Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay warm and dry on this stormy night.
Daniel Farke celebrates in front of the away fans … though not for long, because it’s still hosing down, and you could catch your death out there. He deserves the plaudits from the supporters, though, because the better team won out in the end. Wilfried Gnonto scored a fine goal during the regulation 90, and Leeds hit the woodwork three times. Argyle battled their way back into the tie through Brendan Galloway, but it was one-way traffic during extra time, and the jig was up the minute Crysencio Summerville regained the advantage for Leeds with a glorious curler. Georginio Rutter added a third, Ilia Gruev forced a fourth, and there would be no Pilgrims progress. Leeds march on together.
EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Plymouth Argyle 1-4 Leeds United
Leeds will travel to either Aston Villa or Chelsea in the next round!
ET 30 min: Bamford swivels on the edge of the D and sends a bobbler inches wide of the right-hand post. A fifth would be super-cruel on Plymouth.
ET 29 min: Bamford nearly bursts clear down the middle, but is stopped by Mumba’s heroic last-ditch stop.
ET 28 min: One last change for Argyle, as Phillips is replaced by debutant Matthews.
GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 1-4 Leeds United (Hardie og 117)
On the BBC, co-commentator Matthew Upson names Gruev as his player of the match. Just as he utters his name, he swings in a corner from the right. The vicious inswinger brushes off the top of Hardie’s head, foxing his own keeper and flying into the left-hand side of the goal. Cruel on Plymouth.
ET 26 min: Summerville is upended by Scarr on the edge of the D, but the ball breaks to Gelhardt on the right, so the referee waves play on. Gelhardt should score, but pauses and then Gibson arrives from nowhere to block. Just a corner.
ET 24 min: Phillips is good to continue, albeit running on fumes. Quite a few empty seats now. The home fans know the jig is up, and it’s a long wet trudge home in the rain.
ET 23 min: There’s still plenty of time for a couple of goals … but truth is, Plymouth have nothing left in the tank. Leeds are in total control and, to illustrate the point, Phillips goes down and lies flat on his back in the defeated style. He’s given everything.
GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 1-3 Leeds United (Rutter 111)
Bamford steals the ball in the midfield and sets Summerville scampering down the inside-left channel. Summerville reaches the edge of the box and rolls across to Rutter, who bobbles a sidefoot past the lunging Hazard and into the bottom right. Game over!
ET 20 min: Gruev goes down with cramp but gets back up again quickly enough. This is getting bitty. So having just typed that …
ET 19 min: Whittaker meanders down the right and crosses low for … nobody in particular. Cooper hoicks clear. Meslier hasn’t had his hands warmed for a long while.
ET 18 min: Whittaker tries to release Mumba into the box on the right, but overhits the pass. Summerville is able to calmly shepherd the ball out for a goal kick.
ET 17 min: A reminder that, should Plymouth find a second equaliser and extra time end level, we will go to penalties.
ET 16 min: Roberts has a pop from distance. Well struck, but always rising over.
Leeds get the second period of extra time underway. Plymouth have made two changes, replacing Galloway and Edwards with Scarr and Waine.
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Leeds United
As things stand, Leeds will travel to either Aston Villa or Chelsea in the fifth round.
ET 15 min: Pirou attempts a curler but sends the ball halfway to Cornwall. Meanwhile Galloway is booked for something that isn’t televised.
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ET 14 min: Otherwise, Plymouth haven’t responded to falling behind at all.
ET 12 min: Whittaker skies an effort many miles over the bar. It’s not really happened for the Lazio target tonight, even if his speculative free kick led to the equaliser.
ET 11 min: Firpo meets the corner with a flying roundhouse. Unfortunately he misses the ball and volleys Randell in the back instead. Just a foul. Firpo is genuinely apologetic and Randell grimaces but accepts graciously, after thankfully getting up with no damage done.
ET 10 min: Bamford bustles down the middle. He spins and shoots. The ball balloons off a Plymouth defender and out for yet another corner.
ET 9 min: Rutter tries to release Bamford down the left. Phillips stands his ground and the flag goes up for offside anyway.
GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Leeds United (Summerville 97)
Summerville jinks in from the left flank. He stands Phillips up before dropping a shoulder to beat his man on the right. Summerville opens his body and curls a shot across Hazard and into the top right. Leeds hit the lead again!
