For the second straight season, Argyle and Middlesbrough played out a classic, to-and-fro 3-3 draw at Home Park.
The curious mirroring of the parallel was that whereas last season saw five goals racked up by half-time, this encounter saw the bulk of the goals coming after the break, in one of the most breathless halves of football you are ever likely to see.
Argyle were excellent in the first half, deserving their 1-0 lead at the interval, which came courtesy of Lewis Gibson’s first Argyle goal.
After the break, Middlesbrough equalised via Jonny Howson, before Darko Gyabi also notched his maiden goal, putting Argyle back ahead.
The pattern repeated: Hayden Hackney equalised, Mustapha Bundu restored the Greens’ lead, but Emmanuel Latte Lath scored a third leveller to conclude the scoring in a wild affair.
Despite a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United seven days earlier, Wayne Rooney kept faith with the same starting 11 who pushed the league leaders so close at Bramall Lane. The only changes to the squad saw Julio Pleguezuelo and Adam Forshaw replaced on the Pilgrims’ bench by Matty Sorinola and Tegan Finn.
It was only eight minutes into the game that the bench had to be turned to, with Michael Obafemi injured in the opening stages, and limping off to be replaced by Freddie Issaka.
Boro had the better of the opening exchanges, with Ben Doak in particular looking a threat, using his pace down the visitors’ right flank. From a couple of low crosses and cutbacks, Argyle defenders had to get a foot in at telling times, but they reduced Middlesbrough to mere imaginings of goal and, in turn, began to get a foothold in the game.
The men in green began to see a lot more of the ball, with Adam Randell often the midfield fulcrum. From one patient build-up that saw Dan Grimshaw receive the ball several times, eventually the goalkeeper picked a super ball to Rami Al Hajj, and one pass later Issaka was bowling through towards goal. It took a well-timed challenge to halt him.
Then, from more fast, incisive football, Argyle worked the ball down the right, to Mustapha Bundu, who crossed and found Gyabi. The timing of his run was perfect, the timing of his contact on the ball less so, and his shot bounced tamely over.
The chances continued to be Argyle’s. From a diagonal pass from Lewis Gibson, Bali Mumba set off down the right. Only a minute or so previously, Mumba had produced a lungbuster of a retreating run to see off some danger from Tommy Conway. Now, the Argyle right-back was getting forward, exchanging with Bundu, and then playing a low cross to the near post, which Ryan Hardie flicked onto the side-netting.
The right wing was proving fertile for Argyle. Bundu and Mumba, in succession, sent in teasing crosses which no Boro defender could deal with. Sadly for Argyle, the crosses were a little too hot for oncoming forwards too.
Middlesbrough – let’s not forget, a free-scoring side, sixth in the league – still looked a threat on the counter, and it took a strong Randell block to deflect a Riley McGree shot into Grimshaw, and it was a relief to see a flag go up when a cross found an unmarked Conway.
Argyle felt they may have had a penalty shout with ten minutes of the half to go. There was an element of fortune for the way Bundu, Argyle’s best player in the first half, got hold of the ball, but once he had it, he had seemingly evaded a challenge and went to ground. Plenty would have given it.
Argyle did get the lead before the half was out, though. Bundu again played his part, getting down the right and winning a corner, which was sent in by Randell. Middlesbrough cleared, partially, to Al Hajj, 25 yards out.
Al Hajj’s significant contribution to the goal was borne from his patience. Some roared for him to shoot, others expected a return ball to Randell. Instead, Rami paused, drew a challenge, skipped past it, and rolled a pass to Brendan Galloway, who had peeled off to the left.
Galloway crossed, Hardie got a touch, and Gibson reacted superbly to arch his body and head into the net. It was the centre-back’s first Argyle goal, in his 61st appearance, and it felt like a big one.
Boro rallied, and there was a feeling of ‘don’t let one in before half-time’ about Home Park, but it was Argyle who nearly notched before the break. Randell had got down the left and crossed. Defender George Edmundson made a hash of the flight and simply presented the ball to Hardie. Hardie thought about shooting, but instead offloaded to Bundu, who fired in a shot that was brilliantly saved by Sol Brynn.
The big, two-part, question was whether a) Argyle could maintain their high standards of the first half and b) could Boro up theirs?
The first 90 seconds of the second half brought action aplenty that started to answer both queries.
Argyle got forward immediately, Gyabi releasing Hardie on the left, for the forward to run in down the left channel. Hardie fizzed to the feet of Al Hajj, who helped on to Gyabi, with the midfielder trying an acrobatic effort that went wide.
