Report | Middlesbrough 2-1 Argyle

As Tommy Conway’s injury-time penalty rolled into the net, sending Middlesbrough fans into euphoria, Argyle fans could hardly believe what they were seeing.

In a frantic, open game, it would be hard to deny that Argyle spent a lot of it under pressure from the home side, but equally as true would be that the Greens created oodles of changes, as each side sought three points that could make or break their respective seasons.

Former Argyle man Finn Azaz had put Boro ahead after 12 minutes, but Mustapha Bundu equalised, and there were plenty of moments in the game where it seemed Argyle could find a second goal to complete a second turnround victory in succession.

However, in the opening throes of injury time, Conway went down under a hand from Edwards, the Argyle skipper was dismissed, and Conway scored the spot-kick that decided everything.

When team sheets arrived at 2pm, it was hardly news, as Miron Muslic had trailed it in the week, but seeing Joe Edwards’ name as a starter for Argyle for the first time since 26 October was pleasant. Darko Gyabi also returned to the team at a venue where he shone last season, and against a team he scored his first senior goal against in November.

Gyabi played on the right of a front three, with Bundu central and Ryan Hardie on the left. Adam Randell and Jordan Houghton played in the centre of midfield, with Edwards in as a right wing-back, and Bali Mumba reverting to the left. Julio Pleguezuelo and Kornel Szucs flanked Victor Palsson in the back three, with Conor Hazard behind them in goal. 

Middlesbrough’s team, as expected, contained former Pilgrims Azaz and Morgan Whittaker, who were given contrasting responses from the Green Army.

With both teams feeling like a win was necessary for them, the first half lived up to chaotic expectations.

The clash in styles was an interesting one; Middlesbrough, intricate to the point of occasionally overplaying, while Argyle were all hustle, looking to win the ball back high and create from that. There was certainly no shortage of chances at either end.

Argyle were the first to get their supporters’ hearts fluttering. Mumba’s deflected effort looped and landed on the roof of the net in the ninth minute. From the corner, Boro took ages to clear the box, afforded Gyabi two shots, each of them charged down. 

Boro, though, had had far more of the ball to this point without carving out a chance. This changed after a dozen minutes, as they took the lead. Tommy Conway had timed an angled run well, which contrasted Argyle’s ponderousness. Conway clipped over Hazard, the ball bounced back off the post, and fell into the path of Azaz, who had the easiest of tasks to knock home.

Miron Muslic has warned against Argyle falling into their Hull/Sheffield Wednesday/Swansea trap of compounding going behind with another goal straight away.

Had Conway been able, a couple of minutes after Azaz’s goal, to generate power on a free header, the dreaded one-two punch may have harmed Argyle again. As it was, the Greens found the equaliser quickly. 

It was home-grown, from a Boro perspective. Jonny Howson could probably have cleared the ball, but instead played it back to Aidan Morris, and put his fellow defender under pressure. Morris buckled, and Bundu won the ball from him. As Morris lay prone, with a combination of pain and embarrassment, Bundu advanced, and calmly and firmly clipped into the bottom corner. 

Argyle now had parity, but they wanted more. After good work from Randell, Gyabi danced in off the right, beat a player, and drove a left-footed effort at goal. Goalkeeper Mark Travers saved and, contrary to the rebound that led to Boro’s goal, the ball fell between hovering Pilgrims, and Middlesbrough cleared.

In a tricky one to convey in a report such as this, the pattern of the half became that of Middlesbrough with most of the ball, and often looking very threatening as Azaz pulled strong, and the likes of Marcus Forss and Conway frequently made dangerous runs. Hazard had little to worry him directly, but it never felt like Argyle were all that comfortable.

They were, though, dangerous on the break. From one huge Palsson clearance, Middlesbrough were so pushed up that Hardie was able to run in behind them, and still be onside because he was in his own half.

Hardie ran on goal, but had his shot saved by the oncoming Travers, and after Bundu recycled, Hardie’s next effort was blocked too.

After the interval, Boro stepped up their pressure. Argyle defended for virtually all of the first ten minutes of the second period, with their standout chance coming from Whittaker’s familiar cut-in from the right, and powerful left-footed shot, which Hazard saved superbly with his top hand.

Argyle, though, hanging in there, still felt they were creating the more obvious chances. Just before the hour mark, excellent work by Gyabi down to the right to outstrip Rav van den Berg saw Gyabi cut a ball across to Hardie, who could only fire over.

On the other flank, a few minutes later, Hardie released Bundu, who drove to the bye-line, and rolled a ball to Hardie, who flicked an effort partially goalwards, and partially intended for the path of Gyabi. Boro cleared, but only just. 

In all of this, even if not explicitly mentioned here, just assume that every three minutes or so, Boro worked the ball into a channel, got it back to the edge of the area, then hit a shot that Argyle blocked. It happened too frequently to individually document.

A far clearer chance came on 73 minutes, as Azaz was first to read a partial Argyle clearance, and quickly play Conway through. In turn, he took his shot early, and it was a brilliant low save by Hazard that denied him.

Middlesbrough’s next denial came from the referee. Whittaker wriggled in from the left, and was just inside the area when he went down under a lunge from Pleguezuelo, but referee Anthony Backhouse provided the sweeping cross-arms motion that indicates ‘no penalty’.

Seven minutes of stoppage time were signalled, and it began with substitute Michael Obafemi running forward, with Argyle in a two-on-two situation. However, Obafemi got the ball caught under his feet, and the chance was gone. A minute later, so was the game.

Mumba had the chance to clear, but his forward pass was cut out. Kelechi Iheanacho released Conway into the area, and he went down from a push to the back by Edwards.

Edwards, being judged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity, and to not have made an attempt to play the ball, was sent off, and Conway stepped up to stroke the ball home, simultaneously keeping Middlesbrough’s play-off hopes alive, and breaking Argyle hearts.

Argyle: 21 Conor Hazard, 2 Bali Mumba, 4 Jordan Houghton (19 Malachi Boateng, 89), 5 Julio Pleguezuelo (17 Tymoteusz Puchacz, 88), 6 Kornel Szucs, 8 Joe Edwards (capt), 9 Ryan Hardie (14 Michael Obafemi 89), 15 Mustapha Bundu (26 Muhamed Tijani, 77), 18 Darko Gyabi (11 Callum Wright, 72), 20 Adam Randell, 44 Victor Palsson. Substitutes: 31 Daniel Grimshaw (gk), 3 Nathanael Ogbeta, 30 Michael Baidoo, 35 Freddie Issaka.

Goals: Bundu 17

Sent off: Edwards 90+2

Booked: Pleguezuelo 45+2, Hazard 52

Middlesbrough: 32 Mark Travers, 3 Rav Van Den Berg, 7 Hayden Hackney, 11 Morgan Whittaker (28 Ryan Giles, 89), 15 Anfernee Dijksteel (6 Dael Fry, 62), 16 Jonny Howson (capt), 18 Aidan Morris, 20 Finn Azaz, 21 Marcus Forss (9 Kelechi Iheanacho, 72), 22 Tommy Conway, 29 Samuel Illing-Junior. Substitutes: 23 Tom Glover (gk), 4 Daniel Barlaser, 10 Delano Burgzorg, 25 George Edmundson, 47 Bailey Palmer, 51 Anton Palmer.

Goals: Azaz 12, Conway pen 90+3

Referee: Anthony Backhouse