Updated
ET 6 min: Another Rutter shot leads to another wasted corner, Rodon wafting a header straight at Hazard. But no matter, because Leeds come again, and …
ET 5 min: Incidentally the other two replays finished as we last left them. Coventry trounced Sheffield Wednesday 4-1, while Southampton swatted Watford aside 3-0. Coventry will host Maidstone United while the Saints travel to Liverpool.
ET 4 min: Rutter creams a shot from the edge of the Plymouth box. Straight at Hazard, though the keeper can only fingertip over. Nothing comes of the corner.
ET 3 min: The corner leads to a lot of bedlam but very little of substance. Plymouth eventually clear.
ET 2 min: Rutter crosses deep from the left. Gelhardt tries to cut the ball back from a tight angle on the right but settles for a corner off Mumba.
Plymouth get the first half of extra time underway. No changes.
Leeds will wonder how they let that slip. They’ve hit the woodwork three times, for a start. Plymouth certainly didn’t look like equalising, but for the second time in this tie, levelled things up late in the second half. A very wet and windy 30 minutes of extra time stretches out ahead.
FULL TIME: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Leeds United
The whistle goes for full time. Another 30 minutes coming up, and the conditions are horrendous. For the players, that is. Should be a lot of fun for us!
90 min +5: The corner’s flung in from the left. Another corner from the right. And then …
90 min +4: A long pass down the left by Whittaker for Hardie, who barrels into the Leeds box and forces Meslier to turn around the post. One last corner!
90 min +3: Leeds boss Daniel Farke makes one very late last gamble, replacing Byram with Summerville. They pile forward. Firpo cuts back from the left. Gelhardt fires powerfully towards the bottom right, only for his shot to batter the post, flush, and away! So close to that dramatic winner!
Updated
90 min +2: Bamford cushions down a long ball for Piroe in the Plymouth box, but is penalised for shoving.
90 min +1: Leeds pass and probe to little effect.
90 min: There will be four added minutes. Extra time coming up should nobody find a winner!
89 min: Issaka very nearly manages to spin the last Leeds man Rodon. The defender eventually wins out, but that looked very interesting for a split second.
88 min: Rutter backheels Firpo into space down the left. Firpo wins a corner. Another corner. Can they make anything of it? Nope! Edwards heads clear and he draws a foul to completely release the pressure.
86 min: Rutter skitters down the left but Randell sticks to him like glue. No mean feat with the rain sheeting down as it is.
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85 min: It’s suddenly gone a little bit flat at Home Park. Nerves overwhelming everyone? Nerves overwhelming everyone. The FA Cup, ladies and gentlemen!
83 min: Bamford’s first act is to win a corner down the right. That corner leads to another, this time from the left. Nothing comes of that. Extra time looms. But not at St Mary’s, where Che Adams has made it 3-0 to Southampton over Watford. The Saints will be heading to Anfield in the fifth round.
82 min: Another double change for Leeds as Bamford and Rutter come on for Joseph and Anthony. “Fear not, Leeds is fully represented in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, just as Plymouth is,” writes Tim Smith. “It is a tiny backwater of Northampton, if that makes any sense. For what it’s worth I’ve been in New England for nearly forty years but still try to rearrange the place names in their rightful order. It gets harder the longer I’m here.”
80 min: Soon after the restart, Phillips is booked for coming through the back of Anthony, who was preparing to spin him and make off down the left.
GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Leeds United (Galloway 78)
Whittaker loops a diagonal free kick long to Phillips, on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box. Meslier on walkabout. Phillips steers the ball across the face of goal, where Galloway chests home from a couple of yards. Home Park erupts! Game on!
78 min: The 18-year-old Roberts replaces Sorinola. And then …
77 min: A free kick for Plymouth out on the left. Before it can be taken, Sorinola goes down with cramp. The home side prepare to make a change.
75 min: Issaka meanwhile makes his first contribution, driving at Byram down the left. He enters the box and slips over. The crowd want a penalty, but there’s nothing doing. Goal kick. For a second, though, the promising 17-year-old had Leeds worried and backtracking furiously.
73 min: Gray’s first act is to look for the top-right corner with a curler from the edge of the D. Just wide, just high.
72 min: Plymouth respond by replacing Wright with Issaka.
71 min: Leeds make a double change. Gnonto, who has been feeling his foot for the majority of the second half, and Kamara make way for Gelhardt and Gray.
70 min: Rodon is booked for grabbing a cynical handful of Wright’s shirt.
