Assistant coach Ali Hepher hailed Exeter's best performance of the season after the 20-6 win over in-form Harlequins.
Quins boss O'Shea laments another away loss for his side
Assistant coach Ali Hepher hailed Exeter's best performance of the season after the 20-6 win over in-form Harlequins.
Chiefs flanker Tom Johnson scored the only try of the match and fly-half Gareth Steenson kicked 15 points for the hosts at Sandy Park.
Quins had gone into the game hoping to make it 10 consecutive wins in all competitions but only managed two penalties from Nick Evans.
Assistant coach Hepher said: "You cannot underestimate what we are putting in. The guys across the board are getting off the floor quickly and the ethos is fantastic.
"We were a little disappointed that we didn't perform a little better in the first half when there were opportunities.
"But we learn really quick and the guys were really smart in the second half. We started to pick the right options.
"Harlequins are a really good side, we managed to hang in there at times, they are a quality side. It was more about our guys being able to stop them as much as anything.
"There are some quality players out there and they performed well today. We knew that we needed to focus on getting a Premiership win having lost a couple of games."
Away troubles
Quins would have gone second in the table with a bonus-point win but never looked like improving their dismal away record - they have won just once away from home in the Aviva Premiership this season.
To make matters worse they also saw scrum-half Karl Dickson stretchered off the pitch with a suspected dislocated shoulder.
"This is a very tough place to come," said director of rugby Connor O'Shea.
"We started the game the way we wanted, we held on to the ball, it was a very strong wind and it was 12-3 at half-time.
"We made a number of line breaks, we controlled possession pretty well for period when we had it but we kept trying to forced things and the Chiefs were getting lots of easy yards.
"The start of the second half was a disaster in terms of what we wanted to go out and do. You have the kick off and you let them score virtually from their own line.
"You have to give massive credit to the Chiefs today - they out-worked us - we had the line breaks but we didn't protect the ball. It is incredible to come away without scoring a try given the number of clean breaks that were made.
"You saw their attitude in abundance the way that they scrambled - when they were broken they got back and made their tackles, we didn't do that - so all credit to Chiefs.
"We'll learn the lesson, hard work has got us to where we are and you have to work hard in every single game you play."