Steven Schumacher Emotional Words After Plymouth Argyle Draw At QPR

Steven Schumacher Emotional Words After Plymouth Argyle Draw At QPR
The Pilgrims played for 75 minutes of game time at Loftus Road with only 10 players after the first half dismissal of defender Dan Scarr

 

Steven Schumacher was proud of the effort put in by his Plymouth Argyle players as they dug in for a 0-0 draw away to Queens Park Rangers despite the 25th minute dismissal of defender Dan Scarr.

However, Schumacher also had ‘a slight tinge of disappointment’ the Pilgrims did not come away with a win after creating some good goalscoring chances before Scarr was red-carded.

Striker Ryan Hardie, on his first start since late October after recovering from a hamstring injury, had the best opportunity when he chipped the ball past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from close range but it went also over the bar.

Argyle were reduced to 10 players when Scarr made a lunging tackle on Ilias Chair and referee Tony Harrington had no hesitation in brandishing a red card, but they withstood lots of QPR pressure over the rest of the match with some strong disciplined defending.

Goalkeeper Conor Hazard also put in an assured performance between the posts as he deputised for the injured Mike Cooper.

Schumacher said: “It felt like a long time (with 10 players) but, as I said to the players there at the end, I’m so proud of them because of the effort they put in under those circumstances was top drawer.

“I felt we deserved something from the game. Everything that QPR threw at us we blocked well. We blocked crosses where we could, Conor dealt with everything that went on target really comfortably.

“I’m pleased from that side of it to come away with something from the game but also there is also a slight tinge of disappointment because I felt we should have scored in the first 10-15 minutes.

“I felt we were really good, we played well, we created the best opportunities and just didn’t make the most of them again, and that’s the most frustrating thing. We should have held onto a 1-0 win rather than a 0-0.

“With the first one, I think Morgan (Whittaker) has probably got to slide Luke Cundle in and get it closer to the goal. I know he can shoot from those positions – he has scored so many goals for us like that – but I felt he made the wrong choice on that one when we had an overload.

“Then Ryan had one saved by Begovic which he could have done a little bit better with it, and the one he clipped over the bar – which was probably the biggest chance of the whole game – I don’t know how he has done that.

“I wish we had got one of them in because then it would have been a perfect night but we didn’t. That’s unfortunate but it’s kind of what we are dealing with at the moment, that’s where we are at.”

Argyle were without Cooper due to a dead leg which he suffered in the 4-0 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday so Hazard made his first start since the Pilgrims lost 3-1 to Swansea City at Home Park on October 7, although he had played three times for Northern Ireland in Euro 2024 qualifiers in the intervening period.

Callum Burton was the goalkeeping cover for Hazard on the bench as Steven Schumacher made eight changes to his team for the clash against QPR, with Cooper the only one as a result of an injury.

The three players to retain their places following the defeat at Leicester were Lewis Gibson, Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker, while there was a first start since late October for Ryan Hardie after his recent recovery from a hamstring injury.

It took the Pilgrims less than 30 seconds to have their first scoring chance as Azaz sent Whittaker running forward and his eventual low left-foot drive from 20 yards was saved by Asmir Begovic.

Hardie also had an early opportunity when QPR gave the ball away inside their own half but the striker rushed his shot when he had more time and dragged it well wide of the target.

Rangers were very sloppy in possession and another lapse allowed Whittaker to send Hardie racing clear down the inside right channel and his strike was beaten away by Begovic for a corner.

It had been a good start from Argyle but despite some decent sights of goal they had not been able to capitalise on any of them.

It was the same story in the 13th minute when Azaz played in Hardie but his dink over Begovic from close range went over the bar rather than into the net and moments later, Whittaker sent a low angled shot narrowly wide of the far post.

QPR had their first chance in the 17th minute when a first-time cross from Osman Kakay picked out Lyndon Dykes and the Scotland international striker went close with a header.

Argyle right-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden then needed to make an important block when Chris Willock had a good shooting opportunity for QPR inside the penalty area.

Chair had a left-foot drive safely held onto by Hazard, for his first save of the match, before Scarr was sent-off in the 25th minute.

The defender did not hold back as he went in for a tackle on Chair when the Rangers attacker tried to run past him close to the centre circle inside Argyle territory and referee Tony Harrington deemed the resulting foul was worthy of a red card rather than a yellow.

Before play restarted, Schumacher sent on Julio Pleguezuelo to replace Scarr in central defence, with Azaz the player taken off.

QPR midfielder Sam Field sent a shot over the bar after intercepting a pass out of defence from Whittaker before a low drive from Andre Dozzell was well saved low to his right by Hazard.

Rangers kept up the pressure on 10-man Argyle as half-time approached and when Dykes got on the end of a cross, despite close marking from Brendan Galloway, he touched the ball onto the base of Hazard’s left post.

Willock also fired inches wide for QPR from 18 yards out as the Pilgrims just about hung on until the interval without conceding an opening goal.

QPR had two players yellow-carded in the first half and both Field and Kenneth Paal were replaced as part of a triple substitution for the start of the second period.

Charlie Kelman had a low drive saved by Hazard as Rangers tried to keep up the pressure on Argyle while Galloway made an excellent block when he got in the way of a drive from Elijah Dixon-Bonner.

Schumacher made a double substitution in the 57th minute with Mickel Miller and Adam Randell sent on for Bali Mumba and Whittaker.

Randell was soon involved in the action when he played in Hardie who sent a cross beyond the far post and a diving Kesler-Hayden could not quite direct his header back on target as the ball went wide.

By now Argyle were playing with three central defenders in Pleguezuelo, Gibson and Galloway while Kelser-Hayden and Miller were full-backs.

Dykes had a header pushed away by Hazard as he dived to his right before Hardie made way for the fresh legs of Mustapha Bundu in the 77th minute and Joe Edwards took over from Kesler-Hayden.

Matt Butcher was a late substitute for Luke Cundle and Chair had a low drive for QPR from outside saved by Hazard as the game went into eight added minutes at the end of the second half.

Dykes had a couple of headers comfortably saved by Hazard after crosses from the left and the Scottish international also glanced wide from another ball into the box but QPR could not come up with a winning goal.

ARGYLE: Conor Hazard; Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Joe Edwards 77 mins), Dan Scarr, Lewis Gibson, Brendan Galloway; Luke Cundle (Matt Butcher 87 mins), Jordan Houghton, Finn Azaz (Julio Pleguezuelo 28 mins); Morgan Whittaker (Adam Randell 57 mins), Ryan Hardie (Mustapha Bundu 77 mins), Bali Mumba (Mickel Miller 57 mins).

Substitutes: Callum Burton, Callum Wright, Ben Waine.

QPR: Asmir Begovic; Osman Kakay (Reggie Cannon h/t), Steve Cook, Jimmy Dunne, Kenneth Paal (Ziyad Larkeche h/t, Taylor Richards 72 mins); Sam Field (Elijah Dixon-Bonner h/t), Andre Dozzell; Charlie Kelman (Paul Smyth 77 mins), Ilias Chair, Chris Willock (Sinclair Armstrong 90 mins); Lyndon Dykes.