Substitute Bim Pepple’s late, late goal saved a point for Argyle at home to Wycombe Wanderers.
After falling behind to a 10th-minute Dan Casey goal, it looked as though the Greens would not be able to rescue anything from the game, but Pepple, who came on as an early sub because of an injury to Owen Oseni, forced a header just beyond the line, and obtained parity for his side.
Ahead of the game, there were three changes to the Argyle side that began the 4-1 defeat at home to Reading three days previously.
Two were hardly surprising; Brendan Wiredu had made an impact in the heart of midfield when coming on for the red-carded Joe Ralls, against Reading, and he continued in that spot with Ralls suspended. Xavier Amaechi had been a bright spark when coming on half-time against the Royals, and replaced Ayman Benarous in the 11. The third change was the return of Julio Pleguezuelo, coming in for Mathias Ross in the middle of the back four.
It meant Pleguezuelo joined Alex Mitchell in central defence, with Joe Edwards to the right and Matty Sorinola to the left, all in front of Conor Hazard in goal. Wiredu’s central midfield partner was Malachi Boateng, with Amaechi to their right, and Bali Mumba on the opposite flank. Owen Oseni and Lorent Tolaj were the front two.
The first half can be split into two portions, neither of them satisfying for Pilgrims. There was the first stretch, probably the first 25 minutes or so, which were dominated by the visitors. Wycombe won the battles, played the football, forced the set-pieces and, ultimately, scored the goal.
It came on 11 minutes, via defender Dan Casey. Casey had come forward for a corner, and remained forward as Wycombe recycled play, and got in on the right. No-one closed down Dan Grimmer, and the Chairboys’ right-back floated in a cross which Casey headed in.
Argyle lost Oseni, injured, on 17 minutes, and he was replaced, like for like, by Bim Pepple. The personnel change altered little. It was still all Wycombe, with Argyle a distant second-best.
The saving grace was that, for their perceived dominance, Wycombe did not particularly look like getting a second, although Argyle certainly did not resemble a team that was going to equalise – or threaten to – any time soon.
Pepple had a go; the substitute had an effort just inside the area blocked by a defender, after Amaechi’s cross had been headed back by Mumba.
The second act of the first half really came from the narrative of the visitors, 1-0 up remember, slowing the game, and all proceedings, down. To be fair, they did lose two players themselves, injured and requiring replacement, but other stoppages and delays meant that by the end of the first half, eight minutes of added time were played.
Probably the best aspect of this, Argyle-wise, was that the frustrations of the Green Army migrated from annoyance at their team’s lacklustre showing to their perception of their opponents’ tactics. This had a galvanising effect and, while Argyle did not finish the half in rip-roaring fashion, they certainly improved as it went on.
Wycombe started the second half playing notably deep, their notion presumably being that they could keep Argyle at arms’ length, and then see if a break was on.
This nearly came true. Wycombe soaked up a fair amount of Argyle pressure that never materialised into a clear opportunity, then raced away, working a chance for substitute Caolan Boyd-Munce, whose effort was clever, and well hit, but just wide.
Just shy of the hour mark, Mumba got into a position from which anyone following Argyle for three years or less would have said ‘don’t shoot’, and anyone who remembers what happened against Exeter in October 2022 would have been thinking ‘have a dig, Bali.’
He did, from 25 yards at least, and after flashing past Will Norris in the Wycombe goal, the ball struck the bar on its way over.
By the time the game got three-quarters old, Argyle’s chances came at more frequent intervals. Mumba had a moment where he cut inside, in the area, and took a shot, but it was straight at Norris.
The Wycombe goalie then had to work much harder to push wide a curling Amaechi strike from the edge of the area, then shovelled a Pleguezuelo header over from the resultant corner.
The game felt like it was in its last five minutes for about the last half an hour of it. Argyle had brought on Tegan Finn on 70 minutes, and then Kornel Szucs and Mathias Ross on 83. The latter switch saw Mitchell thrown forward as a forward in what could be best described as a 4-some-someothers formation.
Into injury-time, and there was a huge shout from the Babcock Devonport End as they felt a Wycombe defender had handled the ball when trying to hold off Tolaj. Nothing was given other than a corner, but perhaps the sense of injustice, as well as Pepple’s head, inched the ball beyond the line.
Wycombe defenders felt it had not crossed, but the assistant’s flag was raised, and the goal given.
Argyle: 1 Conor Hazard, 4 Brendan Wiredu, 5 Julio Pleguezuelo (2 Mathias Ross, 83), 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 9 Lorent Tolaj, 10 Xavier Amaechi (39 Tegan Finn, 70), 11 Bali Mumba, 15 Alex Mitchell, 18 Owen Oseni (27 Bim Pepple, 17), 19 Malachi Boateng (6 Kornel Szucs, 83), 29 Matty Sorinola. Substitutes: 21 Luca Ashby-Hammond (gk), 14 Ayman Benarous, 20 Law McCabe.
Goals: Pepple 90+3
Booked: Mumba 33, Pleguezuelo 83
Wycombe: 50 Will Norris, 2 Jack Grimmer (capt), 3 Dan Harvie, 10 Luke Leahy, 11 Sam Bell, 12 Cauley Woodrow, 17 Dan Casey, 20 Ewan Henderson (8 Caolan Boyd-Munce, 44), 21 Jamie Abbott (7 Junior Quitrna, 29, (26 Connor Taylor, 77), 44 Fred Onyedinma (30 George Abbott, 77), 45 Anders Hagelskjaer. Substitutes: 1 Mikki van Sas (gk), 9 Bradley Fink, 23 Niall Huggins.
Goals: Casey 11
Booked: Henderson 44, Norris 80, Casey 90+4
Attendance: 15,766 (385 away)
Referee: Carl Brook
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