IT might have been Halloween, but on a night that could have been designed for a cup upset, Middlesbrough successfully avoided a shock.

Trailing to League One Exeter City at a sodden St James Park, Michael Carrick’s side looked deep in trouble as they began the second half with a place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals drifting away from them.

The Teessiders hadn’t really threatened before the break, but with the effervescent Morgan Rogers and Sammy Silvera leading the way, a one-goal deficit became a one-goal lead before the hour mark.

Rogers equalised with a superb angled strike, with Silvera making it 2-1 with an equally-polished curled finish, but Exeter fought back as Trevitt cracked home his second goal of the night.

Penalties were looming, but while a spot-kick would ultimately prove decisive, it came before the end of full-time rather than after it. Trevitt’s night took a turn for the worse as he pulled back Rogers in the box, and Emmanuel Latte Lath stepped up to stroke home the winner.

Boro’s prize was a place in the last eight of the League Cup for the first time since 2019, with the Teessiders’ ability to completely transform their outlook in the second half to their considerable credit. With the game drifting away from them, Boro’s players successfully seized the initiative and made their superiority count.

On a night that was tailor-made for a cup upset, with rain teeming down and a tight, sold-out stadium packed with expectant home supporters, Boro’s players would have been content with their start in the opening ten minutes or so.

The visitors patiently dominated possession in the opening stages, successfully taking the sting out of Exeter’s start, and created the first opening of the night when Morgan Rogers’ backheel teed up Sammy Silvera for a shot that the Australian blazed over.

Exeter’s players seemed content to stand off their opponents early on and, initially, it felt as though they had perhaps missed an opportunity to unsettle their higher-ranked opposition. Thirteen minutes in, however, and they were breaking the deadlock with their first meaningful attack of the night.

It was a well-worked opener, with Kyle Taylor breaking down the right touchline before cutting the ball back into the path of Ryan Trevitt. The midfielder still had plenty to do as he picked up possession close to the right corner of the 18-yard box, but after swivelling neatly, he cracked home an excellent finish via the underside of the crossbar. Tom Glover, selected as Carrick’s Carabao Cup goalkeeper for the fourth round in a row, was left with no chance.

The goal was somewhat harsh on Boro given that Exeter had barely been in the Teessiders’ half prior to scoring it, let alone threatening to make an impression in the 18-yard box in front of the sold-out away end housing a remarkable 1,400 travelling fans, but while the visitors continued to dictate play as they attempted to haul themselves back into the game, they initially struggled to create clear-cut chances.

The same had been true against Stoke at the weekend, and with Boro’s attacking players repeatedly making poor choices in the final third, it said much that the Teessiders’ best opportunity of the first half fell to a centre-half. A cross from the right was only cleared to Dael Fry, but the defender fired a volley wide of the far post from a decent position ten yards out.

The rest of Boro’s first-half attacking foundered in the face of some extremely disciplined Exeter defending, with the home side pulling two banks of players behind the ball and inviting their opponents to play in front of them. With too many Boro players making poor decisions or misplacing passes in the final third, Vil Sinisalo hadn’t been tested in the Exeter goal before he tipped over a rising drive from Silvera on the stroke of half-time.

With a golden opportunity potentially slipping away, the Teessiders desperately needed a positive reaction at the start of the second half. To their credit, they delivered it with two goals before the hour mark.

Alex Bangura’s persistence was pivotal to Boro’s equaliser, with the full-back, who was making his second start since his summer signing, refusing to give up on a seemingly lost cause after initially losing the ball breaking down the left. Bangura bit back to nick possession from Jack Fitzwater, with the ball breaking towards Rogers on the left corner of the box. The attacking-midfielder shuffled the ball onto his right foot before curling a sumptuous finish into the far corner.

Suddenly, the complexion of the game had changed entirely, and with Boro playing with much more purpose and energy after the interval, the turnaround was completed just before the hour mark.

Bangura was involved again, breaking down the left and rolling the ball to Silvera, who was loitering close to the touchline. The Australian darted infield, and with defenders standing off him, curled a superb low finish into the far corner. Having also scored in the win at Norwich, it was his second goal in the space of three games.

It wasn’t sufficient to settle things though, with Trevitt firing home his second goal of the night seven minutes after Silvera’s strike. Turning with his back to goal 20 yards out, the Exeter midfielder claimed his second goal of the night with a brilliant strike that arced into the top left-hand corner.

Silvera almost doubled his own personal tally with a shot that was saved by Sinisalo after a slick dribble in the box, before Trevitt went from hero to zero with the decisive act of the evening.

Exeter’s goalscorer was penalised for pulling back Rogers in the box, and Latte Lath stepped up to score a winner from the spot.