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| Plymouth Argyle 2 Daggers 2 |
| FA Cup 3rd Round - 04/01/03 |
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The Daggers made a Third Round FA Cup appearance for the third successive season, the first team since Altrincham in the 1980s to do so. In both of those games in the last two seasons, Junior McDougald had scored the Daggers' goals, and was looking to become the first non-league player to score in the Third Round three times in a row.
Both sides line-ups were fairly predictable, as Plymouth kept the side that had won on New Years Day in the 2nd Division. The Daggers had virtually their strongest team to pick, Smith returning after injury, Junior back from suspension, and McGrath still in the side after signing a loan extension until the end of the season. Only Goodwin and Cole were absent, both probably considered not to have had enough football since their injuries to have played.
The visitors were out of the blocks fastest. Plymouth started off looking nervous compared to a confident Daggers side, as if they expected to fall behind. The Daggers did their best to oblige, as Janney's break through the middle and pass to Junior saw the quick striker outpace most of the defence and cut inside the last on the edge of the box, rolling it just wide of the far post. The defence's inability to cope with this pace was to prove a recurring pattern.
A right wing cross was headed to McGrath by Shipp and unfortunately the ball fell just behind the winger, who stretched and scooped the ball over the bar. At the other end, Roberts had to smother a break, but was not troubled until the end of the half. This was after the Daggers' had taken the lead. McGrath's corner was headed away, but he put it straight back in for the unmarked Terry, who headed just inside the post from the edge of the six-yard box. This cued some interesting celebrations involving a model metal-detector and most of the Daggers' team.
The Daggers continued to push as they tried to increase the lead. West was put through and scuffed his shot wide of the far post, and McGrath had a good volley that went just wide of Larrieu's right hand post. Larrieu also dropped a cross as he stumbled, but the Daggers had already turned away, thinking the keeper had the ball, and couldn't react quick enough to score. As the half wore on, the Daggers weren't overly troubled, but in the last 5 or ten minutes, Plymouth came to life.
Roberts made a great save from Evans' left footed curler, pushing it behind for a corner. The corner was cleared, but just in the way the Daggers' goal had come, Plymouth's did as well. The ball was put back in to the far post, and pulled back by Coughlan, who seemed to bundle Matthews over, for Stonebridge to head home. Then, soon after, Roberts had to be out to again smother, this time at the feet of Evans. Stonebridge also volleyed off target.
The second half began as a battle, as both sides tried to re-establish the control of the game. Wotton's thunderbolt free kick was pushed over by Roberts. However, Plymouth struggled to create many real chances and had to rely on another Wotton free kick to score. Paul Terry was penalised about 20 yards out with a decision that the Daggers were far from happy about, although the referee had had little protest in earlier decisions, as he did quite well for the most part. Wotton smashed the free kick at the Daggers' defensive wall and it took a big deflection to go in via the inside of Roberts' right hand, inches away from the keeper's fingertips.
Wotton had nother go soon after which Roberts held well, and Aljofree curled one well over. However, the Daggers were not about to let a goal like that beat them, and soon after, cup king Junior came up with the equaliser. Roberts smashed the ball upfield from a free kick. Once again looking unsure, Wotton and Coughlan left it to each other, and Junior had all the space to just lift it over Larrieu and just under the bar with a perfect lob.
The Daggers could have won it very late, as McDougald's cross was cut out and Terry put it high and wide, McGrath also htting a shot in a similar fashion. Plymouth forced several corners at the other end, two of which ended up wide of the goal and the rest cleared to safety. So its back to Victoria Road on Tuesday 14th January, subject to TV coverage.
Home manager Paul Sturrock was less than pleased. He slammed his team for a bad attitude, and commended the Daggers, but didn't make any other comment other than, 'If I stay too long I'll say things I shouldn't'.
Garry Hill was pleased with the result. 'We all love the FA Cup and it's great to be in the draw. It will be good to have the replay back at our place. The number one aim is the stay in the competition and we've done that. I think the replay will be even and I'm not saying we'll win, but we're in with a good shout.'
