If ever there was a case for the statement "what could possibly go wrong" then this one has to be it. Morecambe are rock bottom of the league. They are managed by an ex Argyle manager who wasn't exactly the most endeared manager we ever had. They are up for sale. The Ref for this one has issued 69 yellows so far {steady lads there isn't a joke in there} but has NOT issued a Red so far. You would have to conclude, even though our current form isn't top notch, that we ought to win this at a canter. If only football was that predictable and the results of matches in the World Cup should warn us that they seldom are. So, what can we realistically expect this Saturday assuming the covers stay on and the match is played. Apart from freezing our nuts off we should win this. The only question ought to be can we return to the top. Of course we can they sing it every match at home "we're Plymouth Argyle and we do as we like". COYG
Do they cover the pitch at Home Park to beat the frost....I was surprised how easy the game was called off the day before.....did the ground staff get caught out. Around here we haven't had the temperature above minus 2 C since before the snow fell on Sunday evening....probably lose a few games before Saturday.
They have covered the pitch but don't think it was before the stupid cup game. Not sure they wanted the pitch played on before Saturday. It has been plus for a couple of days and nights now so no frost on the park infront of my house. The park is a bit on the soggy side though so perhaps that's the reasoning.
Yep spoke a bit too soon as the park was a sheet of white and still white at around 11am. Forecast tomorrow says around 8 degrees so should be fine. Not sure I'm looking forward to sitting around for a couple of hours though so might take a blanket for the knees. On the other hand will probably not as my accomplices would do nothing but take the p""".
Still only two games cancelled at 8am Saturday morning.....but I expect it is only now that inspections will be happening. There was supposed to be parts of the pitch frozen yesterday afternoon...so we were told.....although the weather is improving temperature wise....the groundstaff are optimistic that all will be well. If it is called off ....I expect we could always watch that other game being played this afternoon somewhere in Asia.
There’s an announcement on the Argyle website. Most of the pitch is fine but some areas are frozen and are getting treatment from the heat lamps. Both teams are keen to play but the ref will carry out a pitch inspection soon.
2-1...F/T Ennis...69mins. Cosgrove...84mins. O'Connor...90+1mins. 58% possession.....32 shots.....13 on target.....7 corners.....6 fouls. Only two goals......could have gone pear shaped with them scoring in the 90+1 mins. Good results for Argyle.....Ipswich lose.....Portsmouth Lose.....& Sheffield W only draw. SO.....Argyle back on top.....leading Ipswich by two points. 3PTS a good moral booster after a poor few games.
If we’d taken our chances, this would have been 3-0 at half time and 5 by the end and Morecambe couldn’t have complained. But despite some of the great football we played earlier in the season, it looked like nothing w as going to go in. While it remained 0-0, there was always the worry things could go from bad to worse from one mistake. Surprisingly, Whittaker was the worst culprit for missing chances given his usually excellent shooting and this culminated in missing a penalty late in the half. I’d have given the ball to Ennis but I suppose it’s preordained. I also worried that the inability to convert chances would eat away at confidence and rapport with the fans, who seemed to be oozing nervousness out onto the pitch. My first half man of the match would have been Gillesphy, who not only defended well but contributed to the attacking, getting forward and passing well. Argyle came out brighter still in terms of approach play but it wasn’t until Hardie came on that e start we’d to look really menacing. I’m not sure how we managed to concede late on but we deserved 6 points not 3 on the balance of play. That’s not how things work but hopefully scoring after a barren run and going back to the up of the league will restore confidence, albeit that the win was over a mediocre team.
I didn't see the last goal as I was on my way to the Club having said not a few minutes before "2 = 0 that will do for me". Not much to add to your post really notdistant. We huffed and puffed but were singularly failing to blow anything down It would have been a total injustice had we not won that match. However, we made such hard work of it and like you there was a time when I thought we could even lose it. Still the right result and the best outcome for the rest of them pretty much so a weekend well spent. It was by the way a real change to watch a game kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday for once. The next two at home are still not Saturday kick offs or 3pm. # Just as an aside I was reading the Ipswich forum after the last game. They were so taken by being top that I don't think they saw this weekend coming at all. They will learn though that to take league one for granted and think that previous means current in stature is a grave mistake as others have found out. Personally I don't really care what the others are doing as long as we stay in the top 2. That is what counts for promotion not being billy big bollox in a small pond.
Now don't you stop posting your match reports just because I do one. I like reading yours: unlike the paper etc it's unvarnished straight from a fan's heart. Not that always agree, but that's the point isn't it? I hope I didn't sound too disappointed: I've watched more games this season than usual: there's only one ticket left on our Flexi 6 memberships even though Saturday afternoon games have been scarce and I've watched every one that's been available on Argyle TV. We started so well: Barnsley game to Home Park on the first day fresh down from the Championship. We shredded them. You could see the horror in their eyes as they realised they were being totally outplayed by a team I expect they thought they'd beat easily. Now they're 4th, so it was us being good, not them that bad. But recently, partly I think because teams have set out to stop us rather than anything else and partly because of injuries, we've been scrappy and most recently of all, the goals have dried up. I saw bits of that Barnsley performance yesterday for the first time for weeks and the stats (59% possession, 32 shots, 7 corners to their 2, 6 fouls to their 13) do paint an accurate picture, apart rom the finishing. You can write it off as being due to poor opposition but this a Derek Adams side who'll have come prepared to be obstructive and who've lost only one of their previous 5 (away at Sheffield Wednesday), admittedly with the other 4 being draws but including Portsmouth and Derby. Having Scarr in the side made us look much more robust at the back again. This is our first league win since Exeter on 31st October . If it brings the confidence back a bit, with Cheltenham up next, we can get another mini-run going, ready for a sold-out ripsnorter against Wycombe (now 7th) at Home Park on the 29th. We need no more injuries and Ennis to start every week. I thought he was brilliant yesterday, skilful, sharp and a bloody minded nuisance when it comes to scrapping with defenders twice his size.
Just watched the post-match interviews with Danny Mayor and Stephen Schumacher. I noticed that at the end, there wasn't quite the usual rapport between Schumacher and perhaps to a lesser extent, the players, and the fans. In the interview, Schumacher mentions being booed off at half time and that he didn't understand it as he felt we'd played well. He didn't look happy. Was there significant booing? There certainly was universal frustration with missing so many good chances - partly due of course to an outstanding performance from the Morecambe keeper, including, but not limited to, the penalty save. I have to say there was a bloody woman close to me lambasting virtually every player on the pitch and in particular Danny Mayor, who's first start it was in 12 (?) weeks and Niall Ennis, who I thought was outstanding (although I always do). It goes to show fickle fans can cost their own team dear. Nobody wants to miss chances after all, and at least we made buckets full of them. Edit - I’ll give you an example - in the second half, from a corner or free kick, the ball was half cleared about 40 feet up in the air. It dropped nearly vertically to Ennis at the edge of the box who tried to volley it and failed. She was right at him. Now even making contact with a dropping ball on the volley is beyond most mortals, let alone smacking it into the top corner, which she obviously expected him to do. Now if Messi does that this afternoon, it’ll be marked down as goal of the decade….
I read the booing comments on pasoti but have to say I did not hear any at all from block 10. I don't think the green army would have been booing the players. If they boo'd it would have been the scoreline or the Ref or even Morecambe .
