Sheffield Wednesday still winless as Plymouth claim comfortable victory

Posted Thursday, October 26, 2023 by PA

Ryan Hardie took his Championship goal tally to six as Plymouth kept bottom-placed Sheffield Wednesday winless with a 3-0 victory at Home Park.

Mustapha Bundu and Morgan Whittaker scored within a four-minute spell at the end of the first half to put Argyle 2-0 up and 70th-minute substitute Hardie added the gloss.

Winless Wednesday have now lost 10 of their opening 13 league games, with their new boss Danny Rohl suffering back-to-back defeats.

Whittaker came closest to putting Argyle ahead in the eighth minute when his delightful curling chip from outside the box from the right came back off the far post, having beaten diving keeper Cameron Dawson.

Wednesday responded well and should have scored when Josh Windass sent Anthony Musaba away down the right wing with a defence-splitting pass in the 27th minute.

Musaba raced into the Argyle penalty area and sent a thumping cross across the six-yard box but none of the Wednesday strikers could add a finishing touch.

Musaba’s next cross into the box, again from the right, was met by striker Lee Gregory, whose first time 31st-minute strike flew over, before Windass let fly with a 25-yard free-kick which fit-again keeper Michael Cooper took into his midriff.

Argyle countered with Bundu putting Whittaker in on goal. The Argyle playmaker was fouled just outside the area by Dominic Iorfa. From the free-kick Bundu let fly with an unstoppable shot that gave Dawson no chance as it flew into the top corner off the underside of the bar after 44 minutes.

Four minutes later Whittaker doubled Argyle’s advantage latching on to a back pass from Wednesday defender Pol Valentin before driving forward and then calmly slotting past stranded Dawson.

Argyle started the second half much as they had finished the first, on the front foot, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden teeing up Finn Azaz, whose shot on the run was well saved by Dawson in the 53rd minute.

From the corner the ball was passed to Whittaker, whose shot from outside the box flew just over.

At the other end Cooper did well to save from Windass, from the left hand-side of the penalty area, following a superb pass from Wednesday’s midfield lynchpin Barry Bannan.

As Argyle grew in confidence, Azaz let fly from distance, hitting a bouncing ball on the rise and producing another good save from Dawson.

Azaz was again denied by Dawson in the 67th minute as he tried to place the ball past the keeper, who made a superb one-handed stop, diving to his left to keep out the goal-bound shot.

Argyle surged further ahead following a lightning counter with Azaz drawing defenders before sliding a pass to Hardie, who finished with a low, first-time strike from just inside the box after 76 minutes.