Report | Argyle 3-1 Luton Town
Argyle won a second consecutive home fixture, beating Luton Town 3-1 on a frantic Friday night at Home Park.
In a game that never let up, and was played at a ferocious, sometimes out-of-control, speed, Argyle led via an early goal from Rami Al Hajj and doubled their lead through substitute Ibrahim Cissoko with just over 20 minutes to go. However, Luton got one back instantly through Victor Moses and threatened to turn the game right around.
The Greens saw out the threat, though, and Cissoko, the coolest man in the South West of England, stroked in a third in stoppage time, and put the game out of sight.
Argyle boss Wayne Rooney made two changes heading into the game, handing Rami Al Hajj his first start in a green shirt, and bringing in Michael Obafemi into the 11 as well. Adam Forshaw and Ibrahim Cissoko were the ones to make way.
Al Hajj and Obafemi comprised the left-hand portion of Argyle’s midfield, with Morgan Whittaker and Darko Gyabi to the right, and Adam Randell just behind them all. In front, Ryan Hardie played as the central striker, and along the back four continued the quartet of Bali Mumba, Lewis Gibson, Kornel Szucs and Joe Edwards, with Daniel Grimshaw in the goal.
The game began at a fierce tempo; it felt a little like watching football at x2 speed at times in the opening stages, with a slick, watered evening surface conducive to teams wanting to play the ball low, and with perhaps the heightened nature of a fixture live on Sky Sports – not that that is such a novelty anymore.
For a while, there was tempo without control, but from Argyle’s first serious move of substance, they scored.
Credit to plenty of people in the build-up, but particular nods ought to go to Darko Gyabi who, under pressure, used his body brilliantly to protect the ball and head infield, and to referee John Busby, who contemplated a free-kick for a clearly impeded Gyabi, but opted to let play continue – and boy did it continue.
Gyabi spread play to the left, where eventually Obafemi popped a ball into the feet of Hardie. Hardie, back to goal, laid back to Al Hajj, stepping inside the area. The ball looked a little sharp for Al Hajj, but his adjustment of his feet was superb, and his first-time finish, with little backlift, powerful and true. It sailed beyond Thomas Kaminski, and Argyle were in front.
The next 15 minutes were a joy to behold. The Greens, seemingly playing a little narrower than of late, were consistently swift and accurate with one- and two-touch passing with purpose. Argyle were well on top – the question was if they could find a second goal.
They certainly had chances. None better than when, three minutes after the first goal, Obafemi whistled one from the edge of the box not far wide. Hardie and Whittaker also had shots from distances, before Al Hajj came very close to doubling his tally. It came slightly fortuitously – Mumba’s volley from a partially cleared corner was shanked – but it fell into Al Hajj’s path. Again, he took the ball early, and it was a very good low save by Kaminski to stop it being 2-0.
At approximately the 25-minute mark, Luton began to manoeuvre a foothold in the game. Firstly, Tahith Chong hesitated a millisecond too long as he appeared at the far post, and as he adjusted to try to get a shot away – it was deflected over via a Joe Edwards challenge – he was probably already ruing not trying to meet the ball on the bounce.
Szucs then missed an attempted clearance and will have been grateful to his centre-back partner Gibson for some excellent covering defending as Elijah Adebayo looked likely to trouble Grimshaw.
Next, Mark McGuinness hooked wide following a series of dangerous set-pieces, as Argyle may have cast a glance or two at the big screen to see if half-time was imminent. It wasn’t. The clock was yet to get to 40 minutes.
And then Argyle had an unbelievable chance to make it 2-0. It was another eye-catchingly swift build up, with Mumba interchanging with Hardie, then doing exceptionally well to find Edwards, arriving as he does, in a perfect position.
In a less perfect position was goalkeeper Kaminski, slow to get across his line, but this actually played to his favour. Edwards, working on instinct, stroked the ball back across goal, to the corner that Kaminksi probably should have been departing more swiftly. This played to keeper’s advantage, as he stuck out a leg and turned the ball away, leaving Edwards aghast.
Luton still had another chance, with Adebayo trying to take advantage of a Szucs slip, but Argyle hung on, and went in at half-time a goal up in a game that to that point could easily have been 4-2.
