Gary Caldwell hails ‘fantastic achievement’ as Exeter progress

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell hailed his side’s “fantastic achievement” after they overcame Halifax 2-0 to book their place in the second round of the FA Cup.

Daniel Andrew’s superb volley put the Grecians ahead before Jayden Wareham doubled the lead before half-time.

Caldwell was proud of the way his players handled the challenge of facing National League opposition, particularly after making the long journey from Devon to West Yorkshire.

“We fully respected them and the tie and how difficult it was going to be,” he said. “I came last week to watch the game here live against York to get a feel for the stadium, to get a feel for the team.

“I think in the FA Cup, the team always rises above their normal standard as well, which I thought Halifax did today.

“I thought they were much, much better today than they were last week against York.

“Taking all that into consideration to win 2-0 and put ourselves in the next round of the competition is a fantastic achievement and performance for the team.

“It’s something to look forward to and hopefully a home tie.

“It was another seven and a half hour journey to get here yesterday, so hopefully a home tie to give us something.

“Everyone wants to get in the third round of the FA Cup and the big boys come in.

“We managed to get a really exciting tie last year and hopefully we can do the same this year.”

Halifax boss Adam Lakeland was proud of the way his youthful side performed.

Lakeland told the Halifax Courier: “It’s a lesson for our young team, but generally I thought we competed and performed very well and we should have no shame in the way we’ve gone out of the competition.

“If you were here as a neutral, not knowing which team played in which division, I don’t think people would’ve said there was a two-division gulf between the teams.”