Wayne Rooney salutes ‘big win’ as Plymouth stun Sunderland in stoppage time

Posted Sunday, September 15, 2024 by PA

Wayne Rooney expressed his delight after claiming his first Championship win as Plymouth boss following a dramatic 3-2 home victory over previously-unbeaten leaders Sunderland.

Skipper Joe Edwards scored a stoppage-time winner after Romaine Mundle had cancelled out Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty which put Plymouth 2-1 up.

Patrick Roberts’ first-half spot-kick had given Sunderland a half-time lead before Daniel Ballard’s own goal levelled matters.

Rooney said: “Obviously we are delighted with three points. I am pleased for the players because they worked hard for it.

“I think any win is a big win. We have had some good performances all over the pitch.

“We were a bit sloppy in the first half, gave away a penalty and go in 1-0 down at half-time.

“I said to them ‘If you up the energy and get your shots off we open the game and we will win the game’.

“We were much better in the second half, played with more energy, put crosses in and got players into the box.

“When they equalised you think ‘oh no not again’ but then Joe gets the late winner.

“If you have a good captain it makes your job easier.

“Ryan does what you want him to do, comes off the bench, wins the penalty and scores to put us 2-1 up.

“It always feels nice to win in any game and to get off the mark in the league. It will now be when is the second win coming?

“I am genuinely pleased for the team and the fans because the fans have seen what we have been trying to do.

“It was a big win for the lads. Hopefully that’s the start of a good run for us.

“I felt the game would be won late on. Not that late on but I had to make a decision on the team that started and finished.”

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris was in a diplomatic mood after the game.

He said: “We scored two goals and it’s never easy to score two goals away. We conceded three goals as well so that’s our problem.

“The first half we had kind of control of the game but it wasn’t a strong control and we felt we had many problems to solve, especially their wingers.

“With the ball we felt it was possible to unbalance their team but we didn’t make the most of that possession.

“A key point is we can have the ball and defend and not always showing a willingness to unbalance (the opposition) and create chances.

“During the second half we still had this problem with their wingers, who were strong today.

“The game became more chaotic as well with many second balls. We lost one, two or three balls during our build-up.

“Our shape was open and at that moment they had the possibility to attack and create chances.

“We need to learn from this experience. When we are not so good with the ball, you can still manage the game to win or to keep the score. It wasn’t the case today.

“It’s been interesting to observe the reaction in the dressing room. We were not too optimistic after our four wins in a row and we are not too pessimistic after a loss.

“Now it’s a question of balance.”