Exeter City’s players were left disappointed by the late defeat to Middlesbrough that saw them exit the Carabao Cup. In what was a thrilling cup tie in front of a sold out St James Park, the Grecians took the lead, then drew level after falling behind, only to be beaten late on.

Ryan Trevitt smashed City ahead in the 13 ^th minute, before two goals from Morgan Rogers and Sammy Silvera early in the second half turned the contest around. City rallied though and Trevitt got his second of the game just after the hour, with another screamer.

The cup tie looked to be heading towards penalties, but in the 81 ^st minute, Boro won it. Trevitt pulled down Rogers in the box, and Emmanuel Latte Lath stepped up and converted the spot-kick to make it 3-2 and put the Championship side into the quarter-finals.

The loss meant City’s hopes of creating history and reaching the last eight for the first time in their history were denied. Midfielder Harry Kite said that the squad were out on their feet after the performance and were left gutted to have come so close to the.

“We are really disappointed to come so far and be so close,” the academy product said. “They are a good side, and we are disappointed after such a close game to getting through. We did our bit, but were just a bit short today.

“The third goal was disappointing and we didn’t clear in the box and let it bounce, but that is the quality that they have. If you look at the squad, we are a bit thin and down to bare to the bones, and it is just a shame we came up just a bit short tonight.“Both our goals were great finishes from Ryan. The first settled the nerves. We had a slow start to the second half, not sure why, and them getting the goal, swings the momentum. But we showed character to come back, full credit to the team, showed a lot of character.”

It is now eight games without a win for the Grecians, seven of them defeats, and just one win in 11. One of those defeats were against Wigan Athletic, who City now host on Saturday in the FA Cup first round, and as one cup run ends, Kite said the players are keen to start another one.

“We want a good run in the FA Cup and want to get a result back on Wigan which was unfair on the day and we want to get a little bit more to get it over the line,” he added. “We know the connection between fans and staff and players and we gave everything so hope they appreciate it. Now we move onto Saturday.”