Portsmouth

1-2

Plymouth Argyle

Bogard 65

 

Stevens 17, McCrory 55

The FA Youth Cup Sponsored by E.ON
Fourth Round Proper 
Tuesday 22 January 2008 
Fratton Park, Portsmouth FC
Click here for fixtures

Goals from Jared Stevens and Damien McCrory enabled Championship club Plymouth to beat Premiership outfit Portsmouth in their FA Youth Cup clash, at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.

Their first goal came on 16 minutes when a free-kick caused havoc in the Portsmouth box, and Stevens was on hand to blast the ball into the roof of the net.

Portsmouth could have equalised just before half time when Matt Ritchie robbed Ryan Brett, but he could only fire his shot straight at Plymouth keeper Lloyd Saxton.

After 51 minutes, Plymouth doubled their lead when Ashley Barnes found Irish youngster McCrory and he fired a shot across the Portsmouth keeper Nick Jordan and inside the post.

Pompey reduced the arrears on 65 minutes, when Ritchie squared the ball across the area, leaving a simple tap in for substitute Daniel Bogard.

Despite pulling a goal back, Portsmouth never looked like getting an equaliser, and it was left for Argyle to miss a number of chances in their bid to put the gloss on an impressive victory.

The Plymouth youth team director, Gordon Bennett, said: "Our boys worked incredibly hard during the game and it is quite an achievement for a centre of excellence club to beat an Academy club. The players are a credit to themselves and to Plymouth Argyle."

Everyone at Plymouth will be hoping that this result is a precursor to a similar performance from their senior team, who take on their Portsmouth counterparts at Fratton Park in Saturday's Fourth Round FA Cup game.