69 min: Plymouth hold firm. After a spot of head tennis, Phillips clears the Plymouth line. Meanwhile the goals have been flying in elsewhere. Southampton are 2-0 up against Watford after two goals in six minutes from Sekou Mara, while two goals from Callum O’Hare and another from Haji Wright have given Coventry a sensational 4-1 lead over Sheffield Wednesday.
68 min: Leeds are sending blood. Gnonto’s sheer presence down the right earns a corner off Sorinola. Plymouth need to hold firm here.
GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Leeds United (Gnonto 66)
Galloway clears the free kick. Anthony’s delivery wasn’t all that. But no matter! Because Plymouth ship possession (sorry) 30 yards from their own goal. Byram drives down the right and feeds Kamara, who tees up Gnonto on the edge of the D. Gnonto takes a touch before firing a vicious drive into the bottom left. Hazard no chance. What a finish!
Updated
65 min: Byram drops a shoulder to get past Wright on the right touchline. Wright trips him. On a booking, he wants to watch himself here. It’s just a free kick, though, a little to the right of the penalty box. Anthony to take.
64 min: In lieu of serious action at Home Park, here’s Simon McMahon with news of former Plymouth and Leeds manager Neil Warnock, who is taking charge of Aberdeen for the first time tonight. “Aberdeen are drawing 1-1 with Rangers after the first 45 minutes, having equalised on the stroke of half time. I’m probably not alone in wondering how disciplined Warnock’s enjoyment will be should the Dons leave Ibrox with a point, or better.”
62 min: Sorinola drags back Gnonto and must seriously be testing the referee’s patience now. Surprised he’s not gone into the book for repeated transgressions.
60 min: All a bit scrappy again. It’s still coming down in stair-rods, so there are excuses.
58 min: Gnonto steals the ball off Wright and starts off down the right. He’s tugged back by the Plymouth attacker, who goes into the book.
57 min: Firpo’s dangerous low cross from the left is steered out of play by the telescopic leg of Phillips. The resulting corner is punched clear by Hazard, under intense pressure from Joseph. That’s fine goalkeeping.
56 min: … the second corner is hit long from the left and headed harmlessly wide by Firpo. “I thought you might be interested to know that Leeds, Alabama’s most famous son is basketball great Charles Barkley,” reports Matt Guthrie.
55 min: Leeds are getting closer and closer. Joseph picks up possession on the edge of the D and fires a low shot towards the bottom left. Gibson deflects it inches wide of the post. Not sure Hazard had that covered otherwise. One corner leads to another and …
53 min: Piroe drops a shoulder to make a bit of space down the inside-right channel. He opens his body and attempts to flip a sidefoot into the bottom left. Nice idea, but blocked by Gibson. Leeds are beginning to pin Plymouth back.
52 min: Anthony again down the left. He feeds Firpo, who wins a corner off Phillips. Anthony hoicks the corner over everyone’s head and out on the other side for a goal kick.
51 min: Anthony goes on a baroque ramble down the left. He one-twos with Firpo and things nearly open up for him … but not quite. He’s eventually crowded out. He’s looked dangerous since the restart, though.
50 min: Piroe sashays in from the right and sends a well-hit riser towards the top right. Hazard palms it away confidently. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Leeds have suddenly stepped it up a bit.
48 min: Anthony drives down the left and pulls back for Joseph, who swivels on the spot and shoots. His effort is blocked by Phillips. Anthony has another go down the left, this time gliding infield and aiming for the top right. That doesn’t get through a crowded box either.
47 min: Hardie sticks his hand into Firpo’s face. No foul. Firpo isn’t happy but eventually accepts Hardie’s apology.
46 min: Plymouth immediately stream forward and the ball drops to Randell, who buys a ticket to the lottery from 25 yards. He pulls his volley harmlessly wide left of goal, but ten out of ten for ambition.
Plymouth get the ball rolling again. No half-time changes.
There are two other fourth-round replays tonight. It’s goalless at St Mary’s between Southampton and Watford, while Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday are level at the break as well, 1-1 after Kasey Palmer’s third-minute goal was cancelled out seven minutes later by Bailey Cadamarteri. As things stand, all three of tonight’s ties are going to extra time.
Half-time snack.
HALF TIME: Plymouth Argyle 0-0 Leeds United
Gnonto dribbles hard down the right to win a corner off Sorinola, but Jonathan Pearce was spot on, and there’s no time to take it. The whistle goes slap bang on 45 minutes, and the players trudge off to get warm and dry.
