The 23-year-old hometown hero scored in the seventh minute of added time as the Pilgrims clinched three Championship points with a 2-1 defeat of Stoke City
Adam Randell, the hometown hero who marked his 100th appearance for Plymouth Argyle with a storybook ending by scoring a last-gasp winner to beat Stoke City 2-1 in the Championship, had the script written for him.
It was the 23-year-old midfielder from Plymstock’s eighth goal for the Pilgrims, but his first at Home Park, and it came in the seventh minute of added time in front of a packed Devonport End. After the final whistle, the adoring Green Army serenaded him with “He’s one of our own.”
The academy graduate was still beaming when he met with the media after the game, and he was likely to do so for the rest of the evening. The script simply could not have been written any better for Adam Randell, the hometown hero who marked his 100th appearance for Plymouth Argyle with a storybook ending by getting a last-gasp winning goal to beat Stoke City 2-1 in the Championship.
It was the eighth time the 23-year-old midfielder from Plymstock had scored for the Pilgrims but the first occasion at Home Park, and it came in front of a packed Devonport End in the seventh minute of added time. No wonder he was serenaded with ‘He’s one of our own’ by the adoring Green Army after the final whistle.
The academy graduate was still smiling broadly when he met the media after the match, and that probably continued long into the evening. “It feels absolutely amazing, and I really hope I can do it again because it was just the best feeling.
“I was amazed at the sound when it went in, and I just went over and did a massive knee slide, and thankfully the lads all came with me. I had a couple of them rugby tackle me from behind!”
When it was mentioned to Randell that it was his first goal at Home Park, he replied, “Finally,” before adding, “I have managed to drag it out this long until roughly 50 games; it must be that I have played here. I’m absolutely over the moon.”
Argyle finished the game strongly as their second-half substitutes, including Randell, made a positive impact. Another of them, Callum Wright, was heavily involved in the build-up to their last-gasp goal.
Wright broke into the Stoke penalty area and had a low shot pushed away by goalkeeper Jack Bonham, but only as far as Luke Cundle, whose shot was blocked by Ciaran Clark.
However, the ball rebounded out to Randell, and he fired home to spark wild scenes of celebration, both among the midfielder and his team-mates on the pitch and also among the fans around the Theatre of Greens.
Randell said, “Cal did some nice skill down the line, fired one across, the keeper saved it, and it came to Luke. He scuffed one; it got cleared off the line and came to me.
“I also scuffed one but thankfully mine went in. I just went absolutely crazy, sprinted over to the corner as quick as I could, and just celebrated.”
Not only was it Randell’s first goal at Home Park, it was also the first time he had been the Argyle matchwinner. “I hadn’t actually thought about that but I’m pleased I managed to have such a big effect on the game. It was a great moment that I’m so pleased to share with everyone.”
Randell finished the game playing at right-back so it was perhaps surprising that he was in the centre of the Stoke penalty area to score the decisive goal.
“I don’t really know how I found myself there, to be fair,” he said. “I think I was just so eager to get a goal and have that impact on the game.
“I obviously came on late, so I knew that if I needed to I had the legs to get back, and I guess you have got to take a bit of a risk to get a reward, and thankfully it paid off.”
All of this came came as Randell clocked up his 100th appearance for Argyle after making his debut in a very low-key 2-0 EFL Trophy group stage defeat away to Newport County in November 2018.
“It’s a big milestone for me; it’s something I never really thought of getting to, but I’m so pleased to have reached that, and hopefully I will get a few more in the bank.”
Randell gave a glimpse into what the scenes were like in the Argyle changing room after their sixth home championship win of the season, which moved them four positions up the table to 16th.
“The lads were all really happy for me; they know how much it means to me to score here,” he said. “A few of them didn’t know that was my first goal and my 100th appearance both at the same time, so they were saying as well that it was all written for me.
“The ones I have known for years—Coops (goalkeeper Mike Cooper) and Nance (first team coach Kevin Nancekivell)—were absolutely buzzing for me, and I’m really pleased I could share that with them.
“They were really happy; I think there was a lot of relief as well, because that’s a big win for us. We needed the points.”
Adam Randell celebrates after scoring Argyle’s last-gasp winning goal in the 2-1 Championship victory over Stoke City at Home Park on Saturday, December 2, 2023 Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Adam Randell celebrates after scoring Argyle’s last-gasp winning goal in the 2-1 Championship victory over Stoke City at Home Park on Saturday, December 2, 2023 Photo: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Argyle had gone into the game off a painful 1-0 defeat away to Coventry City last Tuesday when the Sky Blues beat them with a controversially awarded goal after the ball appeared to have gone out of play.
Then, the Pilgrims found themselves trailing Stoke after a 23rd-minute goal from Tyrese Campbell, and there was some frustration building around the stadium before Mustapha Bundu grabbed an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Randell said: “It was obviously a tough one to take (the defeat by Coventry), but this group is not going to just lay down and feel sorry for themselves; we are going to always fight, and we know our home record is good.
“The crowd really gets behind us, so we know we can play well when we are here, we can perform, and we can beat anyone on our day.”
Since the start of the 2022–23 season, Argyle have won 26 of their 33 league games at Home Park, and Stoke were the latest side to find out how hard the Pilgrims are to beat in front of their own fans.
Randell said, “It’s obviously a tough place for people to come, and we want to make sure we keep that going. We will want to take pride in our home form and then hopefully pick up some more points along the way when we are playing away as well.”
In stark contrast to their home record, it is just three points—three draws and six defeats—in away Championship games this term, and Argyle’s next trip is a daunting one to table-topping Leicester City, who lead with 46 points from their 19 matches.
Randell said, “They have got loads of quality players. They have a brilliant stadium that I can’t wait to go to as well. It’s going to be a massive test for us, but we want to test ourselves against the best, and at this moment in time they have proven they are the best, so we will go there and give it our absolute best shot and hopefully come away with something.”
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