Wayne Rooney bemoans penalty decision as Plymouth suffer more away day misery

Posted Thursday, October 24, 2024 by PA

Wayne Rooney was unhappy with the referee and his strikers after Plymouth’s 1-0 defeat at Millwall.

A first-half goal from 19-year-old Lions winger Romain Esse left Argyle winless in all six of their matches on the road this season.

But former England captain Rooney was angry that ref Sam Allison awarded Plymouth a first-minute penalty for a foul on Mustapha Bundu, only to reverse his decision when he noticed an offside flag.

“We should have had a penalty,” he said. “Again another decision which is against us.

“I asked the fourth official why the referee gave it and then changed his decision. He said Callum Wright passed it back into Mus, who was offside.

“But it’s quite clear Callum didn’t pass it back. A Millwall player played it back into Mus. So it’s not offside. Again it’s these small decisions.

“The referees are always honest with us and the feedback we get, and we’ve had it the last few weeks now, is when they’ve made a mistake. I’m sure we’re going to get that feedback after this game.”

Argyle have only picked up one point, and scored just one goal, on their travels this season, and they barely registered a shot against the Lions.

“I’ve said to the lads every attacking player who entered the field tonight wasn’t good enough,” added the ex-Manchester United forward.

“We didn’t create anywhere near enough today, we didn’t hold the ball up, we didn’t run in behind, so that’s disappointing.”

Millwall have had their own problems this season, not least in front of goal, having picked up just two wins from their first 10 matches.

But they grabbed the winner in the 13th minute when Esse won possession off Bali Mumba in midfield and took off towards the penalty area.

The England Under-19 wideman played a neat one-two with George Honeyman before coolly tucking the ball past Argyle goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw.

Lions boss Neil Harris said: “I’m really pleased for the players. We haven’t got the points return we really deserve, we’ve made those chances all season.

“Tonight it wasn’t one of our better performances but we still did enough to win the game.

“Romain showed that moment of quality in the final third. We didn’t get the second goal, but we did show a good mentality to see the game out.”