FA Youth Cup Report | Carlisle United 2-4 Argyle

Argyle Under-18s progressed to the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup with a dramatic 4-2 win in extra time against Carlisle United at Brunton Park. 

A converted penalty from Cole Fisher and a last-gasp free-kick from Harry Shield took the game into an additional 30 minutes, where Argyle won the game with goals from Seb Campbell and Frankie Maund. 

The hosts nearly took an early lead just two minutes into the tie, but a reactive save from Dan Holman in the Greens’ goal woke Jamie Lowry’s side up in the cold north of England. 

Argyle were forced into an early change in the 12th minute with Billy Devlin replacing Oscar Dean, but this did not change the forward thinking and attacking intent from the Greens. Soon enough, Shield flicked an effort towards goal from a corner and forced Carlisle goalkeeper Thomas Randall into an excellent diving save to keep the game level. 

Minutes later, some of the staff and crowd at Brunton Park thought Argyle had taken the lead through Devlin’s header from a free-kick. The midfielder leapt above all in the box and headed toward the Carlisle goal, but Randall made another diving save to prevent him. 

A goalless half soon turned into a hectic second 45 minutes. Argyle’s continued attacking phases wore down the Cumbrian side and, 20 minutes after the restart, the Pilgrims had the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot. Midfielder Fisher was fouled in the area and coolly converted the spot-kick to hand Argyle the lead just after the hour mark. 

Jubilation soon turned to panic, though. Three minutes after Argyle took the lead, Carlisle’s Dan Hopper ran behind the recovering defence and slotted home before rearing off to celebrate with his teammates. 

Carlisle took the lead in the final stages of the game, through substitute Lewis Lambert, and with a 2-1 deficit and the thought of an FA Youth Cup exit looming, Argyle had to push forward and search for an important goal. 

Two minutes before the end of the match, the Greens were awarded a free-kick on the edge of Carlisle’s area. Like many Argyle players in the past, Shield stepped up and curled an unbelievable effort into the bottom corner of the goal, to bring the game level - before being mobbed by his exultant teammates.  

With cramp and fatigue setting in, and all substitutions made bar one, an inspiring speech from Head Coach Lowry seemed to spur his side on, with Campbell scoring from a rebound in the 97th minute to give Argyle the lead. 

The Greens continued to push on but were reduced to 10 men as Kian Burch was shown two yellow cards, the second for a foul in the middle of the park, and sent off. Argyle managed to hold on and, with seemingly the last kick of the game, increased their lead through Frankie Maund, securing a place in the next round of the competition. 

Lowry was delighted with his side’s performance on a cold night in Carlisle, and credited all players and staff involved after the full-time whistle. 

“I don't know where to start really,” he told Argyle TV. “I think it just shows where the group is at. They are so together. We talked about it at the end, that there's nobody fitter than them, in terms of how hard we work and how intense training is, and it showed at the end in the last half hour. They were fantastic. They dug in, dug deep, even with a player sent off, and found a way to win a game. 

“Obviously, it was emotional towards the end, getting a late equaliser, so we knew their heads would be a little bit down. We needed to make sure we were calm and focused and knew what we were doing. We set up slightly differently [in extra time] to help them all. We had Frankie up front, who's quick, to play in transition. Sometimes it's down to the quality of football played but sometimes head and heart can win a game of football. 

“I’m really proud of the boys today. They were fantastic. It’s also great to see Tegan [Finn] on the bench with the first team, and we had five under-16s with us that came on and played in the game.  

“In terms of the Academy and where we're going, I think it's a great night for them as well and shows all the good work being done in the 16s by Head Coach James Bradley. The boys came in and were fantastic. You wouldn't even know they are in the 16s. Huge credit to everybody at the club.  

“It's definitely a nicer trip home now!” 

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Seb Campbell, 3 Joe Mwaro, 4 Oscar Dean (15 Billy Devlin, 12, (16 Frankie Maund, 86)), 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Fletcher Poole (12 Lewis Flowers, 64, (14 Sam Hayman, 78)), 8 Sam Lord, 9 Kian Burch, 10 Cole Fisher, 11 Harry Shield. Substitutes: 23 Jack Flower (gk).