Plymouth Breathe Fresh Hope Into Survival Bid

24/02/2025 17:16 Share

Plymouth Breathe Fresh Hope Into Survival Bid

Plymouth Argyle’s quest to remain in the EFL Championship was given fresh hope in February after the Pilgrims battled to a hard-fought eight points from a possible 15.

The Vertu-backed side had gone into a new month still chasing a first win under Miron Muslic, but having been given a boost in confidence after a battling 2-2 draw with Sunderland in the final game of January.

February kicked off with the visit of West Bromwich Albion to Home Park, with Muslic able to introduce two new signings to his line-up in the shape of defenders Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic.

Argyle looked stronger as the back but WBA took the lead with little more than 15 minutes left when Jayson Molumby netted from close range to put the visitors in front.

The lead lasted just three minutes before Ryan Hardie equalised from the penalty spot after a hand ball and he then evaded the off-side trap with just two minutes left to fire in the winner and secure a first victory in 16 matches.

That league win came before Argyle shocked Premier League leaders Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round, with the return to Championship action a few days later against Millwall being equally memorable.

A fast start to the game saw Argyle go two goals clear within ten minutes of the start after a Joe Bryan own goal and a penalty from Hardie.

A second goal from the forward in between strikes from Mustapha Bundu and Katic saw Argyle hit five goals in a league game for the first time since September 2023, whilst it was the first back-to-back league victories for more than twelve months.

After the trip to Blackburn Rovers ended in a 2-0 defeat, Plymouth headed into two huge games at the bottom of the table, the first of which was a trip to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town.

The home side grabbed the lead ten minutes into the second half when Jacob Brown scored with his first touch after coming on from the bench but Plymouth battled back to equalise through Talovierov and grab a point.

The month drew to a close with the visit of Cardiff City and the Welsh side hit the front early on when Yousef Salech opened the scoring.

After Dimitros Goutas was sent off for the visitors, Plymouth fought back and a first goal in English football for Muhamed Tijani secured another draw as Argyle ended the month three points from safety having closed on their rivals ahead.

March will begin with a trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup before five huge Championship games, including a home game with Derby who currently sit one place lower in the league table.