Breaking News: Steven Schumacher Admitted He Felt Drained After A ‘Mad’ Championship Match And Drops Heartfelt 3 Words To Plymouth Argyle Boss
We made hard work of Rotherham United win admits Plymouth Argyle boss
Steven Schumacher Admitted He Felt Drained After A ‘Mad’ Championship Match And Drops Heartfelt 3 Words To Plymouth Argyle Boss
Steven Schumacher saw his Plymouth Argyle side overcome the adversity of serious injuries to Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu to beat bottom-of-the-table Rotherham United 3-2 in an incident-packed Championship match at Home Park
The Pilgrims conceded an early goal against Rotherham, who have not won an away league game since November 2022, before Hardie and Bundu both suffered injuries within a few minutes of each other which resulted in them being taken to hospital. Finn Azaz equalised with a penalty during 15 minutes of added time at the end of the first half and then put Argyle 2-1 ahead in the 52nd minute.
It looked like their task had been made easier when Millers’ defender Daniel Ayala was sent-off soon afterwards for a second bookable offence but substitute Tom Eaves grabbed a 77th minute equaliser for Rotherham.
: Argyle player ratings as Finn Azaz stars in defeat of Rotherham
Try PlymouthLive Premium for free with no ads, fun puzzles and new features
It appeared as though the game was going to end in a 2-2 draw until Azaz set up Morgan Whittaker to score his ninth goal of the season in the sixth minute of added time to clinch a vital victory, who moved up to 16th position in the Championship
Schumacher said: “It was mad, it was one of them days. I wish it wasn’t as eventful. It was quite a draining afternoon, there was a lot going on but, at the end of the day, the result was the most important thing.
“We thought we played really well on Wednesday night (when 10-man Argyle drew 0-0 away to Queens Park Rangers) and worked so hard to get a result from that game, and we wanted to back that up with three points.
“We made hard work of it really, especially when we went 2-1 up and then had 10 men against us. It should have been more comfortable than it was but credit to Rotherham, I though they were brilliant.
“They were really well organised, hard-working and a massive threat when they were throwing balls in the box. It was a tough game and a tougher game than probably what it should have been.”
Schumacher had not felt comfortable even with Argyle leading 2-1 against 10 men because of his respect for the tactical astuteness of recently-appointed Rotherham boss Leam Richardson and his assistant Rob Kelly.
He was correct to be wary because Eaves put the visitors level when substitute Sean Morrison, the Plymouth-born defender, headed the ball across to him.
Schumacher said: “I just thought we had blown it and given it away. That’s why I had made the two positive substitutions in Kaine (Kesler-Hayden) and Callum Wright because I felt we needed that third goal.
“I could see the way Rotherham were set up. They wanted the game to be slow. I know Rob and Leam really well and they are clever.
“That’s what they would have wanted, they wanted that tempo to go right down and then maybe get one chance from a set piece and that’s kind of what happened. They have been around the block. Rob is a coach that I learned pretty much everything off when I first started out in this game.
“Their game plan was nearly perfect and, thankfully, we managed to get going again, get the tempo going, and create one more big chance – and it came off.”
It was a second successive game at Home Park where Argyle came out on top following a last-gasp goal, after an Adam Randell strike secured a 2-1 victory over Stoke City a fortnight earlier.
Schumacher said: “The lads are young, they are inexperienced, we make mistakes at times, which we can all accept, but what we can never doubt, and what no-one can ever say about our team is we ever give up.
“They play with so much energy. Elliot (Turner, Argyle’s head of fitness and conditioning) and the medical team have them so fit that they can keep going right until the very end.
“Then when we have got players in the team who have got some quality, the likes of Morgan and Finn, then you have always got a chance.
Leave a Reply