Straight away, Argyle went again, with Bundu getting away on the right, but his cross was pouched, and Boro quickly set off on the break, with Doak flying beyond the backline. He set back to Azaz, who shot wide, but the tempo had been set.
Boro sensed a way back in and, after forcing two corners, they got their equaliser. Argyle had not cleared the second corner, and Middlesbrough went on the attack again, on the right. A cross was ejected only as far as Howson, who hooked at goal. Grimshaw was probably behind the effort, but it struck Hardie, trying to block, and deflected past the stricken Argyle goalkeeper.
Now, proceedings became rather frantic. Argyle wanted to regain a lead, while Boro sought to capitalise on their momentum. The game took on the look of something watched on TV at x2 speed. Gaps abounded, all over the pitch, and Middlesbrough saw a big one as they counter-attacked again.
The sight of Ryan Hardie and his number 9 shirt driving back to assist the defensive effort was a show of the commitment of this performance, and he helped to slow up the threat, which others dealt with. It came at a cost, though. Hardie played no further part in the game, having seemingly hurt his knee in the effort, and was replaced on the hour by Andre Gray.
Middlesbrough had a huge chance to go in front when Conway incurred from the left and teed up the arriving Hackney. However, he skewed his shot wide when hitting the target felt like a minimum requirement, and a goal a real possibility.
Argyle lost a third player to injury shortly afterwards. Galloway had done brilliantly to read a pass destined for Doak, as he intercepted and drove down the left. The exertion broke him, though, and he had to go off, replaced by Nathanael Ogbeta.
Almost immediately, Argyle re-took the lead. Another Bundu burst on the right opened up some space after he had been slipped in by Mumba. Bundu steered across the middle, and Gyabi arrived, scoring his first senior goal and celebrating in style.
Boro made a triple change, throwing everything they could at finding a second equaliser, and they got it when Hackney scored at the second attempt. His first effort had been well saved by Grimshaw, but the ball fell to Hackney again, and he forced it home.
Parity lasted four minutes. The unbowed Argyle found a lead for the third time in the game when Ogbeta sent in a gorgeous cross from the left, and Bundu timed his run sufficiently that all he needed to do was let the ball hit him and it would go in – which it did.
In turn, Argyle’s lead lasted three minutes. Latte Lath, on as a sub, was in space for a second ball from a Middlesbrough corner, and this game, in which nothing was settled for long, took on another twist.
Speaking of twist – that was the decision for both teams, as in, the opposite of sticking. Both teams seemed to fancy adding the game’s seventh, and decisive, goal, but could not find it.
There was time remaining, and nine minutes were added by the officials, but in the end neither team could elicit a winner. Argyle came the closest, and it was nearly a gift from Rav Van Den Berg, who diverted a Mumba cross past his own goalkeeper, but it went – from Argyle’s point of view – the wrong side of the post.
Argyle: 31 Daniel Grimshaw, 2 Bali Mumba, 6 Kornel Szucs, 9 Ryan Hardie (19 Andre Gray, 60), 14 Michael Obafemi (35 Freddie Issaka, 8), 15 Mustapha Bundu, 17 Lewis Gibson (capt), 18 Darko Gyabi, 20 Adam Randell, 22 Brendan Galloway (3 Nathanael Ogbeta, 71), 28 Rami Al Hajj. Substitutes: 21 Conor Hazard (gk), 4 Jordan Houghton, 11 Callum Wright, 29 Matty Sorinola, 39 Tegan Finn, 44 Victor Palsson.
Goals: Gibson 39, Gyabi 72, Bundu 81
Booked: Ogbeta 77, Gyabi 87
Middlesbrough: 31 Sol Brynn, 3 Rav van den Berg, 7 Hayden Hackney, 8 Riley McGree (10 Delano Burgzorg, 75), 15 Anfernee Dijksteel, 16 Jonny Howson (capt, Dan Barlaser 75), 20 Finn Azaz (14 Alex Gilbert, 84), 25 George Edmondson (6 Dael Fry, 79), 22 Tommy Conway (9 Emmanuel Latte Lath, 75), 30 Neto Borges, 50 Ben Doak. Substitutes: 23 Tommy Glover (gk), 5 Matt Clarke, 11 Isaiah Jones, 17 Micah Hamilton.
Goals: Howson 50, Hackney 77
Booked: Edmundson 70, Doak 90
Attendance: 16,550 (1,302 away)
Referee: Will Finnie
