Rotherham United vs Plymouth Argyle

Fri 5th Apr

Kick-off 20:00

ROT Rotherham

PLY Argyle

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The Game
Rotherham United v Argyle. AESSEAL New York Stadium. Friday, 5 April. 8pm. Sky Bet Championship.

The Opposition
Rotherham are bottom of the Championship, and survived being relegated on Monday, when they beat Millwall at home. It was only the Millers' fourth win of the season, following other victories against Norwich City, Coventry City and Middlesbrough, all at home. If Rotherham do not beat Argyle on Friday night, they will be relegated.

The Gaffer
Leam Richardson was appointed at Rotherham United the week before the Millers visited Home Park, in mid-December.

Richardson played for Bolton Wanderers, Blackpool and Accrington Stanley, becoming caretaker manager of the latter after John Coleman left. Richardson became assistant to new manager Paul Cook, and although he took the job on a full-time basis after Cook left for Chesterfield, Richardson would follow him to Derbyshire, six months later.

His association with Cook continued at Portsmouth and then Wigan Athletic. Cook was sacked by Wigan, and replaced by John Sheridan, whom Richardson also assisted. When former Argyle boss Sheridan left for Swindon, Richardson got the job on a permanent basis, and took the Latics up to the Championship. He left four months into the season after a poor start.

The Squad
Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has played every game for Rotherham in the league this season. The 25-year-old was with Hammerby in his native Sweden as a youth and completed his apprenticeship at Aston Villa. He moved to Leicester City but played only in the EFL Trophy before heading to Rotherham in 2020, and has now played 139 times for the club.

In his career, there is no team that 32-year-old Tom Eaves (above) has scored more goals against than Argyle. Four of those goals came in the 2017/18 season, when Eaves found the net in Gillingham's 2-1 defeat at Home Park, and then got a hat-trick when the Gills beat Argyle 5-2 on the final day of the season. Eaves played for Rotherham in 2013, one of six loan spells away from Bolton Wanderers. Subsequently, he has played for Yeovil Town, Gillingham and Hull City, before moving to Rotherham in 2022. He has four goals this season but has mostly been used from the bench.

Eaves' four-goal tally is matched by defender Hakeem Odoffin, and this makes the pair Rotherham's leading goalscorers this season. Odoffin played for Northampton Town, Livingston and Hamilton Academical before signing for Rotherham in the summer of 2021. He has played 32 league games this season, three as a substitute.

Earlier This Season
When the sides met at Home Park in December, the game would prove to be Steven Schumacher's last as Pilgrims boss. It was a game full of incident, with Rotherham going in front via a goal by Jamie Lindsay on 15 minutes and Argyle equalising through Finn Azaz's penalty just before half-time.

That equaliser came shortly after Argyle had lost Ryan Hardie to a head injury, and his replacement Mustapha Bundu lasted only seven minutes before also going off, this time because of a gashed leg. Both men went to hospital for their injuries.

Azaz scored after the break to put Argyle in front, and when Daniel Ayala was sent off a few minutes later, the Greens looked certain to see the game home. However, Tom Eaves came off the bench and scored to make it 2-2, and Rotherham looked like taking a point back to South Yorkshire, until Morgan Whittaker popped up with a winner five minutes into stoppage time.

A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will be wearing their green home kit for this game.

Tickets
Tickets will be on sale on the day of the game.

Click here for an update.

Argyle TV
Commentary will be provided from AESSEAL New York Stadium by Nathan Albon and former Argyle and Rotherham defender Guy Branston.

Argyle TV’s pre-match show, hosted by Charlie Price and Katie Middleton, will begin at 7pm, and will be available to watch for free on YouTube.

The match is being screened by Sky Sports, which means there are restrictions on domestic broadcast and certain international territories.

Please click here to learn more about Argyle TV for this game.

Buy a match pass to watch the game, here.

Rotherham United 0

Argyle 1

Mumba 32

At the end of a turbulent week for Argyle, Bali Mumba scored the goal to earn a crucial three points in the fight for survival in the Sky Bet Championship.

Four days earlier, the 1-0 loss to Bristol City had prompted the departure of Ian Foster as Head Coach, as the Pilgrims turned to Director of Football Neil Dewsnip and First-Team Coach Kevin Nancekivell to lead them through six massive games in the relegation scrap.

Stage one of that mission was achieved by Mumba’s well-taken goal on the half-hour and a solid all-round display, as the defeat for Rotherham confirmed their relegation to Sky Bet League One.