In the closing seconds of the half-time, there was a worrying moment as Tahith Chong went down and physios hurried on to treat him, perhaps for an inadvertent blow to the head. The referee sensibly blew the half-time whistle a few seconds early, and a few minutes later Chong rose and walked off the field to applause from all sides of the ground.
Before the restart, Jacob Brown replaced Chong for a Luton side that had already seen Mads Andersen come on for an injured Teden Mengi. Argyle made a change of their own, bringing on Brendan Galloway at left-back for Mumba.
Within a minute of the second half starting Argyle went on the front foot, again led by Gyabi, who offloaded to his left to Hardie. His shot was blocked, and to his left Obafemi was indicating that a pass to him would have been the better option.
At the other end, as the game continued to be played at frantic speed, Argyle’s composure wobbled and they allowed Luton in for some chances, including an Adebayo header from deep inside the area that he should probably have buried, or at least hit the target. He did neither.
Just before the hour mark, Argyle made two more changes, bringing on Adam Forshaw and Ibrahim Cissoko for Al Hajj and Obafemi, while Luton subbed a sub, taking off the injured Andersen and replacing him with Victor Moses.
If this game was not idiosyncratic enough, try this passage of play over a couple of minutes.
Firstly, off set Gyabi on another marauding run from in his own territory, running towards a Luton defence seemingly aware of their lack of retreating numbers. Through the middle, Hardie steered his run to occupy at least one white shirt, with Whittaker and Cissoko options on either flank. Gyabi chose left - and got it right.
Cissoko took the ball in well and demonstrated his fleetness of foot to shift onto his left and drive a shot across Kaminski and into the net.
Luton kicked off, and scored. Well, not directly, but a matter of seconds before they worked the ball down the left, found Moses coming in off the right, and he lashed in low past Grimshaw.
The cushion that Argyle had so desperately craved had lasted such little a time that it had almost worked against them, as suddenly Luton were on the scoresheet and had momentum with them.
Luton did have chances – mainly from a litany of corners, which seemed to come along at about one a minute at one stage – but Argyle stood firm.
In the end, it was the Pilgrims looking more likely to get another goal from the game, with Randell rattling the crossbar and Forshaw forcing a save from Kaminski – and then the game was sealed.
Starting off with a superb double challenge from Lewis Gibson to win possession, Ibrahim Cissoko picked up the ball. No-one would blame conservative supporters who saw him with the ball on the left wing, two defenders in front of him, and thought, ‘take it in the corner!’
Cissoko obeyed, and boringly played out the remaining minutes. Oh wait, no, sorry – he flick-flacked into the centre, had a shot blocked, and then casually rolled the ball into the corner of the net to seal matters.
Argyle: 31 Daniel Grimshaw, 2 Bali Mumba (22 Brendan Galloway, half-time), 6 Kornel Szucs, 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 9 Ryan Hardie (26 Muhamed Tijani, 79), 10 Morgan Whittaker, 14 Michael Obafemi (7 Ibrahim Cissoko, 58), 17 Lewis Gibson, 18 Darko Gyabi (4 Jordan Houghton, 71), 20 Adam Randell, 28 Rami Al Hajj (27 Adam Forshaw, 58). Substitutes: 25 Marko Marosi (gk), 11 Callum Wright, 15 Mustapha Bundu, 22 Brendan Galloway, 44 Victor Palsson.
Goals: Al Hajj 8, Cissoko 69, 90+3.
Booked: Randell 36.
Luton: 24 Thomas Kaminski, 2 Reuell Walters, 6 Mark McGuinness, 8 Tom Krauss, 11 Elijah Adebayo (10 Cauley Woodrow, 75), 14 Tahith Chong (19 Jacob Brown, half-time), 15 Teden Mengi (5 Mads Andersen, 42, (7 Victor Moses, 59)), 16 Reece Burke, 18 Jordan Clark (capt), 37 Zack Nelson (25 Joe Taylor, 75), 45 Alfie Doughty. Substitutes: 1 James Shea (gk), 13 Marvelous Nakamba, 17 Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, 20 Liam Walsh.
Goals: Moses 71.
Booked: Adebayo 15, Walters 83, Burke 86, Clark 87.
Referee: John Busby
Attendance: 16,616 (1,113 away)
