Rooney praises squad despite West Brom defeat

Argyle lost by the narrowest of margins at The Hawthorns, going down 1-0 to Josh Maja’s goal as West Bromwich Albion strengthened their position at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.  

Leading scorer Maja struck just after the hour mark, and it came at a point in the game where Argyle were arguably in the ascendancy, having ridden a wave from West Brom towards the end of the first period.  

Albion struck the post three times in the opening 45 minutes, but there were plenty of occasions where Argyle played with confidence and control, none more so than immediately following the interval.  

After Maja scored, West Brom sought a second, but Argyle wrested back control of the flow of the game. They could not, though, find the equaliser they desired.  

“I’m obviously disappointed with the result. but [there were] a lot of positive signs for us,” said Rooney. “We're coming here against a very good team, but I thought we were well organised, we took the ball well and created some good chances. I felt we deserved something out of the game. 

“I really felt we were taking control of the game and then they score against the run of play, if you like. I think after that, for five or 10 minutes, we struggled to get a foothold in the game.  

“I made a few changes to the team, and I felt we got full control and kept pushing right to the end. We were unfortunate not to get an equaliser.  

“I think the fans, the players, and us as coaches, we can see a lot of improvements in the team. It’s really encouraging.” 

Before the game, Pilgrims Head Coach Wayne Rooney made two changes, bringing in Adam Forshaw and Ryan Hardie, with Callum Wright and Michael Obafemi shifting to the bench.  

In the second half, Rooney shuffled his deck, and substitutes Wright, Obafemi, Rami Al Hajj and Mustapha Bundu all assisted Argyle in pushing for an equaliser, with Bundu’s curling effort that went just wide probably the closest the Greens came.  

It was not to be, the encouraging signs of this game are there to be worked on for Rooney and his squad, as the Pilgrims face a Friday-Tuesday-Saturday run of games against Luton Town, Burnley and Blackburn Rovers.  

“Callum and Michael were a bit unfortunate not to play, but I think West Brom are a very experienced team,” Rooney told Argyle TV. “I felt with Ryan and Forshy's experience, bringing them into the team away from home, against a good team, would help us, and then we have energy to come on later. I thought the subs made a big difference when they came on as well and helped us get back control of the game. 

“You always have to make decisions on the starting 11, but I felt it was the right decision.

"We've put together a good squad and we've got good players on the bench who can come on and have an impact. I think we're in a good place from that point of view. 

“I think the players know, we speak about it, the team who starts is rarely going to be the team who finishes the game. Even if you're not in the starting 11, you've got a role to play.   

“We’ve got another tough game coming up on Friday against Luton, then Burnley, then Blackburn - we've got tough games, but I think what we're showing is that we can compete against the best teams in this league. 

“We've done it last week, against Sunderland, who were top at the time. This week against West Brom who are top. We're showing that we're a match for any team. We just have to keep playing and believing in what we're trying to do, in the ideas we're giving the players, and we will start getting the results we want.”