Morgan Whittaker’s late own goal helped Championship bottom club Plymouth beat Premier League Brentford 1-0 in the third round of the FA Cup.
Plymouth sacked Wayne Rooney on New Year’s Eve and have been without a win since November 5, but produced their first real shock in the FA Cup third round against a sluggish Bees side – in front of new Argyle manager Miron Muslic, who was at Gtech. Community Stadium.
Thomas Frank’s side failed to capitalize on their Premier League presence and brought on Bryan Mbeum and Yoane Wiss in the second half in an attempt to break the deadlock.
But that responsibility fell to Whittaker – once heavily linked with a move to Brentford – who cut in down the right and slotted in at the near post, deflecting off Mikkel Damsgaard.
Brentford, who once had the best home record in Europe, have now lost three games in a row at the Gtech Community Stadium. This is also the third season in a row that the Bees have failed to get past the third round of the FA Cup.
Frank: You can’t drop 20 percent at this level
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank:
“Congratulations to Plymouth. They deserved to win. They put in a lot of effort and defended brilliantly. They ran hard and got a really good goal from a player we knew could score.
“We prepared to bring Whittaker off, but he got a good shot outside the penalty area.
“A bit of a missed opportunity. We’re disappointed, you can really feel it on me. But keeping a cool head is never that good or bad.
“We didn’t create anything. There are always two teams on the field. Plymouth worked well, they ran hard, they defended with their lives and defended well. We didn’t have the right quality on the day.
“I also reacted quickly enough to bring on Bryan, Keane and Wiss. Bryan and Keane had 36 minutes to create something, but even with the top offensive players on the pitch, we couldn’t create enough.
“If you look at the first half, you could see how we reacted in counter-pressing and high pressing, we did everything right. But I need to see more in watching the game backwards to see if there is something, or if there are learning curves.
“If you go down 20 per cent against any team at this level – and yes, even though they are bottom of the Championship, they are still in the Championship – then it becomes difficult. So maybe that was the reason.”
‘Brentford wasn’t good enough’
Clinton Morrison on Football Saturday:
“Plymouth defended brilliantly and Brentford didn’t play well enough. [Thomas Frank] he gave the team’s players a chance, but they weren’t good enough to cause Plymouth any problems.
“Brentford didn’t underestimate Plymouth, they just weren’t good enough. Plymouth were excellent. Brentford weren’t clinical in the final third.
“[Fabio] Carvalho is not good enough for me in this Brentford team. I know he hasn’t played football, but he’s slow, takes too many touches. They like to move faster.
“Brentford will be disappointed. Frank should have gone [with a] strong [team] because they are safe in the Premier League.”
Analysis: Carvalho needs patience after Brentford’s slow and laborious start
Sam Blitz from Sky Sports:
It’s been a slow start to life at Brentford for Fabio Carvalho.
Much was expected of the £27.5m signing from Liverpool who was starved of playing time under Jurgen Klopp but showed plenty of promise at Hull City during a loan spell in the Championship. But the move resulted in just three Premier League starts – and his last Test since starting against Plymouth drew criticism.
“Carvalho is not good enough for me in this Brentford team,” he said Sky Sports’ Clinton Morrison, who played for the West London club. “I know he hasn’t played football, but he’s slow, takes too many touches. Brentford likes faster.”
This is not the first time the 22-year-old has left Brentford fans indifferent. The same sluggish play led to Carvalho making a mistake for Brentford’s second goal in a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea. More points were lost when the midfielder missed a golden chance in the defeat to Fulham, the summer signing costing his side three points on the day.
But what Carvalho needs to remember is that it takes time to settle into Thomas Frank’s team. It didn’t immediately click for Yoane Wiss, Mikkel Damsgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter, now all three are among the first names on the squad list. Kevin Schade, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Nathan Collins are among the other Brentford players to fall before the rise.
Carvalho knows there is a way to make a name for himself, he just needs patience.
‘If we play like that, Plymouth can stay awake’
Plymouth janitor manager Kevin Nancekivell:
“This is what Plymouth Argyle is all about, it’s built on spirit and resilience. We’ve shown that in the last few games and the lads and the football club should continue to do so until the end of the season, where we’ve managed a tough challenge to stay in the Championship .
“But if we play like that, there’s no reason why we can’t meet the challenge of staying in the league.
“It’s just pride, a real emotion. I’m happy for the fans who traveled to watch us. They didn’t have much pleasure watching us on the road this season and tonight I can go home happy. This is a big day for us, so all credit goes to them.
“I haven’t spoken to the new player since the game was over. I spoke to him last night, he introduced himself very kindly and I’m looking forward to talking and working with him.”
What’s coming up?
