Premiership team draw for Exeter

Exeter City face a long journey in their League Cup second round game after being drawn against Premiership side Sunderland.

After overcoming League One side Swindon Town, the Grecians have landed a top tie with a potential pay day to match.

City beat Swindon 2-1 away from home. Goals from Alex Nicholls and David Wheeler handed the Grecians a 2-0 lead at the break, while Jonathan Obika pulled one back for the hosts in the second half.

After the game, manager Paul Tisdale said: "It was a fantastic win for us.

"I said to the players that sometimes, you have to put your pride aside, and we agreed as a team that we'd let them have the ball. We were connected and defensively close, but we wanted to be fast and accurate on the break. I think that the first half showed that that was a plan worth taking.

"It was always going to be a different second half - they changed their shape at half-time, and got the ball into the wider areas more quickly in the second period. They put the ball out wide, and used overlaps and underlaps, and then we were made to make our change when they scored their first goal. We still stuck to the plan, though - it just shows you what you can do when you move together, defend and chase. We had that lead, and we stuck to it.

"Swindon had lots of possession and lots of shots, but we have to be thankful that our players stuck to the task and worked very hard for each other. The supporters were wonderful - they were always behind us, and we could hear them for twenty to twenty-five minutes at the end of the game. They pushed us along and it was a really enjoyable evening.

"It doesn't always work - we've had our times where we've set ourselves up similarly and it hasn't quite worked, but it was a wonderful pitch and the surface was fantastic. It was a great night for counter-attacking football, and we accepted the challenge. I think it was important that I was able to give the team some kind of strategy for the night, but it was up to the players to accept that and work together."

By road, the Grecians face a 720-mile round trip, but the rewards could be great if they steal yet another away victory.