EFL

Morgan Whittaker strike steals dramatic win for Plymouth over 10-man Rotherham

By Sports Desk December 16, 2023

Morgan Whittaker scored a dramatic late winner as Plymouth snatched a 3-2 result over 10-man Rotherham at Home Park in the Sky Bet Championship.

The playmaker struck six minutes into stoppage time to cause misery for the visitors, who saw defender Daniel Ayala sent off for a second bookable offence in the 55th minute.

Rotherham had taken the lead through Jamie Lindsay but Argyle turned things around with two goals from Finn Azaz, the first from the penalty spot, either side of half-time.

Despite Ayala’s dismissal, the Millers still managed to level through substitute Tom Eaves but Whittaker’s last-gasp strike ensured the points stayed in Plymouth.

It was no more than the home side deserved after twice hitting the post in the first half and putting Rotherham under the cosh for long spells, although it was the visitors who broke the deadlock after 16 minutes following a defensive mix-up in the Argyle penalty area.

The ball fell to striker Sam Nombe, who teed up Lindsay to fire home from just inside the box.

In the 25th minute Ayala was cautioned for a foul on Azaz, resulting in a 20-yard free-kick. However, Whittaker’s superb curling strike around the wall clipped the outside of the post.

Rotherham could have increased their lead minutes later on the counter-attack, but Jordan Hugill headed high and wide from Dexter Lembikisa’s pinpoint cross from the right.

Injuries to Plymouth strikers Ryan Hardie and his replacement, substitute Mustapha Bundu, then caused a lengthy delay which resulted in 16 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half.

It was during this that Argyle were gifted an equaliser, winning a penalty after a foul on Lewis Gibson by Nombe. Azaz sent United goalkeeper Viktor Johansson the wrong way from the spot.

Azaz, who also saw another effort ping back off the post with the last action of the first half, then put the hosts in front for the first time in the 52nd minute.

Whittaker sent over a pacy cross from the right and Azaz tucked the ball away with a neat side-foot finish at the far post.

Things went from bad to worse for Rotherham just three minutes later when Ayala received a red card for handball, but Argyle failed to make the most of their one-man advantage and the Millers restored parity through Eaves in the 77th minute.

Christ Tiehi’s cross from the left to the far post was headed back across the six-yard box by Sean Morrison to fellow substitute Eaves for a simple tap-in.

Two minutes later Johansson made a brilliant stop with his legs to deny Bali Mumba as the wing-back was put in on goal by Azaz.

But Argyle had the final say when Azaz flicked the ball into Whittaker’s path and he made no mistake, hammering in six minutes into time added on.

Related items

  • Page understands Wales fans' frustrations after Gibraltar draw Page understands Wales fans' frustrations after Gibraltar draw

    Rob Page acknowledged Wales' fans are "entitled" to be frustrated after they were held to a shock goalless draw by Gibraltar.

    Page was jeered by sections of the travelling supporters at Estadio Do Algarve, where the youthful Dragons were unable to break down the nation ranked 203rd in the world.

    Gibraltar had lost each of their 13 previous matches by an aggregate score of 50-0, but managed to hold out for a memorable draw against the Euro 2016 semi-finalists.

    Despite registering 16 shots and having an xG of 1.13, the closest Wales came to scoring was when Josh Sheehan's inswinging corner came back off the crossbar.

    It marked another disappointment for Wales, who failed to qualify for Euro 2024 after their play-off defeat to Poland on penalties in March.

    Page understands the frustrations of the supporters - some of whom called for him to leave - but insists he remains focused on "the long-term plan" and his side's return to competitive action in three months' time.

    "They are entitled to their opinion, absolutely. I get it, I completely get it," Page said when asked about being booed.

    "I'm a Welsh supporter as well as the manager, I'm disappointed. But I have to keep saying about the bigger picture, and I'll probably get criticised for that. It's the bigger picture, and we're not going to lose focus on what we've done."

    "If you've got a business plan and a long-term plan, you can't be emotional. It's a draw against a Gibraltar team that we're really disappointed with, and our focus is on getting the team and squad ready for September to win Nations League games."

  • Nicholson fires Boyz to 1-0 win over Dom Rep but Hallgrimsson unimpressed with overall performance Nicholson fires Boyz to 1-0 win over Dom Rep but Hallgrimsson unimpressed with overall performance

    A 16th minute strike by Shamar Nicholson proved the difference as Jamaica's senior Reggae Boyz edged Dominican Republic 1-0 to open their Concacaf World Cup qualifying account on a positive note at the National Stadium on Thursday.

    Nicholson’s strike, his 17th international goal and third in World Cup qualifiers, highlighted an unsatisfactory evening for Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side, as the defence was at times vulnerable, while the wasteful attacking front was marred by a lack of composure and poor decision-making in the final third. This was much to the disappointment of the sizeable crowd which surprisingly turned out despite the early kickoff and rainfall.

    Still, for Hallgrimsson, the most important outcome was securing the three points, which propelled the Boyz to second in Group E on three points, same as leaders Guatemala, who hammered Dominica 6-0 in their opening clash on Wednesday.

