Exeter boss Matt Taylor admitted his side did not deserve their last-gasp win over Notts County but was full of pride for his 10-man side.
The Grecians strengthened their promotion ambitions with a gutsy 1-0 win in which they played with 10 men for more than 67 minutes after Ryan Bowman’s dismissal.
Despite having to defend for large spells, Exeter won it in stoppage time when Donavan Wilson crossed for Nicky Law to head in via the post.
Jubilant Grecians boss Taylor was thrilled with the result despite admitting his side had not warranted all three points.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game, but we certainly didn’t deserve to lose it either,” he said.
“The structure and the discipline of that second half performance was just outstanding and we limited them to half chances on our goal and defended that box like we had to. It was so, so important.
“Then all of a sudden, you get that little break. Donovan Wilson has done well and Nicky Law has still got the legs to get in the box - although he almost missed the header!
“You can’t control your emotion at that point because it is a release of every single member of Exeter City doing everything they can this afternoon.”
“I can’t hide how happy I am. There are still areas I need to address - we spoke about the first ten minutes which I wasn’t happy about and we have to learn from that.
“We had experienced bodies on that pitch and we can’t afford to sacrifice a player, or even give the referee the option, to send one of our players off the pitch.
Matt Tootle still hoping for a happy ending in Notts County's survival fight
“But I am delighted with that performance and I know I have a group of tired players and we have another suspension.
"We go into next weekend needing to win that game.”
