Second-tier Plymouth stun Brentford in FA Cup giant-killing

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Plymouth stun Premier League side Brentford in FA Cup

The Championship's bottom club, Plymouth Argyle, throw the form book out of the window as they beat Brentford 1-0 in the FA Cup third round.

Jan 11, 2025, 01:31 pm

Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle produced an FA Cup giant-killing on Saturday as they stunned Premier League side Brentford in the third round at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Plymouth, who are propping up the Championship table having earned 20 points from their 24 games, ended an 11-match winless streak in style when Morgan Whittaker's low left-foot drive sent the away supporters into raptures.

Whittaker's 84th-minute strike secured Plymouth's first victory over a top-flight club for more than 40 years.

Plymouth's poor results this season saw the them part ways with head coach Wayne Rooney on New Year's Eve and hand the reins to Kevin Nancekivell and club captain Joe Edwards on an interim basis.

Miron Muslic was appointed as the club's permanent head coach on Friday and watched his new team's victory from the stands in west London.

"Congratulations to Plymouth, I think they deserved to win," Thomas Frank told a post-match news conference. "I think they put a lot of effort into it, I think they defended brilliantly. I think they ran hard and they scored a really good goal from a player that we knew could score the goal."

Morgan Whittaker's late goal gave Plymouth Argyle an unlikely FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday.
Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

Frank will have been disappointed by the lack of threat his side produced against their second-tier opposition -- the home team managed just two shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.

The Brentford boss sent on star forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa in the second half in an attempt to rescue a result, but his substitutions proved to be in vain as Brentford exited the FA Cup in the third round for the third consecutive season. 

"I'm really proud, really emotional," Nancekivell told reporters. "It's been a tough period. When you lose a manager you have to hold the fort, which we've been asked to do. Joe has been excellent alongside me and I'm just pleased that we could give our supporters some cheer and a nice trip home."