A father and son who travelled thousands of miles to watch an FA Cup game said it was a great experience – despite seeing their team lose 10-1.
George and Charlie flew from San Diego in California to Manchester via Chicago and Dublin in order to be in the crowd at the Etihad Stadium for Exeter City’s third round tie against Premier League side Manchester City on Saturday.
The 6,160km (3,830 miles) trip ended with the League One team suffering a heavy defeat.
The father and son duo said all the travel had been worthwhile as teenager George Birch’s late goal for the Grecians gave them something to celebrate.
Birch’s strike from outside the penalty area came when Exeter were 9-0 down and sparked wild celebrations among the 7,800 away fans.
“We talked about having a moment and we got the moment,” George, who is originally from Exeter, told John Acres on BBC Radio Devon before flying back to the US.
“If it had ended 9-0 or 10-0, it would have been bad, but we got that one moment with a cracking goal at the end.
“We got the celebration, even if it was gallows humour at that point.”
Charlie joked he was going to tell his school friends Exeter scored three times as Jake Doyle-Hayes and Jack Fitzwater netted own goals in the first half.
The 11-year-old added it was a good day out and getting to watch a strong Manchester City line-up which included Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and Spanish midfielder Rodri.
“It was fun to see some big players playing,” Charlie, who is due back in school on Tuesday, said.
“But the only highlight from the game was when they scored.”
