Pilgrim's Progress

Argyle Stretch Lead

November was a good month for Plymouth, as they extended their lead at the top of the table.

The month started with a good win in the Carabao Cup over Middlesbrough at the Riverside by 3-1, gaining revenge for the home defeat by the same scoreline earlier in the Championship season.  Erick Sanchez started the Pilgrims on their way with a fine free kick.

A tight victory over Swansea followed, and then a signature away win over Stoke City, despite most of the Mexican contingent being missing, having arrived late back from international duty.

Erick Sanchez repeated his free kick performance in the 31st minute of the win over West Brom, to cement his position as the team’s free kick specialist.

The month was rounded off with a hard match against 10-man Leeds United, which Plymouth were lucky to escape with a draw.

All of which leaves Plymouth on top with 47 points, four ahead of Leicester and six in front of Leeds.

Good job getting the most from these free kick situations. I've scored a few myself, but it's definitely THE area of the game, where I struggle the most to learn what is what. So it always seems quite random, whether they go in or not. And in the other end it just seems to be a safe and sound goal every effing time.

Argyle Hang on to Top Spot

Argyle’s 4 point EFL Championship lead has all but evaporated in a busy December.  It hasn’t helped that they are still involved in the Carabao Cup, although Pilgrim fans were treated to a fine cup Quarter Final match against Brighton and Hove Albion.  Brighton for some reason did not field their full-strength first team for this important match, and Argyle took advantage, running out 4-2 winners.  The margin flattered the hosts, the fourth goal coming in time added on, when the Brighton goalkeeper came up for a corner.  Plymouth cleared and Roberto Alvarado ran the entire length of the pitch to walk the ball into an empty net.   After the match, captain Cesar Huerta revealed an unusual team talk from manager Bobby Stones.  “The manager walked into the dressing room.  He put up the Brighton team sheet and said ‘this is what they think of you.  Decide for yourselves what response you are going to give them’.  He then left the room.  It fired us up, of course.”

Plymouth’s reward for reaching the semi is a double header against Liverpool, starting with the away leg at Anfield.

Argyle otherwise slipped up twice in the league, going down 1-0 to Huddersfield Town in a limp opening performance in December, then losing at home to Birmingham City, after loanee Lewis Warrington was sent off in only the 6th minute.

The ever-relentless Laicester City have therefore closed the gap at the top to a single point, with a top of the table shootout at home to Leicester due in January.

Busy January For Pilgrims

Argyle played 8 matches in January; their busiest month so far and a real challenge for the squad.   The month saw the match-up against second-placed Leicester City, which the Pilgrims lost 3-1 to a Kelechi Iheanacho hat-trick, despite taking an early lead through Samson Tovide.  Coming just before the first Carabao Cup semi against Liverpool, Stones fielded the ‘second string’ against Leicester and probably regretted it in the end, as the Foxes’ victory took them to the top of the table until match results later in the month saw Plymouth regain the lead on goal difference.

Argyle bowed out of the Carabao Cup after two spirited displays against Liverpool saw them lose the tie 2-0 on aggregate.  The team acquitted themselves brilliantly in both matches and Jurgen Klopp congratulated them on how hard they had pushed his team.  “If they get promoted to the Premier League next season, they will be quite strong, on the evidence of these matches,”, he said.  “I’m quite looking forward to seeing how they do the rest of the season, but well done to them.”

Argyle also negotiated two rounds of the FA Cup this month, with seemingly easy victories against lower-league opposition.  The Derby match was notable for a 4-goal haul by young Samson Tovide.  His goalscoring feats took him to the top of the Argyle scoring charts in all competitions – not bad for a cheap stop-gap purchase at the end of the window.  The fifth round will see Argyle play Coventry City, who proved such difficult opponents in the league back in September.

Such a heavy month has been difficult for the whole club and the continued involvement in the FA Cup promises to weigh heavily on the squad in February.  The question is whether the team can keep up the momentum, as they have been wound in by the chasing pack recently.  It would be a shame for other competitions to derail what is now very definitely a promotion push.

FA Cup Quarter Finals Beckon

Argyle negotiated the 5th round of the FA Cup, thrashing Coventry City 6-2.    The Pilgrims got off to a great start with early goals from Alvarado and captain Cesar Huerta, after which they never looked back.  A Quarter-Final against Arsenal at the Emirates is the reward.

Meanwhile, in the league, Plymouth kept up the pressure on leaders Leicester with 10 points from 4 matches, the only blot being the draw against Birmingham City, where neither side looked like scoring.

Another academy promotee stamped his mark on the squad, as 16-year-old Spanish striker Mikel Gomez scored on his full debut against Blackburn Rovers. 

The young lad had come on as a substitute in the West Brom game and impressed enough to get a start against Blackburn.  His close-range finish was a composed effort and was his only chance in the match.

Leicester's Stephy Mavididi continued to lead the Championship scoring table (21 goals), with team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho (15) beginning to close the gap to Kamaldeen Sulemana (17) in second place.  Ryan Hardie on 13 goals from 18 matches lies in sixth place.

A respectable exit vs Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. And a tie with Arsenal in the FA Cup now. Would be considered a respectable exit too, at least if you avoid a thrashing, but I wonder if this would match your board's expectations and you could risk the sack, if you didn't win it.

FA Cup Semi-Finalists!

Argyle navigated the tricky FA Cup tie against Arsenal at the Emirates, emerging as 3-2 winners, courtesy of three breakaway goals.  Luis Chavez opened the scoring as early as the 6th minute to send shockwaves through the Emirates, after which Arsenal failed to really recover, despite overwhelming possession and pressure on the Plymouth goal.  Chants of “Arg…yle” rang round the ground, as the Pilgrims recorded a signature win that sees them face Championship rivals Leicester City in the semi at Wembley.

Elsewhere, there was a mixed set of results in the league that saw Leicester open a gap at the top of the Championship, and Norwich City make up ground on Plymouth in second place.  The lead over Norwich looks comfortable still, but Argyle are dropping more points and a late charge from the Canaries might still derail the Pilgrims’ promotion bid.  The month opened with a draw against Stoke, two points being dropped courtesy of a late equaliser from Callum Wright, who moved to Stoke in the January window – ouch!

Injuries to two of Argyle’s promising youngsters rounded off a mixed month, with Kobbie Mainoo and Dan Gore picking up injuries in consecutive games; Mainoo (broken elbow) sidelined for two months at Milwall and Gore (broken toe; 3 months) in the Watford game.  Both will play no further part in the campaign.

Mainoo Injured at Millwall

No real change at the top of the scoring and assists charts, with Samson Tovide continuing to impress, now on 17 goals from 19 Championship matches.  The step up from League 2 really doesn't seem a problem for him.