A world-class strike from Reece Cole was cancelled out in the dying minutes as City's final pre-season friendly ended in a 1-1 draw against Bristol City at St James Park.
Cole’s 25-yard cracker opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, but a heavily deflected strike from Tomi Horvat in the 84th minute ensured the Championship visitors left with a share of the spoils.
For City's second friendly in as many days, Matt Taylor named a more senior team than that which lost narrowly at Torquay on Friday night. New captain Jack Fitzwater started in the centre of defence, while Jayden Wareham partnered Sonny Cox up top.
First half
Both teams began the match with a tempo better fitting a league fixture than a friendly, and City looked to attack the Robins early on.
In the second minute, Reece Cole slipped Andrew Oluwabori down the right, and he crossed low into the box for Wareham. The number nine turned and shot, but Brad Collins got down quickly to palm it away in the Bristol City goal, and the angle was too wide for Cox to produce anything meaningful from the rebound.
City continued to attack, and just moments later Collins had to be on his toes to keep the scores level again. This time it came from the left as Giown Edwards crossed into the box, and it was met acrobatically by Wareham, but both his and Taylor Perry's follow up was saved by the Robins keeper.
The visitors responded with a shot which went narrowly wide from Jed Wallace, before Edwards went up the other end and had another low shot saved after cutting inside away from his marker and shooting.
The match calmed down somewhat after that, and fell into the rhythm of a midfield battle with few chances breaking through into either team's penalty area.
Wallace came closest in unconventional fashion, as his crossed looped onto the crossbar, before Reece Cole showed his quality with a belter moments before the break.
A cleared cross landed at the feet of the midfielder, and he took a touch to find some space before launching an effort curling into the far side of the keeper's net, crashing off the post and in for 1-0.
Second half
City began the second half on the front foot once again. A free-kick midway inside Bristol City’s half was whipped into the box by Cole, and after Cox was nudged inside the area, Collins pushed the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, captain Fitzwater sent his effort wide of the target.
The Robins’ threat continued to come through Wallace, whose shot was deflected behind for another corner as momentum began to swing in the visitors’ favour.
Exeter defended well, though, and the re-introduction of Jake Doyle-Hayes - making his first appearance under Matt Taylor - helped settle City in the centre of midfield.
Wareham showed his defensive attributes at the opposite end of the pitch with an overhead kick to clear the danger, but after a series of expected pre-season substitutions, the equaliser eventually arrived.
Horvat took aim from distance, and although his effort took a heavy deflection, it wrong-footed Bycroft and looped over the goalkeeper and into the net to level the scores with six minutes remaining.
In the final seconds, Wareham was brought down as he looked to bear down on the Bristol City goal, but the referee waved away City’s appeals before blowing for full-time.
A respectable result against Championship opposition brings City’s pre-season schedule to a close. Now, the focus turns to the main event, with a sold-out Devon Derby at Home Park up next to kick off the new season.
Exeter City: Bycroft, Oluwabori (Birch, 75'), James, Fitzwater (C), Woodhouse, Edwards (Trialist A, 75'), Cummins, Perry (Doyle-Hayes 61'), Cole (Oakes, 82'), Cox (Trialist B, 75'), Wareham.
Substitutes not used: Cayless, Cartwright, Dean, Lang.
Goal: Cole 44'
Bristol City: Collins, Thelwell, Elie, Atkinson, Naylor, Williams, Ezendu, Wallace, Horvat, Bell, Trialist A.
Substitutes: Godden, Anderson, Murphy, R. Knight, Hogg, Shepard, Yeboah.
Goal: Horvat 83'
Attendance: 4294 (789 away)