Saints were held by Exeter at St. James Park in a hard fought 1-1 draw with the Grecians.

Adam Lallana put the visitors into a first half lead with a tidy close range finish, but a heavy pitch stifled creativity from both teams as the hosts gradually came back into the game.

Paul Tisdale's side were rewarded for a positive start to the second half, as defender Matt Taylor forced a header home from a corner to make the scores level again as both sides battled on to try and force a win.

Dan Seaborne was a prominent figure throughout the game on his return to his former stomping ground as he played most of the match with a cut above his eye. The defender almost won it with the last kick of the game as he tried to force home a corner.

The draw sees Saints make it a fourth league game unbeaten since the turn of the year.

Exeter: Marriott, Tully, Duffy, Taylor, Harley, Burnell (Cozic 73), Edwards, Sercombe, Golbourne, Stansfield (Logan 86), Corr. Subs (not used): Jones, McAllister, Dunne, Archibald-Henville, Fleetwood.

Saints: Davis, Mills, Fonte, Seaborne, Otsemobor (Barnard 86), James (Thomas 79), Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Lambert, Papa Waigo (Antonio 62). Subs (not used): Bialkowski, Harding, Wotton, Holmes.

Referee: Mr. M. Haywood

Attendance: 7,654 (including 1,044 away)

Jason Puncheon made his Saint debut in midfield and Papa Waigo also earned a start as part of a three pronged attack. Lloyd James and Adam Lallana also returned to the side after missing last weekend's win over Stockport at St. Mary's.

Hosts Exeter got proceedings underway on a bright day in Devon with Saints defending the terraced end housing the travelling support behind Kelvin Davis' goal.

An uneven opening to the game not helped in part by the bobbly surface at St James Park saw few chances created by either side in the early exchanges.

Ten minutes in, Joseph Mills advanced on the left found Lallana, whose neat flick almost released the ball into the path of Rickie Lambert but the ball just ran away from the front man before he had a chance to strike at goal.

Former Grecians defender Dan Seaborne was in the wars as he suffered a cut above his eye which saw him rotate shirts on a handful of occasions as the half wore on.

Lambert was denied a shot on target by a terrific block from City's defender Rob Edwards. The striker had collected Lallana's dinked ball over the backline before Lambert was thwarted by the strong challenge.

In the 17 minute, Papa Waigo got in on the left side of the area and tested Marriott with a sharp low strike which the 'keeper was just able to hold. Waigo and Puncheon then switched flanks as Saints attacking threat searched for another opening.

The match remained scrappy in part though until Morgan Schneiderlin struck a high sidefooted effort towards goal which Marriott collected comfortably on 33 minutes.

The breakthrough did arrive three minutes though as Alan Pardew's side took the lead with a goal from close range.

Lloyd James' cross in from the right hand side picked out Lallana on the left of the area. The youngster brought the ball under control and saw off the advances of defender Steve Tully, before firing low into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Exeter were yet to seriously test Davis, with striker Adam Stasnfield and midfielder Scott Golbourne unable to force shots from distance on target.

Three minutes before the break Saints nearly doubled their advantage as Papa Waigo laid on a chance for debutant Puncheon. The new Saints number four created room for a shot but hit a firm effort over the bar from ten yards.

Saints remained a threat going forward, but chances continued to be limited from both sides going into the interval.

Half Time: Exeter City 0-1 Saints

Seaborne went into referee Mr. Haywood's notebook two minutes after the re-start for a foul just past the halfway line on former teammate Liam Sercombe earned the former Grecians captain a yellow card.

It got worse for Saints moments later when the hosts equalised. Scott Golbourne's corner was powerfully headed in at the far post by Seaborne's old central defensive partner Matt Taylor.

Lambert uncharacteristically shot high and wide as the match continued in its laboured manner. Schneiderlin was the next to receive a caution as he kicked the ball away as the hosts lined up a free-kick.

City perhaps ought to have got their noses in front when the ball dropped for Ryan Harley inside the six yard box on 60 minutes, but the midfielder was unable to bundle it home from close range with Davis on the floor.

Play then switched to the other end with a similarly scrappy attempt resulting in Lambert driving a low shot wide from the edge of the area.

Saints made their first change of the match shortly afterwards as Michail Antonio replaced Papa Waigo as Alan Pardew's men adopted a 4-4-2 system to test City's resolve.

Berti Cozic was Exeter's first change of the game as he came on for Joe Burnell with just over fifteen minutes to go.

Tully fouled Antonio as the substitute sped towards goal which led to a free-kick around 30 yards from the target giving Lambert a chance to try his luck from distance. The striker's goalbound shot was deflected narrowly past the post and out for a corner which came to nothing.

Puncheon wriggled his way through on the right and tested Marriott from distance before Mills was pushed further forward to accommodate for the introduction of Wayne Thomas for Lloyd James with ten minutes or so left on the clock.

On 86 minutes Harley flashed a free-kick wide of Davis' right post as both managers made late attacking substitutions to try and force a winner. Richard Logan replaced Adam Stansfield for the Grecians, whilst Lee Barnard came on for Otsemobor.

Wayne Thomas became the third Saint to go into the referee's notebook for a foul on Logan just inside the Saints half. From the resulting free-kick, the ball fell to Cozic who struck a firm shot on to the post as the four minutes of added on time started to evaporate from the game.

Lallana forced a corner which was taken off Fonte's feet inside inside the six yard box which resulted in one last set piece which ended up with Seaborne hooking a shot on to the top of the net with the last kick of the match.

Full Time: Exeter City 1-1 Saints