REPORT | ARGYLE 2 DERBY COUNTY 1
Argyle 2
Wright 59
Hardie pen 70
Derby County 1
Mendez-Laing 17
Argyle once again demonstrated their immense powers of recovery to come from behind and defeat Derby County under the glare of the Sky TV cameras.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing gave the visitors a half-time lead after a lacklustre opening 45 from the Greens, but it all changed after the break. Substitute Callum Wright lashed in a leveller on the hour and Ryan Hardie won it for the Pilgrims with a confident penalty 20 minutes from time.
Argyle boss Steven Schumacher made just one change to the Argyle starting line-up from the weekend win over Charlton, Nigel Lonwijk replacing Brendan Galloway. James Bolton, Mickel Miller and Ben Waine all came into the squad, on the bench.
Despite the sizzling atmosphere inside Home Park, the game took a whole to ignite, with the best early opening falling to the visitors, as David McGoldrick just failed to find Tom Barkhuizen from an incisive break.
The Rams looked comfortable in possession in the early exchanges but Argyle sparked into life with Danny Mayor releasing Bali Mumba for a cross that picked out Finn Azaz for an effort that just lacked the power to trouble goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.
Azaz was involved again on 14 minutes, dancing into space on the edge of the area after a clever flick from Hardie, but the final shot angled across Wildsmith just shaved the outside of the post.
From the next meaningful attack, Derby grabbed the only goal of the first 45 minutes. Argyle tried to play Mendez-Laing offside but his run was perfectly timed, and the powerful forward squeezed past Callum Burton diving at his feet before slotting into the empty net.
Craig Forsyth had a shot saved by Burton as Argyle regrouped from the setback, with a low cross from Joe Edwards causing momentary panic in the visiting defence before it was cleared. A disjointed half for Argyle ended with Edwards heading straight at Wildsmith from a Mumba cross.
The Greens made one change at the interval, James Bolton replacing James Wilson, who had been booked in the first period. Captain Edwards introduced himself to the second half with a delicious left-foot curler that flew narrowly beyond the top corner.
Derby responded with a Barkhuizen header thankfully guided into the hands of Burton, as the Greens turned to the bench with Jay Matete and Wright coming on for Edwards and Jordan Houghton.
Within three minutes of emerging from the bench, Wright was firing a deserved equaliser into the corner of the net. Fellow substitute Matete moved the ball beautifully through midfield, found Azaz for an instant pass to Wright in the right channel and he steered the shot back across Wildsmith to send Home Park wild.
The Greens had noticeably lifted their intensity, with Mumba a menace down the right, but they also needed a timely block from Lonwijk on a Lewis Dobbin volley at the other end.
Argyle were given a huge chance to grab the lead 20 minutes from time, when Azaz was tripped in the box by Harvey White after superb approach play involving Mayor and Hardie, who then took responsibility from the spot and calmly sent Wildsmith the wrong way.
The Pilgrims continued piling men forward in search of a decisive third, with Mumba twisting into space for a low cross cleared at the near post. While Derby made three substitutions, Argyle freshened their ranks with Miller coming on for Mayor.
Matete, meanwhile, was snapping into tackles alongside Matt Butcher in the Argyle midfield, with one interception springing Hardie into a counter down the left, cutting inside for a curler directed inches wide of the far corner.
Niall Ennis for Azaz was the final Pilgrim change and the Greens negotiated the final minutes with admirable poise for three more massive points.
Argyle: 25 Callum Burton, 3 Macaulay Gillesphey, 4 Jordan Houghton (28 Jay Matete 55), 5 James Wilson (2 James Bolton H-T), 7 Matt Butcher, 8 Joe Edwards (capt) (26 Callum Wright 55), 9 Ryan Hardie, 10 Danny Mayor (14 Mickel Miller 78), 17 Bali Mumba, 18 Finn Azaz (11 Niall Ennis 86), 21 Nigel Lonwijk. Substitutes: 32 Adam Parkes (gk), 23 Ben Waine.
Booked: Wilson 19, Matete 90
Derby: 1 Joe Wildsmith, 3 Craig Forsyth (capt), 4 Conor Hourihane (17 Louis Sibley 76), 6 Eiran Cashin, 7 Tom Barkhuizen (18 Lewis Dobbin 61), 10 David McGoldrick, 11 Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, 12 Korey Smith, 15 Haydon Roberts (9 James Collins 76), 23 Harvey White (22 Tony Springett 76), 38 Jason Knight. Substitutes: 32 Luke McGee (gk), 16 Liam Thompson, 33 Curtis Davies.
Booked: Knight 90
Attendance: 16,461 (1,354 away)
Referee: Charles Breakspear