Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Bristol City: FLW reports as Pilgrims' post-Rooney era begins with fighting point

Football League World

·1 January 2025

Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Bristol City: FLW reports as Pilgrims' post-Rooney era begins with fighting point

Bristol City headed to England's ocean city on New Years Day to take on managerless Plymouth Argyle.

Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on New Year's Day, as the Pilgrims pegged the Robins back twice to earn a point in their first game since Wayne Rooney's exit.

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The first big chance of 2025 came Argyle's way. A ranged effort from Rami Al Hajj was parried into the path of Ryan Hardie, via the gloves of Max O'Leary. The number nine couldn't keep his shot down from an awkward angle, which saw his shot sail well over the bar.

Hardie was then involved again just after the quarter of an hour mark. Darko Gyabi found Matthew Sorniola out on the right flank, whose low driven cross was flicked goalwards by the Scot. Bristol City managed to clear their lines, but only as far as Morgan Whittaker. His shot from distance was a comfortable catch for O'Leary.

Bristol City took the lead just after the half-hour mark, as Mehmeti haunted Argyle once again. A delightfully weighted through ball from Max Bird found Wells, who was one on one with Conor Hazard. The ex-Burnley man unselfishly squared to his Albanian colleague, who cushioned the ball into an empty net.

Liam Manning was forced to make a first-half change, after Pring went down with a knock. The left-back walked down the tunnel, but his race was over, as Haydon Roberts replaced him.

The ever-impressive Gyabi won a free-kick right on the edge of the City box in first-half stoppage time. His quick feet gave Randell a chance to level the match heading into the break. Sadly, the midfielder hammered the shot straight at the wall.

The Robins came off the pitch at the interval a goal to the good, and probably the happier of the two sides. Argyle had chances, but it was the same old story from recent matches, as that familiar frustration settled in at Home Park once again.

Both sides emerged for the second half as they were. Neither dugout felt the need to make any changes.

Hazard was forced into action within a minute of play resuming, as a cross from George Tanner was met by Wells' right foot. The powerful volley was kept out by the Northern Irishman, who had to stretch to reach it.

The keeper's heroics were rewarded almost instantly. A lovely back-to-front move from Argyle brought the leveller. Whittaker dinked an excellent cross to the back post, and Al Hajj was on hand to stroke it past O'Leary.

The creator almost turned goalscorer just a minute later. The Pilgrims sent the ball long to Hardie, who held up play brilliantly before laying off to Whittaker. The number ten unleashed a thunderbolt from distance that crashed off the crossbar.

After a really positive opening ten minutes of the half, all Plymouth's good work was undone, as City regained the advantage. Scott Twine played a lovely ball through to Jason Knight, whose run from midfield wasn't tracked by anybody in Green. The captain kept his cool, lifting the ball over Hazard neatly.

Manning opted to make a triple sub on the hour mark, which saw two of his three attackers, Wells and Twine, replaced, along with Tanner. Sam Bell, Yu Hirakawa, and Ross McCrorie took their places respectively.

A return to action came for both Michael Obafemi and Ibrahim Cissoko. Having the two loanees back will be an enormous boost for the Devon-based outfit.

With the clock entering the final ten minutes, there was fury from the Argyle faithful, as they were adamant they should've had a penalty for handball. Al Hajj's shot from outside the box took a few deflections on its way through to O'Leary, one of which looked to come off Luke McNally's hand. Referee, Tim Robinson, didn't think so though.

Five minutes were added on for Plymouth to salvage something from the game, but some fans were already headed for the exit. That would be a massive mistake.

Another Home Park moment of magic in stoppage time, as Julio Pleguezuelo levelled the match once again. A deep free-kick from Randell hung nicely in the air for the Spaniard to get the crucial final touch. The atmosphere inside the ground was electric, as the Pilgrims pushed for a winner.

Neither team would find the breakthrough, as Robinson blew for full-time. It was a well-earned point for Argyle, who once again showed their mettle to fight until the end. Bristol City will be disappointed after being pegged back twice, and conceding an equaliser so late. However, it was still a strong showing from Manning's men, who can take plenty of positives from the performance.

Plymouth remain bottom of the Championship, as the only team yet to hit 20 points. Bristol City continue to knock on the door of the play-offs, but three points would've been much more helpful in their quest.