Colchester United's under-18s were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup tonight after an epic battle with Plymouth Argyle.

The U's drew 4-4 with the Pilgrims after extra-time but lost 4-2 on penalties, to go out of the competition in heartbreaking fashion.

Colchester had taken the game into extra-time and penalties after showing superb character to come back four times in the tie.

Colchester looked nervous early on and fell behind in the fourth minute when a defensive error allowed Jake Miller to pounce on the loose ball and plant a well-taken low shot into the net.

The U's slowly warmed to the task though and they were back on level terms midway through the first half when Jack Curtis slammed a superb shot into the roof of the net from just inside the area, after Macauley Bonne's pass had set him up.

Plymouth almost grabbed a half-time lead when Conor Clarke saved Louis Rooney's shot off the line and U's keeper Ron Carroll pushed away Miller's follow-up.

But the U's did fall behind inside the opening two minutes of the second half when Miller nodded in his second of the game from close range, following Soloman Wheatley's cross.

Colchester were desperately unlucky not to equalise when Callum Rogers' spectacular long-range effort clattered the crossbar and Macauley Bonne's follow-up came back off the inside of the post.

But they were back on level terms just after the hour through Callum Harrison, who drove a shot past keeper Andrew Hannah from 20 yards.

Hannah denied Sammie Szmodics from close range soon after, as the game went into extra-time.

Plymouth took the lead for a third time in the 96th minute through Nathan Summers’ header.

But Colchester equalised for a third time barely a minute later through Tyler Brampton, who slammed in from close range from Bonne’s lay-off.

Bonne flashed an effort inches wide of the post and then forced Hannah to make a good parry, at the end of the first period.

But Plymouth substitute Josh Hutchinson escaped the U's defence and ran almost the length of the half before slamming a shot past Carroll from close-range.

However, Colchester equalised for a fourth time in the 117th minute through substitute Patrick O'Shea, who fired into the net to score on his debut after arriving from Australia.

It took the tie into a penalty shoot-out and Bonne and Michael O'Donoghue's spot-kicks were saved for the U's, to send Plymouth through to a third-round tie with Aston Villa.

For a report and pictures from the U's FA Youth Cup tie against Plymouth, see Thursday's Daily Gazette.