Plymouth Argyle must be dreaming of repeat moment v Derby County | OneFootball

Sam Cosgrove had a debut to remember as he helped the Pilgrims earn all three points on their last visit to Pride Park

Plymouth Argyle will travel to Derby County on Saturday, with the Green Army following their side much more in hope than expectation after their early season exploits.

The Pilgrims are yet to pick up a victory on their travels in 24/25, with just one point from seven games on the road encapsulating their form away from Home Park since the start of August.

While Pride Park hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Devon outfit historically, they will have fond memories of the last time they made the journey north, after a late turnaround saw them head back to the West Country with all three points.

Sam Cosgrove made his Argyle debut that day, and finished the game with two goals to his name, and there are no words to describe just how much the travelling fans would love a repeat of that feat this weekend.

Sam Cosgrove’s dream debut sees Derby drop to defeat

The Greens were riding high at the beginning of the 22/23 campaign, with Steven Schumacher starting his first full season in charge of the club with four wins from the opening six matches of the campaign.

Derby County had not long dropped down from the second tier, and although they had fallen on hard times of late, the Rams always provided a stern test of the Pilgrims’ trips north in the past.

You had to go all the way back to 1985 for the last time Argyle had emerged from County territory victorious, with the seven trips in between seeing them come back down south without a single point to their name.

And it looked to be a similar story in September 2022, as the Rams came flying out the blocks with goals from James Collins and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, leaving Schumacher’s side two goals down at the break.

That half-time dressing room would have made for interesting viewing, for Argyle came out in the second-half with a point to prove, and got themselves back into the game when County old boy Morgan Whittaker halved the deficit just before the hour mark.

The wide man was taken off with 15 minutes to go though, as the Greens still searched for a way back into the game, with Cosgrove being thrown into the mix, having recently signed on loan from Birmingham City on the final day of the transfer window.

The brutish centre forward knew what he had to do when he entered the pitch; ruffle some feathers up top and try to unnerve the County defence, and he had done exactly that within two minutes of coming on for his first appearance as a Pilgrim.

As Finn Azaz plays Niall Ennis down the left-hand side, Cosgrove is steaming into the penalty area, and is on hand to convert a centre from his fellow forward, to score one of the quickest goals by an Argyle debutant in history.

Having come back from two goals down to restore parity, the Greens were hungry for more, and the atmosphere in Pride Park had quickly turned, with the contingent in the far corner the ones making the noise and urging their side on to victory.

As the minutes ticked down, it looked as if the spoils would be shared, before some poor control from Eiran Cashin allowed Cosgrove to steal in once again, and finish with the outside of his boot past a despairing Joe Wildsmith in net.

After going 27 years without a victory at the home of the Rams, Argyle finally had three points to take back to Devon in the most remarkable of manners. Cosgrove was the hero, as he helped continue an unbeaten run that would last 15 matches as the Pilgrims took the third tier by storm.

Argyle just don’t win at Derby. That was a fact that had always been accepted, but that 22/23 team was one that was making its own history, with that trip to Pride Park just one of the many tales to tell from their season in the sunshine.

Plymouth Argyle would love repeat of Derby County victory

What Argyle would give for a win at Pride Park this Saturday. There doesn’t need to be the drama of 2022’s visit, just a simple 1-0, smash and grab, whatever you like, hell, they’d snatch your hands off for a draw at this rate.

That is what it has come to in terms of Wayne Rooney’s side when they leave the comfy confounds of Devon, with their results anywhere north of Totnes taking a turn for the worse.

A single Morgan Whittaker strike is all they have to show for their efforts on the road this season, with his goal proving to be the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers, which earned them their only away point of the campaign.

Heavy defeats at Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff City and Leeds United have been married with slender losses at West Brom, Burnley and Millwall, but regardless of the performance, the end result has always been the same: Zero points.

With an international break on the horizon, just taking something from the weekend’s affair would be seen as progress for Argyle, although they wouldn’t turn their nose up at another Cosgrove-esque showing if it was handed to them.

After the horror-show at Leeds United last weekend things can only get better, surely? Alas, the Green Army will be out in force once again, hoping to be there when the ship turns around in terms of results on the road.