44 min: “No VAR, and we’re hearing there will be no added minutes,” reports BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce. “Goodness me! We’re back in the old days!”
42 min: The tempo drops further. Oh Marcelo, we hardly knew ye. “As Plymouth was the first English city to give its name to a place over here in USA! USA! USA!, I wondered if there was a Leeds somewhere in the States,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Turns out there’s one all the way down in hurricane-hit, tornado-torn Alabama (near Birmingham). So even in exile, Leeds are treated as outcasts, while the Pilgrims get their own historic rock in New England. Call me bitter, I’m still getting over the cup final of 1973 and all that.”
40 min: Leeds ping it around in the patient style, but don’t go anywhere in particular. Penny for the thoughts of Marcelo Bielsa, if the great man is watching.
38 min: A free kick for Plymouth and a chance for the hosts to load the box. They do so, but Randell’s delivery is appalling, and suddenly Leeds are off on the break with Argyle light at the back. Gnonto twists his way down the right and earns a corner, from which nothing comes. A couple of opportunities, one apiece, fizzle out meekly.
36 min: Byram slips Gnonto into the Plymouth box down the right. Gnonto swivels and fizzes a shot across the face of goal, then the flag pings up for offside.
34 min: Gibson pings a long, speculative ball down the right. In normal conditions, it would be an easy gather for Meslier, but the wind and the slippy turf combine to create swerving havoc, and eventually the keeper is reduced to blootering the ball deep into the stand for safety. Some weather.
33 min: After some pre-corner faff, the set piece is eventually played short, and Mumba drags a tame shot wide left. Both goals living a bit of a charmed life. This surely won’t end nil-nil.
31 min: Mumba breaks into space on the right. His low cross breaks to Sorinola on the penalty spot. His shot, aimed for the top-right corner, is deflected wide left by Byram. Excellent block. Should Sorinola have left it for Whittaker, who was arriving a split second later? Whittaker certainly thinks so.
29 min: Gnonto gains a yard down the right and whips a vicious low cross through the six-yard box. Joseph can’t quite extend a leg to poke home. Hazard lets the ball continue on its way out of play for a goal kick. Both teams baring their teeth in attack.
Updated
27 min: Hardie is released into acres by Mumba down the right. He looks low for Wright in the middle, but Byram reads the danger brilliantly. He gets in ahead of Wright, waiting to tap home. He traps, turns and clears in one decisive motion. Great play all round.
25 min: It’s very wet. On the touchline, managers Foster and Farke are suffering for their art.
23 min: Sorinola nicks Byram on the ankle, and he’s surely testing the referee’s patience. One more dubious challenge and he may be going into the book. When play restarts, Gnonto whistles a low cross through the Plymouth box from the right. There’s nobody there to tap home. The visitors are in the ascendency now.
21 min: A little bit of space for Edwards, who is sent into the box from the left by Whittaker’s cute reverse clip. Edwards opens his body but scuffs a sidefoot towards the bottom left. Easy for Meslier.
19 min: Leeds hit the frame of the goal again! Kamara drops a shoulder to advance brilliantly down the inside-right channel. On the edge of the D, he tees up Piroe to his left. Piroe creams a rising shot that takes a slight deflection en route to caroming off the bar. That’s a great effort, and Kamara is robbed of a very elegant assist.
18 min: Anthony hoicks the free kick over everyone’s head. Rodon can’t keep the pressure on from the other flank. What a waste.
17 min: Gnonto is skittled out on the right touchline. A chance for Leeds to load the box. Anthony to take.
16 min: A green balloon floats artistically in the Plymouth box, seemingly in all directions at once. There’s a proper swirl blowing through the stadium.
14 min: That really was a sensational fingertip save, because Joseph really got behind that shot. The ball was travelling.
13 min: Joseph barrels down the inside-right channel, turns Gibson inside out like an old sock, and pearls a rising shot towards the top right. Hazard tips it sensationally onto the crossbar and out for a … goal kick?! Leeds aren’t happy, and they’ve been done out of a corner there. What a run and shot, with a save to match.
12 min: Phillips panics as a long ball is delivered down the Leeds left. He nearly tees up Anthony for a break into the box, but redeems himself with a recovery block. The wind can’t be helping the players, to be fair.
10 min: With Meslier on walkabout, Edwards latches onto a loose ball and takes a speculative shot from the centre circle. Always wide left. Had that been on target, the Leeds keeper would have been in some bother.
