Milton Keynes Dons 0 - 1 Argyle - Hardie 68’
A goal from Ryan Hardie, moments after he had come on as a substitute, gave Argyle a single-goal win in Milton Keynes, to bring pre-season to a satisfactory conclusion.
For that is exactly what this game was: satisfactory. It will scarcely live long in the memories of the 601 members of the Green Army present, with a sultry Buckingham day in early August playing host to two teams who certainly wanted to play tidy football and win the game, but for whom next weekend’s season-opening fixtures were the bigger picture.
That said, Argyle looked organised and controlled, and had the best chances of the game, including striking the post twice, before Hardie’s goal, a diversion from a goalkeeper’s attempted clearance, made the nominal difference.
Argyle lined up from the outset with Lewis Gibson joining Brendan Galloway in the heart of the defence, in front of Conor Hazard in goal, and with Nathanael Ogbeta and Victor Palsson as full-backs. Ibrahim Cissoko and Morgan Whittaker played on the attacking flanks, with Jordan Houghton and Adam Randell in central positions. Up front, Muhamed Tijani was joined by Freddie Issaka.
There was plenty of early action. In fact, the game was 70 seconds old when the Greens rattled the frame of the goal. The hosts had the ball on the edge of their own penalty area, but dwelt for a half-second too long, allowing Randell an opportunity to steal in for a tackle. The ball became loose, and Tijani’s eyes lit up. He caught the ball sweetly, on the run, and drove a low shot that beat goalkeeper Tom McGill, but struck the outside of the post and went wide.
On the five-minute mark, Dons had their first attacking move of note, moving the ball neatly, and getting in a cross from their right side. Alex Gilbey’s connection was not clean, but the ball fell to left wing-back Joe Tomlinson. He struck the ball well, but his radar was a little off, and the shot was wide enough for it not to trouble Hazard.
Much of the first half was a rather pedestrian affair, with little in the way of chances, but just before the half-hour mark things perked up, with both sides having a pair of opportunities to take the lead.
Argyle’s turns came first. Tijani did really well to conjure a ball from a central position, just inside his own half, to Whittaker running down the right. Whittaker did even better to control the ball on the run and set off towards goal. No defender was ever catching him, and Whittaker bore down on McGill. The clipped shot beat the goalkeeper, but also beat the outside of the post.
Two minutes later, Cissoko whistled one not very far over the bar, having cut inside and shot from just outside the area, but the Dons were about to test Argyle at the other end.
Callum Hendry was the first to have a try, trying a clever curler that arched over Hazard, but landed on the roof of the net. Shortly afterwards, a smart shift of play from left to right allowed Callum Tripp the freedom of his wing. He advanced on goal, and tried to go round Hazard, but the Argyle goalkeeper stopped the ball superbly at Tripp’s feet, and the chance evaporated.
There was time for Argyle to strike the woodwork one more time before the break. This time Randell burst forth from the midfield, and though he had runners with him, they served as excellent decoys, allowing Randell to reach the area largely unchallenged. He took a shot, beat the goalkeeper, but struck the outside of the post.
Randell was first up to take a swing in the second period, too, being teed up by Tijani but seeing his shot charged down.
The second period, a little like the first, featured a lengthy plateau with little by way of chances or excitement. Argyle made three changes on 66 minutes, with Adam Forshaw, Bali Mumba and Ryan Hardie all coming on – the latter of whom made the ultimate impact.
Seconds after entering the fray, Hardie closed down McGill, got in the way of an attempted clearance, and saw the ball ricochet into the empty net, giving Argyle the lead in what one would describe as unusual circumstances…had it not happened to Cheltenham, involving Tijani, two weeks prior!
One of several MK subs, Matthew Dennis, had a shot on target as the home side looked for a leveller. His run into the channel and turn inside was neat, but the effort lacked power, and Hazard gathered.
Callum Wright possibly should have extended the margin of victory, racing clear as the 90-minute mark arrived, with McGill doing a good job of denying him, but the game finished with no further goals, meaning the Greens concluded their pre-season victory with a win and a clean sheet.
Now, the countdown can truly begin.
Argyle: 21 Conor Hazard, 3 Nathanael Ogbeta (2 Bali Mumba 66), 4 Jordan Houghton (capt, 27 Adam Forshaw, 66), 7 Ibrahim Cissoko (15 Mustapha Bundu, 76), 10 Morgan Whittaker, 17 Lewis Gibson, 20 Adam Randell, 22 Brendan Galloway, 26 Muhamed Tijani (9 Ryan Hardie, 66), 35 Freddie Issaka (11 Callum Wright, 76), 44 Victor Palsson (5 Julio Pleguezuelo, 76).
Attendance: 2,682 (601)
