FA Cup round-up: Plymouth stun Brentford in third-round upset, Leicester beat QPR in eight-goal thriller

Plymouth earned the first major scalp of the FA Cup third round as a late goal from Morgan Whittaker saw them stun Brentford to win 1-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Thomas Frank fielded a much-changed team and his side lacked any rhythm throughout. And Plymouth took advantage, keeping things tight before Whittaker drifted in from the right flank and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner, sending the away fans into raptures.

Leicester City thrashed Championship side Queen’s Park Rangers 6-2 at the King Power.

James Justin gave the hosts an early lead before Jonathan Varane equalised. It looked like it could potentially be a tricky afternoon for Ruud van Nistelrooy and his players, who went into the match on the back of five successive defeats.

QPR, meanwhile, were in strong form, revitalised after their difficult start to the campaign. But Premier League quality eventually told as first Stephy Mavididi and then Facundo Buonanotte netted a quickfire double to put the Foxes in control.

There was a lifeline for the visitors just before the break when Rayan Kolli capitalised on a mistake from Harry Winks.

Leicester, though, were clinical in the second half. Jamie Vardy converted from the spot after a handball from Harrison Ashby, before Justin scored his second and Wout Faes hit a screamer in added time to put the icing on the cake.

Nottingham Forest, one of the form teams in the Premier League, never really looked like crashing out of the FA Cup prematurely against a Luton Town side without a manager after Rob Edwards’ departure.

This was a Premier League fixture last season, but there are now 38 places between the two teams, with Forest flying high in the top flight and Luton struggling at the wrong end of the Championship.

Nuno Espirito Santo made a host of changes to his starting XI, but Forest were still too strong and advanced with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Ryan Yates and Ramon Sosa.

Two well-coached Premier League teams, and two dominant victories over Championship opponents in the FA Cup.

Bournemouth dispatched West Brom 5-1 despite falling behind to a Caleb Taylor header. Dango Ouattara netted a brace, while Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison got on the scoresheet and David Brooks impressed with two assists.

Brighton, meanwhile, travelled to Norwich City, and they were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to Georginio Rutter’s classy brace.

That lead was doubled in the second half as the hosts faded, Julio Enciso hitting a superb strike against the post and in before the returning Solly March finished things off.

Wolves threatened to hand Bristol City a drubbing at Ashton Gate when goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes put them 2-0 up after just 21 minutes.

The hosts, to their credit, showed some fight and got a goal back at the end of the half through Scott Twine’s excellent free-kick.

It meant a more difficult second half for the visitors, who did not entirely convince at the back but did enough to protect their narrow lead and advance into the fourth round.

Though not as high-profile as Plymouth’s memorable win at Brentford, Exeter produced a surprise result of their own. The League One outfit were superior to Championship side Oxford, deservedly winning 3-1 thanks to a brace from Demetri Mitchell and a Vincent Harper strike. The visitors, to compound their misery, had Tyler Goodrham sent off for an elbow late in the second half.

Elsewhere, Andi Weimann scored the only goal as Blackburn Rovers beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in an all-Championship tie.

Burnley needed extra time to get the better of League One Reading, where Zian Flemming’s double proved decisive in a 3-1 win.

Stoke, under new manager Mark Robins, got an impressive win over Championship promotion contenders Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Niall Ennis’ extra-time goal was enough to secure a 2-1 victory and send The Potters into the next round.

In the late kick-offs, Leeds beat Harrogate 1-0 at Elland Road in the first ever meeting between the two Yorkshire sides, with Largie Ramazani scoring the only goal. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard’s Coventry needed penalties to beat Sheffield Wednesday after Anthony Musaba equalised for the visitors in the dying seconds of normal time.

League One leaders Birmingham City also advanced to the fourth round, beating Lincoln City 2-1 thanks to a stunning volley from Lyndon Dykes.