Brentford boss Thomas Frank was gracious in defeat after his Premier League side were upset 1-0 by bottom-of-the-table Championship club Plymouth Argyle in the Emirates FA Cup third round.
Frank made it clear he was unhappy at the lack of scoring threat his team posed, as highlighted by the fact they had just two shots on target all match, but his main focus was on giving all the credit to the Pilgrims, whose 82nd minute winning goal was a fabulous finish from outside the penalty area by Morgan Whittaker, a player who has been linked with Brentford in the past.
“Congratulations to Plymouth, I think they deserved the win,” said Frank. “They put a lot effort into it, they defended brilliantly and they ran hard. They scored a really good goal from the player that we knew could score the goal.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
“We prepared for that, but we knew he had got a very good shot outside the 18-yard box. So, yeah, congratulations to Plymouth , well deserved.”
Brentford are 11th in the Premier League and Frank admitted it was a ‘massively missed opportunity’ for his side to advance in the FA Cup. “We are of course, disappointed, you can feel that on me,” he said. “We basically didn’t create anything.”
The Premier League hosts sent on three of their best attacking players, Keane Lewis-Potter, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, as second half substitutes when the tie was still goal-less but they did not make much impact.
On why his side had struggled to have shots on goal, Frank said: “There is always two teams on the pitch. I mean it, I think Plymouth did well.
“They really ran hard and defended with their lives so they did very well. We didn’t have the right quality. Even with the top offensive players on the pitch we couldn’t create enough.”
It was pointed out to Frank that Argyle had conceded 53 goals in the Championship this season and were bottom of the table, and he was asked about Brentford’s application to the tie.
Frank replied: “If you looked, especially first half, you could see how we reacted in the counter pressing and in the high pressure. I think we did everything right, but of course I need to look a little bit more into it and see the game back.
“Was there something? Or is it just a massive learning curve if you drop 10 per cent against any team at this level, and yes they are bottom of the Championship but they are in the Championship. Then it becomes difficult, so maybe that was the reason.”
You can read more of our Argyle stories from Plymouth Live by clicking HERE
PlymouthLive has launched a Plymouth Argyle transfer news and top stories group on WhatsApp and we want you to join us. Once you sign up for our updates, we’ll send all the latest straight to your phone.
To join our community, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the PlymouthLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community.