Argyle made four changes from the Easter Monday defeat, with Dan Scarr, Joe Edwards, Callum Wright and Adam Randell replacing Lino Sousa, Adam Forshaw, Matthew Sorinola and the suspended Alife Devine.

A sweeping early cross from Ryan Hardie prompted a scruffy clearance / interception by Seb Revan, with Mumba arriving from the left flank. A corner from Randell produced the next moment of interest, an almost comical goalmouth scramble with the ball ricocheting around a sea of players in green and red before the Millers cleared.

In a muted and tense atmosphere at the New York Stadium, Hardie found a spark of quality with a lovely pass to Wright, who saw his left-foot drive blocked by the recovering Hakeem Odoffin. The same Pilgrim combo then saw Hardie drift a deep curling cross and Wright’s steered header was only a fraction off target.

Rotherham’s attacking threat in the opening quarter was limited to harmless crosses and fairly tepid long-range strikes, all easily gathered by Michael Cooper. While there was marginally more potency in Argyle’s attacking play, Cooper’s opposite number, Viktor Johansson, also remained untested.

The game was crying out for some quality and Mumba delivered with a delightful opening goal. Morgan Whittaker pinged a superb cross-field pass into the path of Mumba in the left channel and he took a forward touch before slamming the ball past Johansson at the near post.

The goal was like a massive injection of belief in Pilgrim ranks and they finished the half zipping the ball around the pitch, with Whittaker an ever growing influence on proceedings, as another whipped delivery picked out the head of Wright but his nod back across goal was just about collected by Johansson.

Whittaker was swiftly back to the fore after the restart, picking up on a loose clearance to lash a fizzing 25-yard strike with that lethal left boot and Johannson, diving low to his left, did well to tip it wide.

Whittaker’s next attempt, from the edge of the box after a smart square pass from Wright, was curled into the arms of Johannson, as the Millers opted for a triple change in their last push for survival.

Jordan Houghton guided a low shot goalwards, which proved comfortable for Johansson, before the Greens introduced Forshaw for Wright, who had enjoyed a lively game on his return to the starting line-up.

The Millers then spurned their best chance of the evening, Cohen Bramall jabbing a deep corner harmlessly wide when he probably had the time and space to cause more of a problem for Cooper.

As the game approached a tense final 20 minutes, the Green Army led a chorus of encouragement for their troops but that turned to howls of relief when Revan dipped inside Mumba for a fierce drive that was superbly parried away by Cooper.

Argyle replied with a scuttling cross from Randell that took a touch off the boot of Cameron Humphreys, forcing Johansson into a fine reaction save. Forshaw then whipped a 25-yard curler narrowly past the top corner.

Ben Waine for Hardie was the next Argyle change, as Odoffin powered an ambitious long-ranger wide for the Millers. Rotherham had no choice but to throw men in forward, while Argyle looked to navigate a nervy final ten minutes.

Waine attempted to relieve the worry with a terrific weaving run that took him 40 yards up the pitch before a skidding drive that was gobbled up by Johansson. The Greens turned to Brendan Galloway and Mustapha Bundu for Mumba and Whittaker for the closing moments.

A corner very nearly settled the contest, Galloway’s header forcing the best from Johansson and Ashley Phillips was just unable to convert the rebound. The impressive Johansson then thwarted Waine but the Greens had done enough on a nervous night.

Rotherham: 1 Viktor Johansson; 3 Cohen Bramall (17 Shane Ferguson 78), 8 Sam Clucas, 12 Andy Rinomhota (16 Jamie Lindsay 56), 14 Charlie Wyke (9 Tom Eaves 56), 18 Ollie Rathbone (capt) (7 Cafu 56), 21 Lee Peltier (30 Arvin Appiah 83), 22 Hakeem Odoffin, 24 Cameron Humphreys, 28 Seb Revan, 29 Sam Nombe. Substitutes (not used): 26 Dillon Phillips (gk), 38 Femi Seriki, 42 Ben Hatton.

Booked:

Argyle: 1 Michael Cooper: 2 Bali Mumba (22 Brendan Galloway 87), 4 Jordan Houghton, 6 Dan Scarr, 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 9 Ryan Hardie (23 Ben Waine 75), 10 Morgan Whittaker (15 Mustapha Bundu 87), 11 Callum Wright (27 Adam Forshaw 62), 17 Lewis Gibson, 20 Adam Randell, 26 Ashley Phillips. Substitutes (not used): 21 Conor Hazard (gk), 3 Lino Sousa, 5 Julio Pleguezuelo, 14 Mickel Miller, 29 Matthew Sorinola.

Booked:

Referee: Oliver Langford

Attendance: 9,863 (1,005 Argyle)