Plymouth Argyle prepare to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the fourth-round of the FA Cup

“CLEAR it!” and “get hold of the ball!”, barked fans of European champions Chelsea this afternoon (Saturday) as they tackled League One side Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup.

A fierce shot had just been punched away by a goalkeeper with 11 full Spanish caps, while an experienced German international defender desperately charged down the rebound.

There was pinball and panic for the home side in their own penalty area, and Chelsea are not used to that – especially at Stamford Bridge.

A few moments later an enthralling match was over – Chelsea had won 2-1 after extra-time and were through to the fifth round.

Turn the clock back to before kick-off and this was only supposed to be plucky little Plymouth’s big day out. £97.5million striker Romelu Lukaku was leading the line for the Blues, after all!

In the eyes of the neutral, perhaps, this was a day out for the Plymouth players, and a day out for success-starved Argyle supporters who, like me, wished the club was regularly playing Premier League big boys Chelsea twice a season rather than for the first time since 1988.

Nowadays, US-based businessman, Simon Hallett, is the Plymouth owner and chairman – but he is also a fan.

As a student he remembers an old Second Division match at Stamford Bridge in 1975. “It was a 2-2 draw with the late and great striker Paul Mariner scoring two [for Plymouth],” he recalls.

Hallett describes the money made from this weekend’s cup tie against Chelsea as “not life-changing”. But it is still welcome given the financial loss the club is expected to make this season.

Argyle are a well-run club – a far cry from the dark days of 2011 when they were hours away from liquidation. Then, former manager Peter Reid sold a cherished medal to help pay backroom staff who were going without wages.

Nowadays Argyle sit well-placed for a shot at the League One play-offs. But if they were to get into the Championship, they will find it a much harder place to survive compared to the last time they were there over a decade ago.

The second tier of English football is now a lot more like the Premier League because of the money needed to survive in it – let alone get out of it.

The FA weren’t really thinking of the fans when they forced Argyle supporters to leave at 3am for midday kick-offs at Sheffield Wednesday and Rochdale in earlier rounds. Games that would both be televised on Sunday afternoons.

In the third round, the club’s away trip to Birmingham City was switched to a 5.30pm kick-off on a Saturday night for overseas TV coverage. That still didn’t stop a sell-out as 2,860 fans went to the game at St Andrew’s.

Many of them missed the last train back to Plymouth when the match went to extra-time. I almost missed my own booked train back to London. Perhaps the FA, and the EFL, should think of supporters more than revenues when it comes to kick-off times.

Still… Argyle won, beating Birmingham 1-0 in extra-time. And the reward was Chelsea.

Season ticket holders snapped up the 6,000 available seats at Stamford Bridge within 24 hours. The “Senior Greens” left Plymouth at 3.30am for a “breakfast stop”, while a fleet of 16 official coaches left at 4am to allow time to get around M4 closures and still make the 12.30pm kick-off. Such are the regular perils of supporting your team.

Most Plymouth fans had stepped off the travel club buses fearing a mauling having seen the Chelsea team; others, like Chris and his son Matthew, were more optimistic.

“3-1”, said Matthew. “I’m going for a 1-0 last-minute win,” said his dad.

The Kelly family from Cornwall – Shane, Zoe and daughter Jasmin – all said 2-0.

As many had done, an old school friend of mine called Mike had come up from the South West overnight. Pre-match preparations included a visit to Harrods with his partner Sarah and the credit card, and a few pubs before the match.

“Plymouth are a sleeping giant,” said Gareth, a doorman at one of those pubs on the Fulham Broadway. He knows his stuff; Plymouth have long been considered a club that has never achieved its potential – long before Mike and I started supporting the club over 50 years ago.

Stamford Bridge shook with the noise of the Green Army as Argyle went a goal up after just eight minutes. Defender Macaulay Gillesphey picked a good time to score his first goal for the club.

Gillesphey looked emotional as he celebrated his headed goal with his teammates. “It was amazing. I wasn’t even sure how to celebrate to be honest,” he revealed after the game. “I just started screaming and jumping around like a lunatic.”

The lead lasted 33 minutes before Chelsea levelled through a neat back-heel from Cesar Azpilicueta minutes before half-time. Only Manchester City have held a lead longer at Chelsea this season.

Argyle grew stronger, defended brilliantly and frustrated the home side. Had this been any other season, there would be a home replay and more cash for the coffers. Instead, Argyle had taken Chelsea to extra-time.

The Blues finally went ahead after 106 minutes through Marcos Alonso, but the drama was far from over.

Moments from the end of extra-time Argyle were awarded a penalty. A chance to level the scores and send this nail-biting cup tie to penalties. Instead, Kepa Arrizabalaga saved Ryan Hardie’s spot-kick, and Argyle were knocked out.

Chelsea scraped through, and are now heading to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Championship, while Plymouth go to Crewe on Tuesday night for a League One fixture.

A tale of two clubs…