Super Saints finally end Sandy Park losing streak as double-winners are defeated
Piers Francis landed two second-half penalties to put the away side, who had defended so well for so long, 13-7 up with six minutes to go.
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Hide AdExeter came roaring back and scored with the final play of the game as lock Sam Skinner finished in the corner.
It gave Joe Simmonds a chance to convert from the touchline, but he took too long and as he ran up to strike the ball, Saints charged forward and booted it out of play to spark scenes of celebration in the away camp.
Saints had lost their past 10 matches at Exeter, failing to win there since February 2014.
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Hide AdBut they were in the mood to end that barren run from the off and they immediately held firm as Exeter had two big lineout chances deep in Saints territory inside the opening two minutes.
On a bog of a pitch, Saints were on top in the scrum early on, winning a couple of penalties, the second of which was sent to the corner well by George Furbank.
And Saints took advantage, producing a huge lineout drive that allowed Shaun Adendorff to get the ball down, scoring his fourth try in three games.
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Hide AdFrancis converted impressively and Saints led 7-0 after 12 minutes.
Exeter then responded in trademark fashion, applying huge amounts of pressure through their forwards.
Saints were giving away an alarming amount of penalties and it allowed the Chiefs to camp on their line for a prolonged period.
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Hide AdBut the away defence held firm in incredible fashion, eventually forcing a knock-on to earn a scrum.
However, after Alex Mitchell took too long to get the ball out of a scrum and then knocked on, Exeter had the ball back.
And this time they made it count as Jack Yeandle stretched out an arm to finally puncture Saints' resistance.
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Hide AdHarvey Skinner levelled the scores with the conversion and Exeter looked odds-on to score again when Ollie Devoto raced towards a kick ahead, only to see Ollie Sleightholme recover with superb speed to earn Saints a chance to clear.
Both teams had ventures into the opposition 22 before the half was out but neither side could capitalise as an attritional half ended all square.
Exeter continued to play the game on the front foot at the start of the second half though, and Saints continued to present them with possession and penalties.
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Hide AdFurbank paid the price for not rolling away, being sent to the sin bin during a period of relentless Exeter pressure.
But Saints won a penalty against the head at the scrum for the third time in the game to allow them to breathe a sigh of relief.
The away side were scrapping for their lives, especially on the ground, where they continually tried to counter-ruck to win back possession.
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Hide AdSleightholme and Matt Proctor tried to combine on the left wing when Saints finally got a chance to attack in the Exeter half, but the hosts snuffed it out.
Furbank returned with his team still level and they had the chance to go ahead when Francis lined up a penalty in front of the posts.
But it was a fair distance out and the ball rebounded back off the post to allow Exeter to stay on level terms.
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Hide AdSaints had another chance from the tee when Dave Ewers was penalised for a shoulder charge on David Ribbans, and Francis made no mistake to give his side the lead with 10 minutes to go.
And Francis did it again with six minutes to go, superbly slotting a penalty to put his team six points up.
Exeter mounted a charge with five minutes to go, but Alex Coles got over the ball to earn a penalty and stop the momentum.
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Hide AdExeter still had time though and they pieced together a flowing move that ended with Sam Skinner finishing in the corner.
Joe Simmonds had a tough kick in prospect to win the game from close to the touchline but after he started his run-up, Saints charged towards the ball and booted it out of play.
Referee Christophe Ridley blew his whistle and the barren run at Sandy Park was finally over.
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Hide AdExeter Chiefs: Hogg; O'Flaherty, Hendrickson, Devoto, Hodge (Whitten 60); H Skinner (J Simmonds 63), Maunder; Hepburn (Innard 68), Yeandle (c) (Kenny 74), Williams (Street 68); Witty, S Skinner; Ewers, Capstick, S Simmonds.
Saints: Tuala (Mallinder 51); Proctor, Hutchinson, Francis, Sleightholme; Furbank, Mitchell; Waller (cc) (Auterac 52), Matavesi (Marshall 68), Painter (Hill 40); Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa (Coles 63); Isiekwe, Ludlam (cc), Adendorff (Wood 60).
Referee: Christophe Ridley