PLYMOUTH Argyle laboured to a 3-1 FA Cup third round win against League Two strugglers Sutton United as they lacked their usual attacking fluency at Home Park.
The Championship hosts probably thought they would be in for a relatively simple task when on-loan Wolves midfielder Luke Cundle gave them an 18th minute lead. However, they could not build on that advantage and after a sloppy start to the second half they conceded a 50th minute equaliser scored by Lee Angol.
It remained 1-1 until Ryan Hardie converted a 68th minute penalty and Argyle finally secured a place in the fourth round with a 14th goal of the season from Morgan Whittaker in added time.
New head coach Ian Foster watched the game from the technical area and will have learned a lot, good and bad, about the players he has inherited from this tie.
Highly-rated 17-year-old Freddie Issaka made his second Argyle start in the the FA Cup clash as one of six changes from the 3-3 Championship draw with Watford at Home Park on New Year’s Day.
The Wales under-19 international had made his full debut for the Pilgrims when they beat Leyton Orient 2-0 in the Carabao Cup in August.
Also returning to the starting lineup were captain Joe Edwards, Callum Wright, Mickel Miller, Brendan Galloway and the on-loan Cundle, who has been at the centre of speculation that he could be sold by Wolves during the January transfer window.
Despite the changes, it was still a strong Argyle side, which included Ryan Hardie and 13-goal top scorer Morgan Whittaker, as well as defender Dan Scarr, who was playing his 100th game for the club.
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