Plymouth eventually progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup as would have been expected, but a fine Sutton performance made them battle all the way and had U’s taken the tie back to a replay at the VBS there could have been few complaint.

With Dominic Pereira suffering from the after effects of the knock on the head he received against Newport when he hit the post, and Aiden O’Brien suffering a back injury in training, Ryan Jackson was on the right of a five man midfield behind Lee Angol. Plymouth included both Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker, with over 20 goals between them this season, and as would have been expected Plymouth had the majority of possession in the first half. Sutton defended well, with several good blocks and clearances, and had a half chance of their own when a long Jackson throw just evaded Harry Beautyman. U’s will be disappointed that the only first half goal came from a Sutton attack as an overhit Jackson cross was cleared. Whittaker’s crossfield pass sent Freddie Issaka away, and from his set up Callum Wright’s shot was well saved by Bouzanis, who got a hand to Luke Cundle’s follow up effort but couldn’t keep it out.

Cundle almost had a second when his shot was deflected just wide after a misunderstanding between Josh Coley and Ben Goodliffe, and Milsom diverted a Whittaker shot wide as U’s reached half time still well in the game and regretting not making the most of the possession that they did have.

Sutton came out strongly in the second half and might have scored within a minute when Joe Kizzi headed a free kick back across goal but goalkeeper Conor Hazard cut the ball out before a Sutton player could turn it in. However soon afterwards Angol collected a pass on the right of the penalty area, held off a challenge and shot firmly past Hazard for the equaliser.

At this stage Sutton were the better team and Brendan Galloway had to head a Josh Coley cross out from the six yard box, just avoiding turning the ball in to his own net. U’s brought on Craig Eastmond and Christian N’Guessan, but before the changes could take effect Plymouth had gone ahead against the run of play when Whittaker was fouled by Coley as he looked for a return pass from Joe Edwards, and Hardie’s penalty found the net despite a strong hand from Bouzanis.

Sutton could still have forced a replay, Harry Beautyman just failing to get a touch on a Coley cross, but the best chance came when substitutes Tope Fadahunsi and Omari Patrick created an opening and the ball was rolled in to the path of Eastmond, who shot disappointingly wide from the edge of the penalty area. Pushing forward, U’s were caught on the break and Whittaker again cut in from the right and saw his shot take a deflection to loop over Bouzanis in to the net and give the scoreline a very harsh look for Sutton.

Sutton: D Bouzanis, J Kizzi, R Milsom, O Sowunmi, B Goodliffe, C Clay(sub C Eastmond 64), J Coley (sub O Patrick 73), R Jackson, L Angol(sub T Fadahunsi 73), H Beautyman(sub H Kasimu 90+1), D Gape(sub C N’Guessan 64) Subs n/u J Rose, S Arnold, C Dundas. Booked: Kizzi, Clay

Plymouth: C Hazard, B Galloway, M Miller(sub L Gibson 84), L Cundle, A Randell, D Scarr, F Issaka(sub B Mumba 58), J Edwards(sub  K Kessler-Hayden 77), R Hardie(sub B Waine 77) M Whittaker, C Wright(sub J Houghton 58). Subs n/u C Burton, J Pleguezuelo, M Butcher, M Bundu. Booked: Edwards

Referee: Will Finnie

Attendance: 15,643(378 away)