Argyle 0

West Ham 1
Purdy 104
AET

YOUNG Green hearts were broken after 104 minutes of attrition at a dreary Home Park in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.

Argyle held an impressive West Ham youth team until the final minute of the first-half of extra-time before Hammers' substitute Daniel Purdy fired home the winner.

Pilgrims' keeper Oliver Chenoweth was terrific all night and the men in front defended with courage against West Ham's neat passing football, but fatigue and fortune eventually turned against Argyle's next generation.

Rain was the big enemy in the days leading up to the game, and yet fire turned out to be the ultimate threat.

Routine maintenance on the floodlights sparked a fire in the condenser hours before kick-off, sending smoke billowing across Home Park. Referee Mark Derrien, and the fire brigade, were immediately called to assess the situation.

The corner between the Mayflower and the Devonport was rendered gloomy, to say the least, but Mr Derrien, Argyle's Head of Youth Mike Pejic and his West ham counterpart, Tony Carr, decided to proceed with the match.

The opening stages were subsequently an exercise in adjusting the eyes, although the light was actually far better at pitch-level than it appeared from high up in the Grandstand.

Chenoweth started in goal for the Greens, behind a back four of Curtis Nelson, Jordan Trott, Connor Clifford and Ryan Leonard; the right-back who has progressed enough to earn a place on a couple first-team trips this season, although his role tonight was as an emergency centre-back.

Captain Sean Kinsella was the linchpin in midfield alongside Luke Young, with Matt Rickard and Jake Baker providing width. Liam Head was partnered in attack by Lewis Coombes.

Striker Robert Hall was the star name in the West Ham line-up, having burst on the scene with four goals on his debut for England's Under-16 side. Colombian Cristian Montano was another one to watch, especially after preparing for this game by scoring a sensational solo goal against Norwich ten days ago.

As it was up the Barn park end of the pitch, dim light was absolutely no excuse for a very poor challenge by Trott on Montano after 10 minutes, and the home defender was lucky to escape a booking.

West Ham's football in the first 20 minutes was intricate without being incisive and Pejic's defensive plan was clearly working. It was the attacking side of Argyle's game that needed improving.

The Hammers finally breached the Green wall when Nick Barrett skipped past Clifford to deliver a low cross for the run of Hall, but Leonard timed his retreating tackle to perfection.

It was a momentary highlight in a very scrappy game, although the visitors came close to opening the scoring after a mass scramble ended with a deflection bobbling wide following an initial strike by George Moncur, son of former Hammers' midfielder John.

Argyle survived their biggest scare in the final minute of the half when Chenoweth did superbly well to narrow the angles and block a close-range effort from defender Paco Craig.

The second period started with a spark, as Young unleashed a fantastic drive from 25-yards that keeper Peter Loveday had to tip over the bar. It was the positive opening Pejic would have wanted and the Pilgrims were certainly the team in the ascendancy as the second-half progressed.

Hall attempted to lift the visiting troops again with a neat turn on the chest and ambitious drive from distance, but the ball seared a foot wide of Chenoweth's top left-hand corner. Barrett then had a shot bravely charged down by Leonard.

West Ham were gradually regaining control and Ahmed Abdullah set up Moncur for a shooting chance with a marvellous flick, but the final effort was dragged wide.

Chenoweth then produced a save worthy of the FA Cup Final proper when Eoin Weaver pounced on a near-post flick to stab the ball goalwards from five yards, but Argyle's young custodian made a miraculous block to turn the ball over.

Pejic made a defensive move in response, pushing Sam Sawyer, brother of first-team full-back Gary, into midfield and bringing off striker Coombes.

Chenoweth was on the money again with 13 minutes remaining, turning away an excellent long-range free-kick from Abdullah to keep the scores blank.

As Green legs tired, the visitors pushed forward with ever-increasing urgency and Argyle were fortunate Jordan Brown's low cross evaded both Hall and Abdullah.

The final minutes of normal time were hampered by Barnsley-esque rain, but Argyle's brave performance against a strong West Ham team did not require help from the heavens.

Mr Derrien blew the whistle for full-time and Pejic quickly rallied his troops for a 30-minute fitness test in the driving rain and heavy pitch conditions.

Extra-time started with another terrific block from Chenoweth, this time bravely diving low at the feet of Hall and suffering a nasty blow to the head in the process.

Pejic's tactics for extra-time seemed perfectly clear - two banks of four, keep it tight and see if we can pinch a winner.

It was a sound policy ruined by a catastrophic mistake from arguably Argyle's best outfield player on the night.

Young's pass back to Leonard was intercepted by Purdy who engineered the ball onto his right-foot and rifled a pinpoint low shot past the excellent Chenoweth and in off the near post. Cruel on Argyle, and particularly cruel on Young.

Leonard had the chance to rescue the match after a scramble in the penalty area but the final effort was straight down the throat of Loveday.

Neither side had the energy to change matters in the final minutes and Argyle slipped bravely out of England's premier cup competition for youth football.

Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Oliver Chenoweth; 5 Curtis Nelson (12 Jack Stephens 90), 2 Ryan Leonard, 6 Jordan Trott, 3 Connor Clifford; 7 Matt Rickard, 4 Sean Kinsella, 8 Luke Young (16 Dan Hart 109), 11 Jake Baker; 9 Liam Head, 10 Lewis Coombes (15 Sam Sawyer 74). Substitutes (not used): 14 Jamie Richards, 17 Raivo Varazinskis.

Booked: Head 117

West Ham (4-4-2): 1 Peter Loveday; 2 Filip Moldelski (12 Callum Driver 87), 4 Paco Craig, 5 Sergio Sanchez, 3 Jordan Brown; 7 Nick Barrett (14 Daniel Purdy 95), 6 George Moncur, 8 Eoin Weaver, 11 Cristian Montano; 9 Robert Hall, 10 Ahmed Abdullah. Substitutes (not used): 13 Daniz Mehmet, 15 Daniel Subuola, 16 Jack Lampe.

Referee: Mark Derrien (Dorset)