Gary Caldwell was extremely proud of his players despite suffering a 3-2 defeat to Championship side Middlesbrough.
He also admitted the Grecians were beaten by the better side, but was pleased with many aspects of the performance.
“We had loads of endeavour. All credit to the players, they gave everything but we got beaten by the better team,” Gary said.
“We got asked serious questions as a team tonight – they’ll be a Premier League team next season. It wasn’t for a want of trying.
“It was a brilliant atmosphere right from kick-off. The players took that on and we had a clear game plan and sat off a little in a mid-block and we did that well.
“It was a poor start to the second half but credit to the lads, they came back in it and scored another brilliant goal, it was a proper cup tie.”
Hear from Gary
