Oxford United boss Liam Manning said there's no player in League 1 he would rather have taking a penalty than his midfield maestro Cameron Brannagan.
Brannagan converted two late spot kicks to seal a scintillating 3-0 win over high-flying rivals Exeter City in front of more than 10,000 at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday – a result that lifted Manning's men up to second in the table.
Brannagan's double came after Ruben Rodrigues headed the U's into an early lead from Kyle Edwards' cross.
MATCH REPORT: Oxford United 3 Exeter City 0
Rodrigues and Edwards stood out, with Rodrigues brought down for the first penalty.
Brannagan showed strong nerves in sending the second spot kick the same way as the first, outwitting keeper Vijami Sinisalo, who for the second one dived the wrong way.
Oxford United celebrate Cameron Brannagan's first penalty against Exeter City (Image: Mike Allen)
Head coach Manning laughed: "I'm probably not the man to ask about penalties because I've never taken one in my life!
"I have so much confidence in Cam, I think he thrives on it… he steps up. I'm delighted because he's been desperate to score and desperate to contribute in terms of goals.
"For me I wouldn't want anyone else in the division taking it.
"I feel so confident when he steps up and his record speaks for itself."
Manning was delighted by a second successive clean sheet in the league, and how well Oxford defended and still had it in them to punish Exeter on the counter at the end.
"Team game impact," he said. "Josh Murphy came on and made an impact and we did well on the counter. We've done really well with that this season – we've got such pace in the side and people that can, and most importantly are willing to run.
"For me we never lose that threat. We may be backs against the wall for 10 minutes but we are still just as dangerous when we do turn it over, with the quality we have to go and hurt teams.
"I was pleased most of all with the clean sheet.
"I'm delighted with the players.
"On a day when we didn't manage the game like we'd want to, we showed a different side, in being able to block and being able to defend well.
"We could have controlled the ball better but we showed a great togetherness and a great resilience.
"And the physicality – I thought the physical output was outstanding which is credit to them, and the staff, for the work that's done every day. You can only put in a shift like that if you're in peak condition and train properly.
"I'm proud of the players because I thought they really showed what they are about as a group and as people.
"I feel the group are growing. The lads have such a respect for each other.
"For me it felt like quite a big moment in terms of finding a different way to win which in the past we maybe haven't done. That shows the progress we're making."
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell admitted: "We got off to a poor start and gave away a really bad goal, which made it difficult.
"Second half we were in total control but we didn't penetrate enough.
"The longer the game went on, we left ourselves vulnerable to counter attacks which Oxford punished us with.
"But overall I didn't think it was a 3-0 game."