Eight goal thriller ends in penalty despair.
But it was to be penalty despair for the U's, as they missed two of their kicks to lose to the West Country side.Four times Plymouth Argyle took the lead, four times the U's drew level in a back and forth 120 minutes.
The U's bowed out of the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday night in dramatic fashion at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
It wasn’t an ideal start from the young U’s, with Plymouth going ahead with the first attack of the game on four minutes.
Callum Rogers lost possession coming out of defence and Miller raced clear to shoot across Carroll into the bottom corner.
The U’s got their first sight of goal on ten minutes, Sammie Szmodics shooting straight at Hannah from the edge of the box.
The U’s had reacted well to the early setback and on fifteen minutes, Michael O’Donoghue drilled a cross across the six yard box that no-one was able to get on the end of.
A deserved equaliser came on twenty three minutes, in a move starting with Macauley Bonne sliding a pass left to Jack Curtis.
Curtis cut inside onto his right foot with his first touch and gave the keeper no chance with a firmly struck shot that went in off the crossbar.
Curtis went looking for a second four minutes later, showing great skill on halfway before shooting wide from just outside the penalty area.
A free kick into the U’s box resulted in the ball being put into the net but the whistle had gone for a foul on Carroll well before the ball was over the U’s line.
Harrison repeated O’Donoghue’s feat with three minutes to go, drilling a low cross across the six yard box, with no-one able to apply a finishing touch.
At the other end, just before half time, Clarke cleared off the line and Carroll had to turn a shot round the post to keep the score level.
As in the first half, the U’s conceded an early goal in the second period, with Miller again the scorer, this time heading home a right wing cross.
Three minutes later, and the U’s hit the woodwork twice in the space of five seconds.
Rogers had a shot tipped onto the crossbar and Bonne hit the post with the rebound header,
It was 2-2 just after the hour mark, as Harrison struck home after O’Donoghue’s initial effort was blocked.
On sixty six minutes, Sammie Szmodics was denied by a great save, before O’Donoghue put his free kick over the bar.
Lapslie then put a free kick straight into the wall before Szmodics shot over, with the U’s pushing forward far more than the visitors.
Brampton did have the ball in the net on eighty six minutes but the flag was up for an offside and the goal was disallowed.
In the final minute of normal time, Bonne had a shot saved at the near post and the game went into extra time.
Once again, it was Argyle who edged in front, Summers heading home after a shot rebounded off the U’s crossbar.
Within a minute, the U’s were level for a third time, Bonne unselfishly teeing up Brampton to firmly sidefoot home from around the penalty spot.
Bonne twice and Clarke then had efforts at goal but the first half of extra time ended with the two sides locked at 3-3.
Five minutes into the second extra time period, the U’s found themselves behind again, as substitute Hutchinson broke clear to score after running from inside his own half.
The resilient young U’s didn’t lay down though and got their fourth and final leveller four minutes from the end of extra time.
The ball dropped to newly arrived Patrick O’Shea, who side stepped a challenge before calmy slotting home to make it 4-4 and take the game to penalties.
After Carroll saved Plymouth’s first kick, Bonne had his effort saved too.
Curtis then levelled things up after Plymouth opened the penalty account and then Porrington for Argyle and O’Shea for the U’s made the score 2-2.
Plymouth sub Stark made it 3-2 before Michael O’Donoghue had his effort saved, allowing Hutchinson to seal the win for the visitors.