Plymouth Argyle show exciting attacking promise in Stockport County victory

Plymouth Argyle clinched a second consecutive League One win at Home Park as they produced an excellent display of attacking football in a 4-2 victory over Stockport County.

There were encouraging signs that Tom Cleverley’s young Pilgrims’ side are finally starting to click into gear after a very difficult start to the season, in which they lost five of their opening six games.

They followed up a 1-0 defeat of Blackpool in their previous home league game a fortnight earlier with a much more confident performance in front of a jubilant 15,000-strong Green Army.

They went ahead after an own goal by Stockport striker Kyle Wootton and Caleb Watts then made it 2-0 in the 39th minute with a terrific swerving shot from outside the penalty area.

Stockport replied in added time when Ollie Norwood scored from a controversially-awarded penalty but midfielder Bradley Ibrahim restored Argyle’s two-goal cushion with a fine low strike soon after the restart.

Striker Lorent Tolaj put the Pilgrims 4-1 up in the 75th minute with a confident low finish past goalkeeper Corey Addai and a very late County goal from Wootton was only academic.

There are still plenty of things for Cleverley to work on with his squad in the weeks ahead but with the summer transfer window now closed it allows the Pilgrims’ boss the chance to fully focus on getting his team playing the way he wants them to.

Joe Edwards returned to the Argyle starting line-up to captain the side against Stockport in what was the only change from the 4-0 defeat away to League One leaders Cardiff City the previous Saturday.

Ayman Benarous was the player who made way for Edwards as he dropped to a substitutes’ bench which also included new recruit Owen Dale after his loan move from Oxford United.

Argyle’s other transfer deadline day loan signing was Middlesbrough’s 19-year-old midfielder Law McCabe, who played for England under-20s when they lost 2-1 to Italy in Chesterfield on Friday night but made the trip to Home Park to watch his new team-mates in action.

Danish defender Mathias Ross was also among the substitutes as he was included in the squad for a league game for the first time since he joined Argyle on a three-year contract. It came after he had made his debut in the midweek 2-0 Vertu Trophy victory over Cheltenham Town.

There was a Stockport debut for midfielder Ben Osborn, who was strongly linked with a move to Argyle late in the summer transfer window but he signed for County on loan from Derby.

Argyle lined up in a new 3-4-2-1 formation, with Kornel Szucs, Alex Mitchell and Brendan Wiredu the central defenders while Ewards and Matty Sorinola were the wing-backs.

Malachi Boateng and Ibrahim were the two central midfielders and Lorent Tolaj led the attack with support from Bali Mumba, who was making his 150th appearance for Argyle, and Watts.

There was an eighth minute yellow card for Mitchell after he slid in at full stretch and brought down Stockport’s Jayden Fevrier as he tried to break down the right.

Edwards had to make an important challenge on County striker Wootton inside the penalty area after the ball had been flicked inside to him by Nathan Lowe, with Luca Ashby-Hammond able to collect the loose ball.

Argyle’s fans were aggrieved when Fevrier was not shown a yellow card after a heavy challenge on Sorinola, who needed treatment before he was able to continue playing. Referee Neil Hair awarded a free-kick but took no further action.

The match was played at a fast pace but there were no clearcut scoring chances as both defences were on top. However, Argyle took the lead in the 24th minute when Wootton conceded an own goal.

A corner was swung into the Stockport penalty area by Sorinola on the Pilgrims’ left side and as Wootton tussled for the ball with Ibrahim he headed it into his own goal.

The visitors had a good amount of the possession after that but Argyle then extended their advantage in the 39th minute with a shot from Watts from outside the penalty area which swerved into the opposite corner of the net.

Argyle almost gifted Stockport a goal soon afterwards when Mumba gave the ball away inside the box and with Ashby-Hammond out of his goal in anticipation of a back pass. It eventually needed a strong challenge from Mitchell to prevent Wootton from applying the finishing touch from close range.

However, County did reduce their deficit at the start of added time at the end of the first half. They were awarded a penalty when Hair ruled that Ibrahim had fouled Lowe when defending a deep corner and Norwood confidently tucked away the spot kick.

Edwards was in a long conversation with the referee as they walked off the pitch for the interval while the Green Army made their feelings clear about his decision to give Stockport their penalty.

It did not take Argyle long in the second half to restore their two-goal lead as Ibrahim scored with an excellent low shot from outside the box, with the ball clipping the inside of a post as it went into the net.

It looked like Addai had been expecting the Pilgrims’ midfielder to try to curl the ball towards the opposite side of the goal and was caught out as the shot went in off his near post.

Argyle then had an opportunity to go further ahead when Mumba got in behind the Stockport defence and cut the ball back to Tolaj but he could not quite get the contact he needed to direct it into the net.

Sorinola was booked for pulling back Stockport substitute Malik Mothersille when the away side caught Argyle on the counter attack after Addai caught a corner and released the ball quickly.

Ibrahim then went close to getting his second goal and the Pilgrims’ fourth when he showed quick feet inside the Stockport box to create a shooting opportunity with his left foot and the ball went just wide.

Not long afterwards, the Green Army encouraged Ibrahim to let fly from 30 yards out and he did so, with Addai having to reach out to make the save. The tall Stockport ‘keeper then had to make a smart low stop from Mumba’s strike as Argyle pressed for a fourth goal of the game.

Ashby-Hammond had to make an unconventional save when he kicked away a low drive from Norwood from 20 yards before Argyle launched a counter attack which saw Ibrahim play the ball outside to the advancing Boateng, who put the ball wide of the target.

Dale made his Argyle debut as a 74th minute substitute for Watts and only moments later it was 4-1 when Tolaj shrugged off a challenge from Stockport defender Callum Connolly and confidently placed a low shot past Addai.

County still posed an attacking threat, though, and Wootton’s glancing header from a corner flicked off the outside of Ashby-Hammond’s far post.

Dale had a chance for Argyle but fired wide from the edge of the box before Cleverley made a double substitution in the 82nd minute with Owen Oseni and Ross sent on for Tolaj and Wiredu respectively.

Benarous was also sent on for Mumba as the match went into seven extra minutes of added time, and although there was a very late second goal for Stockport from Wootton it did not take the gloss off an excellent Argyle performance.

ARGYLE: Luca Ashby-Hammond; Kornel Szucs, Alex Mitchell, Brendan Wiredu (Mathias Ross 82 mins); Joe Edwards, Bradley Ibrahim, Malachi Boateng, Matty Sorinola; Caleb Watts (Owen Dale 74 mins), Bali Mumba (Ayman Benarous 90 mins); Lorent Tolaj (Owen Oseni 82 mins)

Substitutes (not used): Zak Baker, Caleb Roberts, Tegan Finn.

STOCKPORT: Corey Addai; Tyler Onyango (Corey O’Keefe 66 mins), Callum Connolly, Ethan Pye; Jayden Fevrier (Malik Mothersille 59 mins), Owen Moxon (Odin Bailey 86 mins), Ollie Norwood, Ben Osborn; Nathan Lowe (Lewis Fiorini 86 mins), Jack Diamond; Kyle Wootton.

Substitutes (not used): Ben Hinchliffe, Joseph Olowu, Lewis Forini, Odin Bailey, Brad Hills.

REFEREE: Neil Hair

ATTENDANCE: 15,719

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