Argyle bow out of cup

ARGYLE exited a second cup competition in the space of four days with a second piece of uncharacteristic behaviour this week.

A 2-0 loss on Saturday to Carlisle saw an unusually lacklustre Pilgrims side meekly exit the FA Cup - this was a performance full of zest and energy that had been lacking against the Cumbrians, but saw Argyle'near-watertight league defence breached time and again by Millwall's quality front-line.

Lee Gregory's first of a hat-trick put Millwall ahead in the first half, and although Jake Jervis equalised, Mark Beevers gave the Lions a half-time lead. Gregory's second gave Millwall a two-goal advantage before Graham Carey added another stunner to his highlight reel, but Gregory's third and an Aiden O'Brien goal saw the Pilgrims off. Jervis added a second of his own late on, but Argyle were already deleting the Area Semi-final from the calendar by that point.

On the night, Derek Adams gave a full debut to Oscar Threlkeld, who replaced Josh Simpson in the middle of Argyle's midfield, and recalled Gregg Wylde, who ostensibly replaced Ryan Brunt. The inclusion of winger Wylde facilitated Jervis switching to a central striking role.

The feeling out process between the two teams lasted a fair while after the start of the game - which in truth is a euphemism for 'nothing much happened in the early stages'. After a poor game on, though, Adams would likely have been happy with the start his team made, keeping a close leash on a team only one position outside of the play-offs in a superior division.