Plymouth Argyle: Season 3, The Finale

Hello Friends,

As mentioned in the previous post I’m on vacation this week and with the temperatures dropping to -6C there’s been plenty of indoor time to wrap up the season so here it is.

Season Finale

We started April off with an uneventful 1-0 win over Ipswich at Portman Road with Geynrikh getting the only goal of the game with a typical powerful finish that fully stretched the back of the net.

The following game was at home to Millwall and we got off to a flying start as ML Pelosi drilled a cross into the six yard box which rebounded off the Millwall keeper into the path of Rodriguez to smash home after 4 minutes. We then failed to capitalize on that great start and it wasn’t until the second period that Zeytulaev’s cross ball from the right found the head of Pelosi who glanced it into the net. Geynrikh of course had to get in on the action and added our third in the 67th minute with a close range shot from inside the 6 yard box with Zeytulaev once more the supplier. Number four came from a set piece and was headed in by Rodriguez after which Millwall managed a consolation goal but by then they were fully defeated.

We had closed gap on West Ham once more and only needed one more win to assure promotion to the Premier League. With all teams now having played 42 games the situation was this.

1. West Ham 85

2. Plymouth 84

3. Derby 73

Next up was a difficult away game to Huddersfield. We started brilliantly as Conor Coady’s free kick from inside the centre circle was met by the head of Rodriguez and the ball looped over the Huddersfield keeper an into the net to make it 1-0 after 8 minutes. From there the drama was in terms of injuries as I was forced to take off LB Bhasera and in the second half GK McCarey. Worse was to come as Boateng was sent off in the 71st minute leaving our slender league in jeopardy. William Ekong was stunning at the back thwarting everything the home side could throw at us and Rodirguez held up the ball magnificently to waste time and run out the clock as we took all three points away from The Galpharm Stadium.

Back in the dressing room the news came through that West Ham had lost at home to Cardiff so we were top of the table and two points clear!

More importantly though we had won promotion to the Premier League which was remarkable as we had gone from a side with the worst finances and morale in League 2 to the top flight of English football in consecutive seasons.

Our celebrations were short lived as there was still work to be done with three more games to play and now we had a chance at winning the title….

That chance immediately slipped away from us as we lost our next game at home to Peterborough 2-1 who were also chasing a play-off spot. Geynrikh scored our only goal in a game that had limited scoring opportunities in which Peterborough only had two themselves and scored on both occasions.

West Ham crushed Barnsley at home so were league leaders once more.

It was back to Yorkshire for our penultimate game of the season as we took on Leeds United. Zeytulaev’s fine run and cross from the right flank found his Uzbek compatriot Geynrikh and the ball was in the net in less than a minute. Leeds though tightened things up and forced the action down at our end of the field for most of the first half. Some encouraging words in the dressing room paid dividends as Geynrikh muscled his way through the Leeds defence to make it 2-0 soon after the break. Leeds were now on the back foot and 20 minutes later Pelosi’s cross from the left found Zeytulaev unmarked for an easy tap into the net. We weren’t quite finished as substitute Gameiro added number four in injury time.

Despite a fabulous away win West Ham clung on to top spot with little prospect of overtaking them again as we were both at home for our last game of the season against teams with nothing to play for.

A capacity crowd was on hand as we played our final game of the season at home to Portsmouth. It turned out to be a frustrating afternoon as the visitors assembled an impenetrable blue wall across their six yard box and displayed no intentions of attacking our goal. It wasn’t until the final few minutes of the game that substitute winger Javi Lopez produced two intricate passes that were both struck first time by Geynrikh to secure a deserved victory and give our fans something to cheer about.

In London West Ham had beaten Millwall 2-1 and thus won The Championship title. That home loss to Peterborough had been the difference between us finishing as champions and second place.

Final Table:

Results Summary:

Super Sevens:

With twenty- four goals in thirty-five games Geynrikh was undoubtedly the player of the season for Plymouth and Rodrigues turned out to be an excellent loan signing from Bologna. At just 17 years of age Arsenal’s left back Bougonou contributed with 5 solid performances and I’ll be keeping tabs on him.

In the Premier League Liverpool became champions whilst at the other end Wigan, Watford and Blackpool were all relegated. Southampton won the play –off final beating Derby by a single goal and will join ourselves and West Ham in the Premier League next season.

With the celebrations over a job offer came from Dundee United which I rejected and also I was linked with the vacancy at Villa Park. Aside from promotion there was one more reason to celebrate as I toppled ‘Big Sam” again this time for the Manager of the Year award.

As May drew to a close and a couple of weeks vacation on the horizon there was time for one more job offer…

That concludes Season 3 so thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your comments. As I think I’ve gone over the top with updates this week, I’ll step back for a few days before I turn Johnny’s site into a Plymouth blog!

I’ll take this opportunity though to wish you all a Happy New Year and may 2012 bring you peace, joy and great success in whatever you do.

— Kevin