Exeter City goalscorer Demetri Mitchell admitted he was a “lucky boy” not to be sent off against Carlisle United.
The Grecians winger expected to be shown a second yellow card for a foul on Fin Back late in the first half.
But ref Adam Herczeg declined to dismiss Mitchell – who went on to score the visitors’ second in their 2-0 win at Brunton Park.
“I’m not gonna lie, there was no malice in it but I think I was a lucky boy to get away with that one,” said Mitchell, who had earlier been cautioned for a foul on Jordan Gibson.
“I was fortunate to be on the pitch.
“But we got the win and I got the second goal. I’m sure they’ll be fuming with that but such is football.”
Mitchell, in a club interview, felt Exeter earned their result after handling Carlisle’s robust threat.
“We knew what they were gonna bring. They were a physical team and they play balls forward,” he said.
“We’ve got to compete first and foremost and the longer the game goes on we can show our qualities.”
Grecians manager Gary Caldwell admitted he was “worried” Mitchell would be sent off but suggested the referee got it right.
“You always worry – in the modern game it’s so easy to get booked but I felt it was an innocuous challenge,” he said.
“Thankfully he kept 11 on the pitch.”
The Exeter manager felt the whole club dug deep to win the game at Carlisle.
The visitors had set off from Devon on Thursday night, staying in Cheshire before travelling to Penrith on Friday, then completing the trip on Saturday.
“Big thanks to the club for backing the preparations – financially it’s a big cost but we got the win to repay everyone’s efforts,” said Caldwell.
“I felt after the first 15 minutes of the second half we looked the stronger team. The finishers came on, Sonny Cox was brilliant; he gave us a real attacking threat and kept the ball higher up the pitch for us.
“After the two goals we tried to see the game out with the substitutions we made.
“The whole team has stood up to set-pieces, to working off the ball. We look a much harder team to play against than we were last season.
“That allows you moments to go and win the game away from home. When we got our moments we took them. It was a classic away performance.”
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