Cosgrove's Sheffield Wednesday Reaction

Sam Cosgrove’s first five weeks as a Pilgrim have been anything but dull.

In his first game, against Derby County, he scored twice as a substitute as Argyle won 3-2 having been 2-0 down. Most recently, he scored the winning penalty, having been brought down to win it, as The Pilgrims beat Wycombe Wanderers 1-0. Including four games in between the aforementioned goalscoring performances, Argyle had won five and drawn one of the games Sam had taken part in in all competitions.

But we were only just getting started.

Argyle met Sheffield Wednesday in a first-versus-third clash between two in-form Sky Bet League One sides, and when Cosgrove was introduced midway through the second half, the game was poised at 1-1. Ryan Hardie had given The Pilgrims a third-minute lead, but it lasted just four minutes, as Liam Palmer levelled for Wednesday.

It was not until the closing stages, though, that Sam’s time came. When it did, it was dramatic, to say the least.

It looked like he had scored the winner from a Conor Grant cross on 87 minutes, heading down and seemingly beyond all Wednesday players, but a Michael Ihiekwe clearance was deemed to have been from in front of the goal-line, and Wednesday survived.

Just moments later, Ihiekwe looked to have hauled Cosgrove down in the area, but no penalty was forthcoming.

However, spot on 90 minutes, Cosgrove nodded in Niall Ennis’s cross at the near post to send Home Park into scenes of delirium.

“You could say it’s déjà vu,” said Sam. “I’ve had a similar feeling to that before. But to do it front of a packed Home Park is ten times better. What a feeling.

“You could tell that the frustration and anger was reverberating around the stadium, and it was echoed on the pitch with us. We thought things weren’t going our way.

“I didn’t see it from the same angle as the linesman, but I thought the header was over, and it’s a stonewall penalty as well. You could think it would be one of those days where it just doesn’t go in.

"[When I scored] it was a pure release, pure emotion. When I saw the ball hit the back of the net it was almost an angry celebration that came out!”

It was a celebration mirrored all around the stadium. A crowd of 16,381 were inside Home Park to witness the scenes, the highest attendance for a league fixture since 2008, when Argyle played Watford in the Championship. It sounded more like 30,000.

They had watched a tense affair before the winner, though. Wednesday more than played their part, and for spells in the game put Argyle under pressure aplenty.

Manager Steven Schumacher looked to his bench to shake things up. Brendan Galloway and Jordan Houghton were introduced for Argyle as substitutes just before the hour mark, and were followed shortly afterwards by Cosgrove and Niall Ennis, before Conor Grant became the final change on 84 minutes.

All of the subs played their part, with San revealing that it was always in the manager’s mind to look at closing the game very strongly.

We had a game plan, and that was to hold them until 60 minutes,” said Cosgrove. “The gaffer and everyone behind the scenes knew the game would potentially change. All the substitutes have made an impact. Niall’s put in two great balls for me, and Conor’s put a good one in for me. Luckily one has gone in.

“[The service] is top drawer. It’s so refreshing for me as a forward. When I came here, I touched on the fact that I played Argyle twice last season and I saw the quality that everyone had, the kind of football and the chances that were being created. It was a no-brainer to come here, and in the half a dozen games I’ve been involved in, I’ve had countless chances, and four goals is a decent tally since I’ve been here.

“What a crowd in here today. It’s top class, and long may that continue through the season.”