind the Exeter defence but Giles stretches to collect her attempted lob.
90+5 – Watford lose the ball and Pollock slides Gillies through. The striker races into the box but Cull is quickly off her line and makes a superb, vital save.
Full-time – Exeter 2 Watford 2
Watford: Cull; Meiwald, Chandler (Davison ht), Peart (Baptiste 50), Perry, Rossiter, Head, Haines, Fisher (Mehmet 89), Fyfe, Gale (Paul 66).
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