A late Morgan Whittaker goal was enough to see Plymouth Argyle edge past Premier League side Brentford in West London on Saturday afternoon. It was the Pilgrims’ first away win of the season and came against what seemed to be their toughest opponents to date, Thomas Frank’s Bees, who boast the second-best home record in the top flight. A cagey game, in which neither team created too many clear chances, was brought to life by Whittaker on the 82nd minute, when he collected the ball on the right wing, cut inside and was allowed to let fly from outside the penalty area. His effort found the bottom corner and sent the away fans in the near corner into a frenzy.
Their reward for that performance: a date with Premier League leaders Liverpool at Home Park in early February.
By the time that game arrives, incoming manager Miron Muslic will have had a few weeks to get to grips with his squad, and it could be a baptism of fire for the Austrian, up against a squad packed with superstars. Whether the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk grace the pitch at Home Park is yet to be seen, but a second-string Liverpool team would still be expected to find a way past Argyle by most. At this point the gap between the sides will offer very little consolation to Plymouth fans, but you must be in it to win it, and a stoic performance at the G-Tech Community Stadium has certainly given them a chance at a monumental “cupset.”
Between now and then though, Argyle’s focus will shift back to the fight for Championship survival. A crunch clash against Oxford comes first, before a resurgent QPR, high-fliers Burnley, and play-off chasing West Brom all come to the South West. A long trip to Sunderland falls in the middle of those, rounding off a tough run of games. It is certainly not an easy start for Muslic, but four of those five games coming at home could provide the perfect opportunity for the Greens to build some momentum ahead of hosting Liverpool.
League standing aside, Argyle fans should be proud of their team’s performance at Brentford, and the atmosphere at what will likely be a sold-out Home Park in February will be one to savour, whatever the result.