After 10 minutes of stalemate, Reece Cole fired wide with an instinctive volley from the edge of the penalty box for Exeter before the midfielder rounded goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond but scuffed his shot towards an empty goal that allowed Stevenage to get back and clear.

The deadlock was broken in the 49th minute when Cole charged down a clearance which put him in on goal. He was tripped by Ashby-Hammond as he tried to round him and Wareham sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Wareham was denied by Ashby-Hammond when one-on-one, while substitute Harry Cornick fired a good chance over just seconds after coming on for his Stevenage debut.

Exeter made it 2-0 after 73 minutes when Ethan Brierley placed a delightful shot that went in off the upright from 20 yards for his first Grecians goal.

It was one-way traffic, with Stevenage – boasting the best defence in League One – totally outplayed and loanee Timur Tutierov, who joined Exeter from Sunderland on Friday, marked his debut with a simple tap-in deep into stoppage time after superb work by Jack Aitchison.