DAN Gosling and Junior Stanislas struck second-half goals as Cherries recovered to gain a 2-1 victory from their hearty workout at League Two Exeter City.

Two separate Cherries teams were given a 45-minute run out by boss Eddie Howe with goalkeeper Artur Boruc and midfielder Harry Arter not present at St James Park. Elliott Ward and Harry Cornick travelled without featuring.

PICTURE GALLERY: Exeter City 1 Cherries 2 

Exeter were spirited from the off with Tom Nichols firing a deflected shot within the first minute but his stifled effort trickled safely into Adam Federici’s grasp.

Cherries soon took charge of possession and created their first opening with seven minutes on the clock. Adam Smith bombed forward and found the feet of Christian Atsu who turned and flashed a shot narrowly wide of the far post.

An intricate build-up between Marc Pugh, Tyrone Mings and Tokelo Rantie ended with Pugh’s swinging effort from 20 yards narrowly clearing the crossbar.

The pressure continued with Smith’s driving run the impetus behind Pugh’s stinging effort which was bravely blocked by City defender Christian Ribeiro.

Mings’s marauding run and cut back found Joshua King with 23 minutes played but Troy Brown was on hand to block once more for the Grecians and Exeter made the most of their resolute showing with the opening goal on the break after 32 minutes.

Midfielder Matt Oakley rolled down the right for David Wheeler to run at Mings, cut inside and hit a low, bobbling shot through a crowd of players past an unsighted Federici.

Cherries pushed forward but almost got caught out again when Nichols chased down Steve Cook before Federici eventually mopped up the danger.

Surman became the first Cherries player to seriously test home keeper Bobby Olejnik as the interval approached but the Austrian stopper pushed his 20-yard free-kick round the far post.

Cherries changed their entire XI at the break but could have fell further behind five minutes after the restart when substitute Tom McCready threaded a sublime pass down the right for Wheeler to rashly lash wide of Ryan Allsop's near post.

Seconds later, Charlie Daniels played Junior Stanislas down the left at the other end with the Cherries winger pelting the inside of the post before the ball ricocheted back into the grateful arms of Olejnik.

The reprieve was short-lived, however, with Simon Francis galloping down the right for Dan Gosling to bomb into the box and bundle home a scruffy effort – albeit at the third attempt.

The tempo continued at a frenetic pace with Yann Kermorgant playing a well-weighted ball for Callum Wilson but impressive City defender Brown stretched to prevent the ex-Coventry man having a one-on-one opportunity.

Kermorgant again threaded through Wilson with 18 minutes to go but his shot from an acute angle drifted harmlessly across the face of goal.

Wilson then had the ball in the net soon but was flagged offside from Stanislas’s throughball before the ex-West Ham winger took matters into his own hands and pouched what proved to be a spectacular winner.

Stanislas set off on a driving run down the left, beating two defenders before slamming inside substitute keeper Christy Pym’s near post on the half volley following a kind bounce off a third, retreating Exeter player.

Tommy Elphick fired over when well placed with nine minutes to go as the plucky but much-changed hosts became increasingly stretched.

McCready’s low cross had Cherries scrambling late on but it was the visitors who went closest to adding to the score with Wilson’s low centre for Stanislas hacked away at the last by Josh Read.

Exeter: Olejnik (Pym, 71), Davies (Riley-Lowe, 71), Brown (Tillson, 61), Ribeiro (Watkins, 71), McAllister (Read, 71), Noble (McCready, h-t), Oakley (Butterfield, 61), Harley (Oyeleke, 61), Wheeler (Reid, 67), Nichols (Nicholls, 67), Holmes (Hoskins, 67).

Cherries: (first half) Federici, Smith, Cook, Distin, Mings, Atsu, O'Kane, Surman, Pugh, King, Rantie.

Cherries: (second half) Allsop, Francis, Elphick, Cargill, Daniels, Ritchie, MacDonald, Gosling, Stanislas, Kermorgant, Wilson.

Referee: Lee Swabey.

Attendance: 2,125 (360 visiting supporters).