THE ROAD TO VILLA PARK: PLYMOUTH ARGYLE'S RUN TO THE FA CUP SEMI FINALS 1984

As today marks the 30th anniversary of Plymouth Argyle's FA Cup Semi-Final against Watford, we will now look back at the Pilgrims' route to the last four.

Given the fact that it was the title for a surrealistic novel by George Orwell, the year 1984 was always destined to throw up a couple of shocks and surprises.

There surely can’t be many achievements in football that can be considered more surprising than a team from the third tier of English football coming within touching distance of reaching the FA Cup final.

However, for Plymouth Argyle this proved to be a reality during the 1983-84 season as they went all the way to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they were narrowly denied a place in the final by Graham Taylor’s Watford.

With a catchment area that extends into large parts of Devon and Cornwall, the Pilgrims’ 127 year history is scarred by failures to achieve what many regard as being their true potential as a club.

In 2008 Plymouth inherited the mantle from Hull of being the largest city in Europe never to have hosted top-flight football, when Hull City reached the Premiership for the first time.

Nevertheless, in 1984 they would achieve what many would regard as being the club’s finest hour as they ended up being just 90 minutes away from what would have been their first trip to Wembley.

That said, early on in the season few would have expected the Pilgrims to achieve anything on that scale as a poor start to the campaign saw manager Bobby Moncur dismissed in mid-September and former Pilgrims’ stalwart John Hore appointed as his successor.

Hore’s tenth match in charge, an FA Cup replay at home to Southend United, proved to be a catalyst for their season.

After a goalless draw at Roots Hall, the Pilgrims came out on top in a scrappy replay thanks to a Mickey Stead own goal and a strike from talismanic striker Tommy Tynan to secure a 2-0 win.

Next up was non-league side Barking, and it needed a 86^th minute effort from defender Lindsay Smith to seal victory over the part-timers from East London, which set up a third round meeting with fellow Third Division outfit Newport County.

The tie proved to be a real ‘blood and thunder’ contest’ as County took the lead through future Liverpool and Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge before Kevin Hodges levelled matters. Aldridge later restored County’s lead before Tynan netted a late equaliser from the penalty spot in the third minute of injury time to earn a replay.

In a replay at Somerton Park, an Andy Rogers effort proved to be enough to seal the Pilgrims’ place in the fourth round where they would entertain Division Four side Darlington.

A 2-1 victory over the Quakers, managed by former Tottenham and England defender Cyril Knowles, was earned thanks to goals in either half from John Uzzell and Gordon Staniforth meant that the Pilgrims would be in the fifth round draw for the first time since 1953.

It was at this stage of the competition that they faced top-flight opposition for the first and only time that season as they were drawn away to West Bromwich Albion.

Although many of the individuals who had made the Baggies a force to be reckoned with in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as Ron Atkinson, Bryan Robson and Laurie Cunningham, had moved on to pastures new, they were expected to win comfortably. They were managed by Johnny Giles and possessed a team of real pedigree that included future Spurs and Fulham manager Martin Jol and former European Cup winner Tony Morley.

However it was the Pilgrims who came out on top- winning 1-0 courtesy of a strike from Tynan, which set up a home tie in the Quarter Finals against Derby County.

An official crowd of 34,365 poured into Home Park to see the Pilgrims take on a Rams’ side that were managed by Peter Taylor, who was flying solo as a manager after his split from Brian Clough several years earlier. Derby were due to play another match in court on the Monday after the game over PAYE arrears.

Despite their off-the-field issues, the Rams could still call upon a number of well-known figures such as Kenny Burns, John Robertson, Archie Gemmill and Dave Watson.

Far from being over-awed by the occasion, the Pilgrims rose to the challenge as goalkeeper Geoff Crudgington didn’t have a save to make. This was in stark contrast to his opposite number in the Rams’ goal, Steve Cherry, who pulled off a series of outstanding saves as Argyle failed to turn possession into goals as the tie finished goalless.

In the replay, which was held at the Baseball Ground four days later, history was made when Andy Rogers struck after 16 minutes with a goal directly from a corner that he later described as being a ‘total fluke’.

Regardless of whether he meant it or not, the Pilgrims were in the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and only Watford stood between them and a place in the final.

On Saturday April 14th 1984, a crowd of 43,858 witnessed the semi-final at Villa Park in which Plymouth fell agonisingly short against the Hornets.

In the 13^th minute, George Reilly inflicted what proved to be a telling blow on the Pilgrims when he headed home a cross from England winger John Barnes to score the game’s only goal.

Argyle tried in vain to find an equaliser and created numerous chances, including a late effort from Kevin Hodges that went narrowly wide and helped to underline their potential. They didn’t disgrace themselves and earned themselves £80,000 for their efforts.

Whilst their cup efforts had earned them many plaudits, the Pilgrims had struggled in the league and secured three wins from their final four games of the season to finish five points clear of relegation.

Meanwhile Watford were beaten 2-0 in the final by an Everton side that included future Argyle manager Peter Reid.

One member of the Argyle side, David Phillips, did eventually make it to Wembley three years later as part of the Coventry City side that famously beat Spurs in the 1987 FA Cup final.

The Pilgrims finally made it to Wembley themselves in 1996 when they reached the Division Three Play-Off final where they defeated Darlington 1-0 to win promotion under Neil Warnock.