Plymouth secured their first clean sheet in seven games on goalkeeper Michael Cooper’s comeback with a deserved point with a 0-0 draw against West Brom at The Hawthorns.
Argyle also went closest to breaking the deadlock too when Morgan Whittaker hit the inside of the post after 13 minutes while West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer denied substitute Mustapha Bundu.
Cooper – making his first senior appearance for eight months after a ruptured cruciate ligament – celebrated his comeback with a shutout as the visitors heeded their manager Steven Schumacher’s pre-match call to tighten up.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper got a vital fingertip to Grady Diangana’s deflected shot from West Brom’s best opening.
West Brom threatened first with a low, first-time shot from Alex Mowatt but Jordan Houghton deflected the ball over the bar after Jed Wallace squared to Matt Phillips.
Plymouth’s big moment came when Whittaker cut in from the right and his curling shot hit the inside of the post, with Finn Azaz firing over the rebound.
A wonderful piece of skill by Diangana had West Brom’s supporters on their feet after he beat Mickel Miller and Azaz down the right, but after the winger’s pass to Wallace, Erik Pieters overhit his cross to Brandon Thomas-Asante.
As half-time approached, Plymouth were looking sharper than their hosts and Kaine Kesler-Hayden forced the first save of the game. His drilled effort hit the legs of Palmer after another run and cross from Whittaker.
Perhaps not surprisingly after a lacklustre showing, there were a few boos ringing to greet Albion at the half-time whistle.
Plymouth defender Dan Scarr became the fourth player to be booked in an increasingly scrappy game for a trip on Nathaniel Chalobah as the midfielder threatened to go past him 25 yards out.
But Darnell Furlong summed up Albion’s afternoon from the free-kick when his curling attempt went straight into the defensive wall.
It took until the 53rd minute for West Brom to force their first effort on target after Diangana’s shot took a wicked deflection off a defender and Cooper got a fingertip to it to deflect the ball behind.
Argyle were denied again when Bundu cut in from the left only to see his curling shot tipped away by Palmer.
West Brom were looking increasingly desperate in their attempts to fashion a winner as the clock ticked down.
Substitute Jayson Molumby’s shot flew high and wide, before fellow replacement Semi Ajayi failed to connect properly with a header at the far post at the end.
Coventry City 1-2 Ipswich Town: Burgess puts Tractor Boys on brink of promotion
Ipswich Town took a huge step to Premier League promotion after Cameron Burgess snatched a second-half winner in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Coventry City.
Kieran McKenna's side require just one point from their final Championship game against League One-bound Huddersfield Town to go up, after a decisive victory at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Kieffer Moore blasted in an eighth-minute opener for the visitors after Wes Burns' crafty cutback pass, easing the pressure on Ipswich and dampening the top-two hopes of third-placed Leeds United.
Haji Wright levelled in the second half, only for Burgess to squeeze a winning goal past Bradley Collins five minutes later, putting Ipswich on the brink of top-flight football for the first time since their relegation in 2002.
A draw against Huddersfield, who are 23rd and three points adrift of safety, would secure promotion at Portman Road, marking just the fourth instance of back-to-back promotions in the Premier League era.
Having managed to climb out of League One, McKenna's entertaining side would join Watford, rivals Norwich City and Southampton as the only sides to achieve the feat.
Data Debrief: Ipswich end winless run at perfect time
Prior to this game, only five teams had won fewer points in the Championship than Ipswich's six since the beginning of April (W1 D3 L1).
Yet McKenna's men refused to let their top-flight push derail as the Tractor Boys ended a four-game winless run to move within touching distance of history.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
