CHAMPIONSHIP TOTW - WAYNE ROONEY'S PLYMOUTH ARGYLE DENY HISTORY-CHASING SUNDERLAND

Sunderland went into the weekend’s round of Championship fixtures seeking a fifth successive league win to start a league season for the first time in the club’s history but a five-goal thriller saw Wayne Rooney pick up his first league win as Plymouth Argyle manager thanks to a late winner from captain Joe Edwards. 

Plymouth Argyle beating the league leaders heading into matchday five leads to them being awarded The Deck’s Championship Team of The Week, taking the crown from Blackburn Rovers who held Scott Parker’s Burnley before the international break.

Plymouth Argyle 3-2 Sunderland

Plymouth Argyle were heavily beaten by Sheffield Wednesday on the opening weekend but have improved in subsequent matchdays, picking up two points from the three subsequent games. They had been beaten by Stoke City before the international break in a disappointing result and had it all do after falling behind to Patrick Roberts’ first half-penalty.

An unlucky own goal from Dan Ballard, who saw Morgan Whittaker’s effort well saved by Anthony Patterson in the Sunderland goal, only for the ball to hit the crossbar and subsequently hit the defender who could do little to prevent the home side’s equaliser.

A penalty from Ryan Hardie and a late winner from Joe Edwards after Patterson had parried a shot into his path in the dying moments of the game should give Plymouth Argyle a major boost after a difficult start to the Championship season under the former Derby County and DC United manager.

Manchester United’s record goalscorer had a terrible time at Birmingham City last season and it could be his last chance to prove himself at this level so it is imperative that he improves on the 21st-place finish the club managed in 2023/24. His team had to suffer in a difficult 45 minutes but improved in the second half thanks to excellent displays from 33-year-old Edwards and Ibrahim Cissoko, who joined this summer on loan from Ligue 1 side Toulouse.

21-year-old Cissoko put in an impressive defensive display, completing six tackles and offering an outlet in attack, hitting the woodwork and showing his ability on the ball with a team-high three dribbles. The winger has played and scored in the French and Dutch top flight and looks to have the skill set to be a major asset at this level.

Upcoming Fixtures and Future Prospects

After narrowly avoiding relegation by just a single point, the immediate aim for Plymouth Argyle will be survival and they must improve on their away record, which yielded just three league wins in 2023/24. They travel to West Brom next, with the Baggies topping the table after winning 3-0 at Portsmouth.

West Brom were narrowly beaten to The Deck’s Team of The Week award and will be massive favourites for this tie. It would take a monumental effort for Plymouth Argyle to shock one of the league’s in-form sides in back-to-back weekends but if they do it would demonstrate that they can avoid relegation.

The Pilgrims have the second-lowest expected goals tally of just 3.55 and have the highest goals-against figure of 12.38. Goalkeeper Conor Hazard has had a big hand in them conceding just eight times but has been ruled out for three months in a major blow to their hopes of building on the win over Sunderland.

The likes of Cissoko, Whittaker and Michael Obafemi have enough star quality to make Plymouth Argyle a threat to most sides in the Championship but with games against Luton Town and Burnley to follow the West Brom match, there could be more pain ahead for Wayne Rooney’s side.

All the evidence points to another relegation battle, but this result has shown they are capable of beating any side in the division.

2024-09-16T21:46:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd