At least when Michael Carrick and his Middlesbrough side return to Devon later this week they will carry ultimately happy memories from this visit. An 82nd-minute penalty by Emmanuel Latte Lath propelled Boro into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and proved the difference against third-tier Exeter City after four fantastic goals, two by Exeter’s Ryan Trevitt, punctuated a thrilling tie.
This was anything but a comfortable evening for Boro, however, their analysts, as well as the first-team coach, Grant Leadbitter, in conversation with Carrick’s staff on the touchline throughout, were stationed in the main stand surrounded by some of the 1,031 away fans who made this mammoth trip.
As Middlesbrough’s players and staff filed off the team coach about an hour and 15 minutes before kick-off some of the more eager Exeter supporters that had congregated on the Big Bank terrace at one end of this ground were already making a racket. A thudding drum provided the soundtrack for Boro’s players as they headed for the away dressing room and the home support invariably turned up the volume when Trevitt, a tidy 20-year-old central midfielder on loan from Brentford, opened the scoring in style inside 13 minutes.
Kyle Taylor dug out a cross from the right flank and his pass bounced once before Trevitt took aim from just inside the Boro 18-yard box, sending a sweet first-time, right-foot shot in off the underside of the bar. Exeter fans went ballistic while on the touchline Carrick – studious at the best of times – stood hands in pockets.
Exeter, one of few fan-owned clubs, did not exactly need any encouragement to get up for this one but Gary Caldwell, their manager, gave them a helping hand. Caldwell spent Friday evening painting a giant banner that ran along the bottom of the Big Bank as the teams emerged, spelling out one of his favourite sayings: “The most important history is the history we make today.” In the tributaries off the boardroom there are pictures celebrating yesteryear, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s visit with Manchester United in a FA Cup third-round replay here in 2005. This season Exeter overcame a top-flight team in Luton Town to reach this stage of the competition but had not tasted victory since, taking one points from their past seven League One matches. Caldwell argued Boro’s squad was superior to Luton’s, despite belonging to the Championship.
Boro arrived in Exeter on Monday evening but many of their supporters not until 24 hours later, some of whom did not comprehend not making the 14-hour, 686-mile round trip. Many of them will be back in these parts on Saturday, when Boro resume league action to take on Exeter’s arch-rivals Plymouth Argyle. Boro, who return to Teeside in the early hours of Wednesday morning, will fly back into Exeter airport on Friday in preparation for their match at Plymouth’s Home Park. Boro subsidised their supporters’ tickets here, contributing £10 towards every adult ticket. They had little to cheer in the first half, however, aside from their homegrown defender Dael Fry going close with a volley.
Boro were limited to half chances in the first half, with Samuel Silvera and Anfernee Dijksteel forcing saves from Exeter’s on-loan Aston Villa and Finland goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo. But four minutes into the second half Morgan Rogers exhibited some of the class Caldwell was doubtless alluding to when talking up Boro’s squad. Rogers, who signed permanently from Manchester City in the summer, darted inside off the left flank and sent an unerring, right-foot strike into the far corner.
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Boro’s second was almost a carbon copy of their first. This time it was Silvera who drove inside off the left wing and his curled right-foot shot skidded low into the far corner. Boro’s fans on the away terrace had the best views in the house. They also had the ideal spot to witness Silvera go close to adding his second and Boro’s third, the Australian rattling a stanchion from distance.
Exeter’s fans were equally well-placed to watch Trevitt’s equaliser fly in from the edge of the D midway through the second half. Did it go to Trevitt’s head? With a penalty shootout looming, his crazy decision to tug at Rogers’s shirt in the box with nine minutes of normal time to play allowed Latte Lath to send Sinisalo the wrong way from the penalty spot to seal Boro passage into the quarter-finals.