Times Sport editor John Hutchins offers his personal opinion on the events, topics and personalities in the world of sport.

FORGIVE me if I’m tempted this week to paraphrase (badly) an over exited Scandinavian sports commentator when Norway beat ignominiously England in a World Cup match from 1981.

‘Bill Shankley, Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ken Dodd, Derek Hatton, Cilla Black — you boys took a helluva beating.’

Well not quite a beating, but Plymouth Argyle’s 0-0 draw on Sunday in the third round of the FA Cup merited equal joy to this member of the Green Army. It was a tremendous result and guarantees Argyle a lucrative financial boost, and a much needed, full house from a replay.

I must admit, a little ashamedly, that I did not join the 8,500 Pilgrims who made the pilgrimage to Anfield to see Argyle take on the five times winners of the European Cup (Champions League to give its more commercial name). I was relegated to watching it live in a Plymouth city centre pub, amongst an increasingly vocal partisan crowd as the match went on.

It was not the greatest of games with Liverpool dominant and Argyle having two shots at goal — well one shot, the other endangering hitting the corner flag! However, the Greens stuck it out and absorbed the pressure for a more than deserved draw. The final result, I am sure, more than compensated those gallant fans who not only had to queue up hours for their match tickets, endure a six hour drive on a Sunday morning and drive home afterwards — not to mention the great expense.

But knowing my previous experience of Liverpool fans they will not begrudge Plymouth Argyle supporters of their moment of glory.

‘Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, Paul Mariner, Sir Francis Drake, Angela Rippon, Tom Daley’, I’m sure, would have been helluva proud.’