    “We should have finished it off, but when you are winning 1-0, it's always uncomfortable because then it only needs a corner or a freekick and the ball goes in. So you never kind of feel relaxed, but we should have killed the game off with the chances we got. Apart from that, it (our performance) was below par, and we can do much better than we did today,” Hallgrimsson said in a post-game interview.

    “But given a lot of these players are coming back from not playing, it was kind of given that some of them would not be ready for a competitive match right away. We can for sure improve from this performance, but the most important thing is that we got the win and we kept a clean sheet,” he added.

    After a cagey start by both teams, the Jamaicans eventually showed some attacking intent in the 12th minute through the fleet-footed Renaldo Cephas, who utilised his pace to good effect to breach Dominican Republic's defence, but he couldn't get on target at that point.

    Dominican Republic tried to play their game, through steady and penetrative build ups, and it was one of those attempts to open up in attack that allowed the Jamaicans to break the deadlock on the counter. This, as Cephas won possession on the break and left the last defender in his wake on his way into the 18-yard box where he played a pass across goal to Nicholson, who applied a cool finish beyond custodian Miguel Lloyd.

    The Boyz tried to press the ascendancy from there, but were unable to make their dominance in possession count, as their star man Michail Antonio was subjected to heavy physical treatment throughout. In fact, the Jamaicans next best chance of the first half was courtesy of Bobby Reid's 33rd-minute freekick from just outside the 18-yard box, which went just wide of the left upright.

    Much like they did at the start, both teams were again slow into rhythm on the resumption, as both lacked enterprise in their build ups, and as such, failed to create anything meaningful in the attacking third.

    It was until the 72nd minute that the Jamaicans again came to life when Cephas’s blistering pace down the left channel forced Luiyi De Lucas to take fell him inside the danger area and gift the Jamaicans a penalty. However, Reid couldn't make the 12-yard kick count as his effort went at a decent height for Lloyd to parry.

    Eight minutes later, Reid again unleashed Cephas, who had Deshane Beckford alongside him in a two-on-one counter, but the former selfishly hogged possession and inevitably had his tame effort blocked by the advancing Lloyd.

    Though they continued to threatening in a sustained attacking spell in the latter stages of the contest, the Jamaicans were found wanting in the decision-making which robbed them of any real opportunity to add to their tally.

    Hallgrimsson, obviously under no illusions, acknowledged some flaws that he hopes to address heading into Sunday’s encounter away to Dominica.  

    It should be placed in the context that the Icelandic coach was without a number of his first choice players –Demarai Gray, Amari’i Bell, Joel Latibeaudiere, Ethan Pinnock, Andre Blake and Dujuan Richards –due to injury, while Leon Bailey remains unavailable. Hence, the Boyz looked unimpressive.

    “We were very slow. Everything that we did was low tempo. I think in the second half it got better, we created more chances with buildup play and creation, but in general, it was too slow for my taste. These strikers, for example, with all their individual quality, are not used to playing in a two striker formation,” Hallgrimsson reasoned.

    “So we just need time to get them to sink a little bit better. But in general with the ball, we were not good. Slow tempo, even defending first half was slow tempo, so we gave them the time that they needed to be good. So I would just say we need to up the tempo in everything that we are doing. But you are correct, attacking decision-making is not good enough,” he noted.

  • Nagelsmann staying coy over Germany's final Euro 2024 squad Nagelsmann staying coy over Germany's final Euro 2024 squad

    Julian Nagelsmann announced he has "basically" made a decision about his final Euro 2024 squad but would not be revealing it until Friday.

    Germany face Greece in their final warm-up game on Friday before their home tournament, which they will kick off against Scotland on June 14.

    Nagelsmann initially named a provisional squad of 27 and needs to reduce that by one, confirming the official 26-man group by Friday.

    The former Bayern Munich manager conceded that places will still be up for grabs depending on performances against Greece but would not give any hints about whom the player likely to drop out would be.

    "We have our starting 11 in our heads but the performance in the match and in training must fit," Nagelsmann told a press conference on Thursday.

    "Overall, the squad decision has been taken, but I won't announce it, nor talk with those affected, because in the worst case, someone is injured tomorrow, and the player affected needs to slip back in, and it would be silly to have that chat now.

    "The decision has basically been made. We'll announce it after the game tomorrow.

    "The roles are clear. If Kai [Havertz] performs, he will have the edge. He has to perform. [Niclas Fullkrug] will get his playing time and will be able to score goals and cause a furore.

    "Nothing is set in stone. You have to perform to get it set in stone."

    One of those included in the preliminary squad is Bayern's Leroy Sane, who sustained a bone injury in May that kept him out of Germany's friendly draw with Ukraine on Monday.

    Nagelsmann provided a positive update on the winger's availability, which could be a boost if he stays in the squad for the tournament.

    "He is an option for tomorrow. He has done two training sessions," he added.

    "However, we cannot calculate him in for 90 minutes of every match. He has found a good way when the tension is there [in his injury] to take it out."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.