Whittaker's Charlton Reaction

Morgan Whittaker’s first Plymouth Argyle start turned into a rather bittersweet night for the 21-year-old forward.

Whittaker scored his first goal for the club when winning the ball in the Charlton Athletic half, beating a defender then firing low into the net in front of the travelling Green Army.

It should have been a dream moment, but unfortunately it was a consolation goal, in the loosest sense of the phrase. At the time, it reduced Argyle’s deficit to 3-1, but Charlton would go to win 5-1, with much of the damage done after James Wilson was sent off at 1-0, giving away a penalty with a handball in the process.

“I’ve been waiting for a chance to start in the league,” said Morgan. “It is bittersweet. I tried to be positive when I had it, and I’m really happy to get the goal, but the night isn’t how you want it to go.

“I wanted to be positive. If you are direct then things can happen like that. I just kept going and the space opened up. I threw my right foot at it and it found the corner.”

Argyle were slow to get into the game, falling a goal behind after a dozen minutes to Jes Rak-Sakyi’s goal, but it did feel as though as the first half was progressing, so The Pilgrims were getting more possession and more chances as they sought an equalising goal.

However, following the red card and immediate second goal, it was always an uphill task.

“It wasn’t the start we wanted,” Morgan said. “We dug in as best we could. [The sending off] killed our momentum. We didn’t start great, we know that, but the odds are against when we go down to ten men. It’s difficult coming to a place like this, especially with ten men.

“We have to move on. We have another game on Saturday. It’s good that the game comes quick so we can make up for it.”

Over 1,100 members of the Green Army maintained their vocal support for Morgan and his fellow players on a night where those on and off the pitch could see that the game had got beyond The Pilgrims.

It was the first time Morgan had experienced the backing of the travelling Argyle support in Sky Bet League One action, and even though the result is memorable for the wrong reasons, Whittaker appreciates the backing the team received.

He said: “I think they were louder than the home fans and kept going even though we were losing. It was amazing to see them. They kept signing until the very end. All credit to them.”