Great result, lads played some fantastic attacking football at times, two brilliant goals. Plus our young team stood their ground today, refusing to get bullied.
Good point about the bullying but isn't it the Refs responsibility to see that doesn't happen and treat each team equally which were not getting it so it seems.
Plymouth were clear at the top, very recently, and are now 7 points off top. They were desperate to win this and didn't match us. Gooch going off really affected us. That was the third hard game in 7 days so is it any surprise we faded. Plymouth had no other option but to throw everything at us. Excellent performance imo.
Enjoyed that. The lads dug in at the end and stood firm. Almost nicked it 3-1 with O'Brien, 5mins added on, another **** ref, yellow card for Johnson, great goal from our corner, joint second in the league. Delightful stuff.
Your right Smug, because of our injuries LJ can't spread the workload and these lads need to rest up before next weekend. Our first half play deserved more goals and we wouldn't have had a nervy finish. We got those goals on Tuesday against poorer opposition so to win narrowly at home against a team in the play-off positions is not to be sniffed at imo. OaU
I agree that they threw everything at us but we stood up to it at the back which should stand us in good stead
Cracking match and a cracking win, officials were atrocious again mind but we are looking more than decent
i WAS going to comment on how nice it was to have another ref that just let the game run, but, his 2nd half performance was worthy of him being subbed, that foul on neil was so obvious i heard stevie wonder phoned in to complain it was not given and after that he completely lost the game. this was always going to be a nervy one i thought, a big test of 'have we really turned the corner' and the lads came through it well...surprised how little they offered first half but credit to them they came out battling after the break...having to change our shape, players moved around again did nothing to help our cause but if gooch was injured then there was little choice. that corner apart i thought the defence looked far more organised and got their heads on most.
I thought Pompey were going up 3 years ago this time, but failed i don't see Rotherham doing the same thing, i reckon after Jan we will get 2nd spot and keep it, that attacking football was brilliant, the ref well appalling, he bottled it, but onwards and upwards.
5 points clear of 7th win a game in hand. Let’s consolidate our top 6 place and give the automatics a real go late on in the season… HAWAY THE LADS
Ron-Thorben Hoffmann: 6/10 Could have done better with the goal, was slightly blocked off by Embleton but needs to be stronger. Made a good save from Hardie in the second half but wasn’t overly worked by Plymouth. Bailey Wright: 8/10 Seems to be back in the form he hit before he signed his permanent deal, won everything that came his way and always quick to get a foot in. Tom Flanagan: 7/10 Really solid performance, did lose his man for the goal but otherwise was very good. Callum Doyle: 8/10 Really clever pull back for Dan Neil for the opening goal. Was put under pressure in the second half but showed how good he is defensively. Lynden Gooch: 6/10 Not as influential in the first half as he was against Morecambe, picked up a knock and had to be subbed at half time. His absence made it difficult for the team after the break due to Lee Johnson having to shuffle the team around. Carl Winchester: 8/10 Did a lot of dirty work in midfield in the first half and the team struggled a bit in the second once he switched to right back. Burst forward on a number of occasions from that position though and caused problems with his overlapping. Dan Neil: 7/10 Very good in the first half as Sunderland surged forward time and time again, finished his chance really well to open the scoring but had to play deeper in the second following the reshuffle and, although he put a shift in, he was not as comfortable defensively. Leon Dajaku: 9/10 No surprise he set up Broadhead for the second goal with a great bit of skill, as he had the beating of the full back time and time again, could also have got a couple of goals himself. Alex Pritchard: 7/10 Really clever corner led to the opening goal, his movement and hassling is becoming vital to the team. Nathan Broadhead: 8/10 Full of confidence at the moment with his cheeky backheel finish but his all round play was excellent today. Works so hard for the team but what a good footballer, uses his pace very well and unlucky to only score one. Ross Stewart: 7/10 Hard working effort by Stewart as the referee allowed Plymouth to foul him whenever they wanted. Only a couple of half chances for him today but he occupies the opposition back line constantly and makes room for others. Subs Elliot Embleton: 6/10 Came on at half time for Gooch and slotted into central midfield, not his natural position but he worked hard and got forward to support attacks often. Aiden O’Brien: 6/10 Should probably have wrapped up the game after the goalkeeper completely missed his clearance but helped the team see out the final 15 minutes. Man of the Match: Leon Dajaku There were many good performances today, with Nathan Broadhead not far away from my man of the match but Dajaku gets it for running the Plymouth left back ragged in the first half. He did such a number on Bloom that he had to be switched to right back to give him a break. Could have had a goal or two himself, as well as the one he set up for Broadhead and even putting a defensive shift in during the second period.
We battered them first half. Playing at a tempo they weren't comfortable with and the press was pretty much instant and triggered by Pritchard each time. His ability to receive the ball under pressure and still find a team mate was superb today. Really impressed with Dajaku today, very direct and gave their LB a torrid time, especially first half, creating the goal and then drove us up the pitch second half. Winch was brilliant today as well, dominant in midfield first half and then some class graft up and down the line second half at RB. Obviously we weren't as dominant second half but they'd clearly got a bollocking at HT and came out swinging. A couple of chances and some decent territory without creating loads. I thought we were still a threat too, probably should have had a third with the chances we had, particularly the AOB one after the keeper error. Three points, a couple of rivals dropped points. Happy days!
