Plymouth Argyle secure Championship survival with Joe Edwards winner
Plymouth Argyle will be playing Championship football again next season after beating Hull City 1-0 at Home Park on the final day of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Pilgrims avoided relegation back to League One after a nerve-shredding game, with captain Joe Edwards getting the all-important goal late in the first half. Edwards, who joined Argyle as Ryan Lowe’s first signing as manager in the summer of 2019, played like a man possessed as Argyle clinched the victory they so desperately craved.
It took the three points to keep them up as well, with Birmingham City winning 1-0 at home to Norwich City. A draw would have seen the Pilgrims drop back into League One.
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Instead, they can now plan for a second consecutive season in the Championship while Birmingham will join Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United in League One next term.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned for Argyle going into the close season, and the crucial appointment of a new head coach after Ian Foster's short-lived spell in charge, but director of football Neil Dewsnip and first team coach Kevin Nancekivell deserve huge credit for guiding the club to safety in far from easy circumstances.
Ryan Hardie returned to lead the Pilgrims' attack against Hull as one of two changes from the 1-0 defeat away to Millwall while Alfie Devine, the 19-year-old loan signing from Tottenham Hotspur, also came into the side.
Ben Waine and Brendan Galloway dropped down to the bench, and Jordan Houghton was also among the substitutes after illness ruled him out of the previous match.
Edwards captained Argyle as they lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against Hull, who brought Liam Delap into the team for Abdulkadir Omur after drawing 3-3 at home to Ipswich Town the previous Saturday.
Devine was in central midfield alongside Argyle academy product Adam Randell, with Edwards and Bali Mumba on either side of them as wing-backs.
Mustapha Bundu and Morgan Whittaker, who needed one more goal to become the first Pilgrims’ player since Steve Castle in 1993/94 to reach 20 in a league season, were the attacking support for Hardie.
Argyle defender Dan Scarr blocked an early Hull shot from Jaden Philogene with his head before a very threatening break from the Pilgrims saw an attempted cut-back from Bali Mumba put behind for a corner by City captain Jacob Greaves.
Goalkeeper Michael Cooper then had to quickly come off his line to block an attempt from Hull’s Fabio Carvalho after the ball was played through to him.
Devine had a cross put behind for a corner after running onto a pass from Bundu and moments later the loanee had a speculative long range shot which was deflected wide.
Whittaker fired over the Hull bar after creating space for a shot with his less favoured right foot and, soon afterwards, he had an even better chance but his left-foot strike from a central position inside the penalty area was well saved by Ryan Allsop.
Argyle were playing with a good tempo and forcing Hull onto the defensive. The Green Army responded to that by raising the noise levels even higher than they had been.
Whittaker had another strike deflected over the bar and also a curling cross-shot safely caught by Allsop before Delap forced a smart low save out of Cooper after he cut in from the Hull left and let fly.
There was a let-off for Argyle when Jaden Philogene got in behind defender Ashley Phillips but was slightly off balance when he shot and it was easily saved by Cooper.
Bundu had to be substituted due to what looked like a hamstring injury and was replaced by Callum Wright before the Pilgrims opened the scoring in the 40th minute.
Wright put in a cross from the left and Edwards rose highest to send a header into the corner of the net for just his third goal of the season, and the first since a 3-3 draw at home to Birmingham in December.
Soon afterwards, Argyle had loud penalty appeals after a challenge from behind on Hardie but referee Darren Bond was unmoved and it remained 1-0 until half-time.
Hull made a double substitution at the start of the second period as Noah Ohio and Abdulkadir Omur replaced Delap and Ozan Tufan respectively.
Argyle needed defender Dan Scarr to make a good sliding clearance when Regan Slater sent a low cross into the penalty area before a fierce shot from Philogene was beaten away by Cooper as he dived to his right.
Wright and Edwards almost linked up for another Argyle goal only moments later but this time the Pilgrims’ captain could not quite get on the end of the cross from the left, and then Whittaker sent the ball across the face of the Hull goal from a tight angle.
By now, Birmingham had taken the lead against Norwich which increased the tension inside Home Park.
Hull made two more substitutions shortly after the hour mark as Lewis Coyle and Ryan Giles were sent on for Slater and Matty Jacob.
Coyle soon made an important block from a Whittaker shot but Hull were starting to have more and more of the ball and there was a lot of play in and around the Pilgrims’ penalty area as the Tigers probed for an opening.
Argyle did have a good chance to extend their lead after a well-worked move which ended up with Hardie touching the ball off to Wright, who snatched at his shot and fired wide.
Hardie was replaced by Waine in the 78th minute while at the same time Hull sent on experienced striker Billy Sharp for Tyler Morton.
The Green Army again played their part by roaring their team on as the game entered its crucial final stages, while Galloway and Adam Forshaw were called upon as Argyle substitutes for Mumba and Devine.
Bond added on five extra minutes at the end of the second half and Galloway did well to head a corner behind for a corner, for which Hull ‘keeper Allsop even went up for, but the Pilgrims held on to secure their safety, sparking a mass pitch invasion after the final whistle.
ARGYLE: Michael Cooper; Ashley Phillips, Dan Scarr, Lewis Gibson; Joe Edwards, Adam Randell, Alfie Devine (Adam Forshaw 83 mins), Bali Mumba (Brendan Galloway 83 mins); Morgan Whittaker, Mustapha Bundu (Callum Wright 38 mins); Ryan Hardie (Ben Waine 78 mins).
Substitutes (not used): Conor Hazard, Jordan Houghton, Julio Pleguezuelo, Matty Sorinola, Freddie Issaka.
HULL: Ryan Allsop; Regan Slater (Lewie Coyle 61 mins), Alfie Jones, Jacob Greaves, Matty Jacob (Ryan Giles 61 mins); Tyler Morton (Billy Sharp 78 mins), Jean Michael Seri; Liam Delap (Noah Ohio h/t), Fabio Carvalho, Jaden Philogene; Ozan Tufan (Abdulkadir Omur h/t)..
Substitutes (not used): Matt Ingram, Sean McLoughlin, Greg Docherty, Adama Traore.
REFEREE: Darren Bond
ATTENDANCE: 16,881 (1,706)
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