Shaun Maloney admits Wigan Athletic's repeat victory at Exeter 'meant a lot' after rival comments

Goals from Thelo Aasgaard and Steven Sessegnon sent Latics through to round two after another 'really professional performance' in the view of Maloney.

After the previous win on the same ground a fortnight ago - when Latics had only 28 per cent possession - Maloney had been disappointed by comments made by Exeter boss Gary Caldwell - his former Latics, Celtic, Scotland and Hibernian managerial colleague - and assistant manager Kevin Nicholson.

Caldwell accused Latics of playing 'negative football', and said it was 'not the club that I knew, it's not the way I knew that club plays'.

Nicholson, handling pre-match media duties, said: '10 years ago they were a Premier League club, and they don't expect to be coming to Exeter and having 28 per cent possession and having 30 shots against them'.

Latics' repeat triumph, therefore, was the perfect way to respond, leaving Maloney a satisfied man in the aftermath.

"It was a really professional performance, I think," he said.

"There were moments of real quality when we attacked.

"And when we really had to see the game out at the end, we had some senior players come on and really lead us to the result.

"The first half was very even with not much in it, although I didn’t feel like we were under a massive threat.

“I felt we were dangerous on the counter attack but I wanted more of the ball in the second half.

“In the second half, we changed things tactically. I didn’t feel like there were massive issues in the game, I just wanted to get our attacking players higher up.

"We saw the game out and I was really happy. In the end, it was a really good performance.

“We’ve got a history in the cup.

"I spoke to the players before the game, and there have been some amazing moments in recent history.

"Hopefully it’s our turn to create some memories.”

Referring to the previous meeting, he added: "This one meant a lot.

"We came here in the league and won 2-0, and I felt our performance was very, very good. - but in a very different way.

"We had to do it without the ball on the day, but I think sometimes people forget the age of this team.

"They're not experienced at this level, and I was really pleased with them again today.

"We controlled the ball more than the last game, and this one meant a lot.

"There's been a lot said over the last couple of weeks, and we've stayed very humble.

"I actually really like this club (Exeter), I really like the fan ownership, I really like the history of the Academy and, even when we went 2-0 up, their fans kept singing.

"Very respectful...maybe it wasn't the same both ways."

Maloney was also asked if he'd spoken to Caldwell.

"No," he replied.