Guardian:
‘Manchester United hurried for their flight, glad to be out of Exeter and into the fourth round. The next tie, with Middlesbrough, surely cannot bemuse the holders as this one did. The 0-0 draw at Old Trafford led to a win here that would have been slender indeed but for Wayne Rooney's goal in the 86th minute. Until then, Exeter City had never lost hope of an equaliser.
‘United had been sentenced to visit a non-League club, but they had it in their own power to determine the real extent of their punishment. With a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo as early as the ninth minute they were at once on course to turn this into a harmless oddity of a fixture, even if they then meandered for a while.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson had attempted to add a therapeutic air to this trip to Devon, with Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs allowed to make comebacks after a few weeks of injury. The pretence that they had no real objection to this replay, though, did not withstand Exeter's inspection for long.
‘Even a near-miss against opponents of this calibre meant that Exeter could live on in the rapturous condition that has enfolded them since their feats at Old Trafford. Their existence is cluttered with wonders. The kind of club that normally wears itself out trying to persuade the public to come here suddenly had to exert itself turning away the holders of forged tickets.’
Independent:
‘In the end it took 180 excruciating minutes of FA Cup football for Manchester United to see off Exeter City by two goals, and if Sir Alex Ferguson thought the goalless draw at Old Trafford was an embarrassment then last night was an ordeal. On a bumpy old patch of a pitch, his first team so nearly failed in spectacular style.
‘No chances were taken this time with the United team and there was no shortage of famous international footballers. By anyone's reckoning, Sir Alex Ferguson picked at least £50m-worth of his players to wrestle back some of the dignity that the original Manchester United side for this FA Cup third-round tie left out on the pitch at Old Trafford last week. Just four survivors from the United team that was left goalless and stranded the first time around and those who made it included two of the worst offenders from the original tie.
‘Against the odds, Liam Miller and Eric Djemba Djemba were trusted with the centre of midfield again, but they were joined by Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes from United's first string. The players were an incongruous sight warming up in front of an away terrace just 10 steps deep and backed by a modest garden hedge.’
Times
‘This was a far more bumpy passage to the next round, and a meeting with Middlesbrough, than anyone had expected after Cristiano Ronaldo’s early goal. It was not until three minutes from the end that Wayne Rooney rounded the goalkeeper to add the second. It was his first in the FA Cup and a rare moment of joy for the teenager on another turbulent night.
‘Much had been said and written after the first tie about Ferguson’s admiration for Exeter, and particularly Inglethorpe, but his team selection was the biggest compliment of all. Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Rooney and Ronaldo were notable additions to the starting XI that had been embarrassed at Old Trafford.
‘The holders, clearly, were taking their defence seriously and Ferguson’s recall of such established stars further underlined the short-sightedness of Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, who deserved to pay for picking a weak team against Burnley the night before.
‘Ferguson could claim that “Ronaldo should have scored five and Rooney could have had a hat-trick”, but he must have been anxious in the second half to have thrown on Mikaël Silvestre. “Exeter had fierce winds behind them in the second half and they hemmed us back by getting the ball up into our box,” the United manager said. He had the grace to concede that, while his team may have progressed, “this was Exeter’s night.”’
Telegraph:
‘Exeter City's FA Cup dream died at a raucous St James's Park last night but two memorable games with Manchester United have helped to keep the club alive. Belying their Conference status, Exeter competed gamely with their Premiership visitors but lacked the high-class cutting edge shown by Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
‘United, though, took last night's game seriously, ran out deserved winners and now face Middlesbrough in the fourth round. Exeter worried United at times, but rarely in the goalmouth.’