9 min: Sorinola, Plymouth’s #29, comes sliding in hard on his opposite number Gnonto. Hard but fair.
8 min: All a bit scrappy at the moment.
6 min: The rain continues to pelt down in Plymouth. It’s not expected to stop. Southwest six to gale eight, becoming cyclonic three to five later. Sea moderate or rough, occasionally very rough at first.
4 min: Randell deliberately stands in the way of an in-flight Byram. Just a foul. A bit later in the match, and that might have earned the Argyle midfielder a yellow card.
3 min: Piroe pings a ball down the centre to release Anthony on goal. The flag immediately goes up for offside. Not sure about that at all; Sorinola may have been playing him on. Plymouth get away with one there.
2 min: Wright probes down the inside-left channel and floats a cross towards Hardie on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Hardie’s not far away from getting a toe to the ball, but the wind takes it out for a goal kick.
Leeds get the ball rolling. Byram immediately goes on the rampage down the right. He’s eventually forced to turn tail but he comes again and feeds Gnonto, who balloons a cross into the stand behind the goal. An impressive first 47 seconds by Leeds.
The teams are out! Plymouth verdant in green, Leeds vivid in white. A rare old atmosphere at a packed-out Home Park, despite it tipping down. The winner to travel to Aston Villa or Chelsea in the next round. Extra time and penalties if required. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Leeds manager Daniel Farke speaks to the BBC. “It’s all about consistency … to respect your opponent … to do your things to be really on it … make sure you keep going … it’s the cup competition with the biggest history in western European football and for that we are fully respectful … we want to be successful in this competition.”
The new Plymouth boss Ian Foster talks to the BBC. “It’s been a really positive start … I’m glad the transfer window’s over, we’ve had 14 transfers which is 13 too many for my liking! … the players have been given an awful lot of information by me over the past few weeks … it’s pleasing they’re starting to implement that on the grass … the players have reacted really positively and you can see that in recent results … the opportunity to work with Steven Gerrard [at Al-Ettifaq] was brilliant … a wonderful learning development … but the opportunity to return was too good to turn down … we’ve got to play on the front foot, we’re the home team and our record is good.”
Plymouth hosted Leeds for the very first time exactly 92 years ago, give or take seven days. On 30 January 1932 – in front of a 28,000-strong crowd only bettered that weekend at Everton, Arsenal and Aston Villa – the Pilgrims won a topsy-turvy Second Division thriller 3-2. The decisive goal was scored by their popular striker Jack Leslie, who’d have been seven years an England international by then … had his 1925 invitation to play for his country not been withdrawn when the FA discovered the colour of his skin. Leslie’s story is told enchantingly in The Lion Who Never Roared by Matt Tiller, who also led the campaign to honour Leslie with the statue that now stands proudly outside Home Park. A heart-breaking tale wonderfully told.
Plymouth make two changes to the side named for the 1-1 draw in the original tie. Matthew Sorinola and captain Joe Edwards come in for the missing Mickel Miller and Caleb Roberts.
Leeds make three changes to the starting XI named at Elland Road. Junior Firpo, Glen Kamara and Mateo Joseph come in for Ethan Ampadu, who is on the bench, and Georginio Rutter and Jamie Shackleton, who miss out altogether.
The teams
Plymouth Argyle: Hazard, Phillips, Gibson, Galloway, Mumba, Randell, Edwards, Sorinola, Whittaker, Wright, Hardie.
Subs: Scarr, Waine, Burton, Roberts, Issaka, Matthews.
Leeds United: Meslier, Byram, Rodon, Cooper, Firpo, Gruev, Kamara, Gnonto, Fernandez, Anthony, Piroe.
Subs: Ampadu, Cresswell, Bamford, Summerville, Klaesson, Gray, Rutter, Gelhardt, van den Heuvel.
Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside).
🟢 How Argyle line up for tonight's @EmiratesFACup tie against @LUFC 📋#pafc pic.twitter.com/9NH6tVXXDJ
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) February 6, 2024
📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/BNpQS0Kz2z
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 6, 2024
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Preamble
Ten days ago, Jaidon Anthony gave Leeds United the lead against Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup. He took off his shirt to reveal a tribute to his late mother, and was promptly booked. Adam Randell equalised for Argyle with 13 minutes to go, and so here we all are at Home Park this evening. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT. It’s on.
