Argyle 3
Hardie 31, 52
Whittaker 82
Cardiff City 1
Ng 11
Argyle recovered from a sluggish start to overpower Cardiff City with an excellent overall display in front of a rapturous Green Army.
Perry Ng threatened to pop the balloon with a stabbed opener on 12 minutes but the outstanding Ryan Hardie levelled matters before the break, and the Pilgrims were full of poise and penetration in the second period.
Hardie doubled his tally six minutes after the restart and a welcome victory was given the Morgan Whittaker seal when he finished off a fabulous move eight minutes from time.
New faces were the theme of Ian Foster’s first home league game as Head Coach, with Alfie Devine and Adam Forshaw making their debuts, along with a first appearance at Home Park for Ashley Phillips and Darko Gyabi.
The Pilgrims and Bluebirds shared an entertaining 2-2 draw on Boxing Day and, after some gentle sparring in the early stages, the game began to open up on a blustery afternoon at the Theatre of Greens.
Unfortunately for Argyle, the first moment of significance fell in favour of the visitors, as a corner from the right pinged around the penalty area and Ng was the man to prod a significant touch beyond Conor Hazard.
The Greens responded with a delightful pass from Gyabi releasing Hardie down the right and his square pass for the onrushing Whittaker carried just a fraction too much pace.
After more midfield jousting, the hard work of Devine disrupted the Cardiff defence but the cross from Whittaker was a shank. Argyle were pressing for a flash of quality and that was delivered on the half-hour.
Hardie’s initial drive was blocked by the Bluebirds but Devine did superbly well to recycle the situation, courtesy of an excellent dummy run from Mickel Miller, and the low cross was steered past goalkeeper Jak Alnwick by a clever touch from Hardie.
Once again, the game descended into a spell of limited opportunities before the lively Devine forced Alnwick into a decent near-post block, and a pleasing contribution by the young midfielder on loan from Tottenham.
The Pilgrims emerged from the interval with renewed impetus and the Green Army were rewarded with a terrific second from Hardie. Whittaker drilled a low cross and Argyle’s number nine spun his marker with a sumptuous first touch before firing past Alnwick.
It was a fabulous goal from Argyle, as they settled into a spell of composed control, frustrating Cardiff with defensive discipline and tenacity in midfield, as the next opportunity also fell to the men in Green, Gyabi nodding over after a brace of corners.
Adam Randell and Joe Edwards were introduced for Mumba and Devine, but Cardiff were suddenly turning the screw. Josh Bowler had a shot charged down by the all-action Phillips and the same Bluebird was then denied by a super save from Hazard, who quickly followed up with a tidy tip over from a looping header.
Argyle replied with the goal to clinch the points.
Whittaker, who started the game with the captain’s armband, started the move with Gyabi and Hardie. The number nine returned a beautifully weighted pass to his skipper and Whittaker duly obliged with a customary emphatic finish past Alnwick.
It was another top goal from the Greens, who introduced the fresh legs of Jordan Houghton for Forshaw. Hardie, meanwhile, continued to terrorise the Cardiff defence with his relentless running, forcing a mistake that led to a Whittaker effort that was inches too high.
Miller matched that boundless energy with a surge down the left and a cross that almost reached Whittaker, but job done for the Greens, who move on to an FA Cup trip to Leeds United.
Argyle: 21 Conor Hazard; 2 Bali Mumba (8 Joe Edwards 77), 6 Dan Scarr, 9 Ryan Hardie (23 Ben Waine 90+2), 10 Morgan Whittaker (capt), 14 Mickel Miller, 16 Alfie Devine (20 Adam Randell 77), 18 Darko Gyabi, 22 Brendan Galloway, 26 Ashley Phillips, 27 Adam Forshaw (4 Jordan Houghton 84). Substitutes (not used): 5 Julio Pleguezuelo, 11 Callum Wright, 15 Mustapha Bundu, 25 Callum Burton (gk), 29 Matty Sorinola.
Booked: Phillips 35, Miller 41, Mumba 50, Scarr 61
Cardiff: 21 Jak Alnwick; 4 Dimitrios Goutas, 5 Mark McGuinness, 6 Ryan Wintle, 16 Karlan Grant, 17 Jamila Collins, 22 Yakou Meite (9 Kion Etete 65), 27 Rubin Colwill, 32 Ollie Turner, 35 Andy Rimonhota (14 Josh Bowler 65), 38 Perry Ng. Substitutes (not used): 13 Alex Runarsson (gk), 2 Mahlon Romeo, 19 Romaine Sawyers, 23 Manolis Siopis, 34 Joel Colwill, 36 Raheem Conte, 45 Cian Ashford.
Booked: Meite 35, Ng 39
Referee: Stephen Martin
Attendance: 16,573 (1,733 away)
