Bath assistant coach Martin Haag admitted his side had been pushed all the way by Exeter after their 12-9 win at Sandy Park.
Assistant coach pleased to come away with win
Bath assistant coach Martin Haag hailed his side for the spirit they showed in seeing off a tough Exeter side 12-9 at Sandy Park.
Olly Barkley kicked the winning penalty two minutes from time, with the centre's 15-metre effort putting the visitors into the lead for the first time.
Only Leicester and London Irish had beaten the Chiefs on their own soil so far this season and Haag admitted Bath had been pushed all the way.
"For us it was a great win though we had to dig it out at the end," he said.
"We were pretty calm at half-time, the players knew exactly what they had to do.
"The accuracy was not quite there in the second half but we did what we said we were going to do and we eventually came away with the four points so we are delighted.
"All we said at half-time in the dressing room that we had some key points going in to the game which we hadn't quite achieved. If we achieved those key points we could win the game.
Character
"The players showed great character and great spirit. At the start of the season we might have lost games like this, but we have had a few on the bounce now but it wasn't the stylish result that perhaps we wanted."
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter said that his players should not be too disappointed with their performance, believing the experience will serve them well in the future.
Baxter said: "There were opportunities in the game which we didn't really take and because we didn't really control the second half it ultimately cost us the game.
"We did have a couple of shots at goal but really we know that we could have done better. The breakdown was a bit of a mess but you can hold your head in your hands all day, we'll look at the video and get better at it.
"We defended fairly well. We've not conceded a try again in a relatively low-scoring game. Our defence was pretty solid, the set-piece held up pretty well.
"Ultimately we just came up a little bit short in a three-point game and sometimes that happens. It's a mark of where we are that we are disappointed to lose to the in-form side in the Premiership."