‘Nobody gave them a chance’ – Plymouth make ‘history’ with upset

Before their FA Cup trip to Brentford, Plymouth Argyle, who are currently at the bottom of the standings and without a win in 11 games, would have feared the worst.

No team has scored more goals at home this season than their Premier League opponents, who have consistently scored 27 goals in 10 Premier League games at Gtech Community Stadium.

On the other hand, Argyle haven’t won any road games since April, conceding 35 goals in their last 14 league games.

With eight minutes left, Morgan Whittaker scored the only goal of the third-round tie to lift the Championship champions past and give their fan base a sense of hope after a disciplined defensive display in west London.

The former England and Manchester United striker left on New Year’s Eve after a string of disappointing results under Wayne Rooney’s leadership.

Under Rooney, Plymouth managed just five wins and 15 of its 25 games overall, or 20%, to break into the cup tie on the back of two straight draws led by Kevin Nancekivell.

Miron Muslic, an Austrian, was appointed as their new manager on Friday, but he was only allowed to watch from the stands while the Bees were playing.

So it should come as no surprise that few people had expected the Pilgrims to compete, let alone cause the round’s biggest upset.

On BBC Radio 5 Live, former England goalkeeper Rob Green said, “Nobody gave Plymouth a chance.”

The way they celebrate reminds me that they didn’t really give themselves a chance, but it has given them a tremendous boost.

Without Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who have each scored 23 league goals, Plymouth faced Brentford.

However, their starting lineup included Danish international Mikkel Damsgaard, who has seven assists this season, as well as regulars like Sepp van den Berg, Kevin Schade, and Mads Roerslev.

However, Plymouth almost gave the hosts an inch after overcoming early blushes by allowing Fabio Carvalho to have a few sighters at their goal.

After the game, interim coach Nancekivell said, “The plan for this week was to be organized, to be in our shape, to come to a Premier League team and make it as difficult as we could for them and to have a little quality on the ball.”

And Whittaker created the moment of magic for his players, who continued to hold their ground even after Thomas Frank removed Mbeumo, Wissa, and Keane Lewis-Potter from the bench.

The 24-year-old cut in from the right and fired a low drive into the bottom corner to the delight of the away end, which Brentford had already scored 20 goals.

” If we continue performances like that there’s no reason why we can’t accomplish staying in the league, “said Nancekivell, who will be part of Muslic’s backroom staff.

Brentford lost to Manchester City on Tuesday, and as a result, they were eliminated from the FA Cup for the third consecutive year. As a result, they will now turn their attention back to the Premier League.

” You can lose, and then you can lose in a way that’s not top – we didn’t lose in the best way because we didn’t hit our highest level, “Frank said.

Meanwhile, Argyle will wait to learn their fourth-round opponents in the draw on Sunday, and match-winner Whittaker is eyeing another upset next month. He wants to play Manchester United, who face Arsenal on Sunday.

” I think that’s what the FA Cup’s all about. I think there’s always one upset and I think that’s what we tried to be and luckily it happened, “said the Plymouth winger.