Southampton made light work of League Two new-boys Exeter as they claimed a 3-1 win in the Carling Cup.
Championship side safely through
Southampton made light work of League Two new-boys Exeter as they claimed a 3-1 win in the Carling Cup.
The Saints avoided an embarssing early exit from the competition thanks to a first half strike from Lee Holmes and a brace from David McGoldrick.
The Saints took the lead on 29 minutes when Paul Wotton teed up Holmes, who swept the ball into the roof of the net from 18 yards to give the Championship side a half-time lead.
Exeter missed a great chance to level with Adam Stansfield missing two good chances for the Devon side.
Gripping
Firstly he missed a simple tap-in from barely six yards before hitting a shot from distance that he screwed horribly wide.
McGoldrick drilled a fine second for the Saints with a low shot into the corner from 20 yards, but that was not the end of a gripping encounter.
Exeter set up a grand finale as Dean Moxey rose to out jump Saints goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski to a high ball which he nodded into the net, but the battling Devonians could not get the second despite their best efforts.
Exeter's fate was sealed when Danny Seaborne fouled McGoldrick deep into injury time and the young striker stepped up to convert the resultant spot kick to send the Saints through.
