Argyle exited the Emirates FA Cup with a 2-0 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers.
Both goals were scored in the second half by Wycombe forward Cauley Woodrow, who converted a penalty midway through the second period, and then scored again with just over ten minutes to go, as the awful weather conditions offered a metaphor for the current run.
It never rains, but it pours: This was a third away game in ten days. A third defeat. A third 2-0 scoreline.
Notable at kick-off time was the fact that Argyle had once again reverted their playing shape. In front of captain Conor Hazard was a back four, with Matty Sorinola on the left, Kornel Szucs on the right, and Alex Mitchell partnering Mathias Ross in the centre.
Caleb Roberts sat as the deepest midfield player, with Jamie Paterson and Bradley Ibrahim slightly in front of him. Bali Mumba played from the left flank, Owen Dale on the right, with Lorent Tolaj up front.
On-loan Bristol City man Sam Bell was the first to fire a warning shot, getting into the area and shooting wide, but the next couple of chances were Argyle’s unsurprisingly seeing Tolaj involved.
The first came from Argyle pressure meaning Tolaj was able to get the ball outside the penalty area and play it around the stranded Wycombe goalkeeper, Mikki van Sas. However, Tolaj had just taken himself wide, and could only shoot into the side-netting.
It was Tolaj again in the middle of things when Paterson played a smart ball into the left-hand channel, but although the Argyle number 9 seemed to have got beyond the tracking Chairboys, he tried to cut inside and shoot, and the recovering defenders snatched the ball.
Argyle had done well in the opening quarter, but steadily Wycombe wrested control, and looked threatening as the half elapsed.
Jamie Mullins went close from a well-worked edge-of-the-box free-kick routine, and Bell’s volley followed a similar trajectory about a minute later.
On the right flank, the pacy Junior Quitirna looked a threat whenever Wycombe worked the ball to him, and with five minutes to go he raced into the area to shoot from a tight angle, but was stopped by a strong Hazard save.
Daniel Harvie went not too far over from 20 yards as the half came to a close, with the home side in the ascendancy.
Argyle started the second half really brightly, though. Their front-foot football did not lead to a clear chance to speak of in the first ten minutes or so after the restart, but some quicker, slicker football led to Wycombe having to work harder to defend their box, including from a low Sorinola cross that could have been threatening.
Roberts looked to pick up a knock, and Tom Cleverley opted to freshen up the midfield. Roberts and Ibrahim, the latter of whom had been booked, departed, with Law McCabe and Malachi Boateng coming on.
However, it was a sub of Wycombe’s that caused the biggest impact. Fred Onyedinma, only on the field a few minutes, brought down a ball in the area and turned Mumba, who could only haul his man down. Woodrow rolled his penalty into the bottom corner, and Wycombe had the lead.
Argyle immediately sent on Tegan Finn for Mumba, and followed that with Owen Oseni for Paterson, but it was Wycombe who made it two. Woodrow got his second when Argyle could not clear a corner and, at the second attempt, he managed to find the net.
Trying to claw something back, Argyle played a ball over the top searching for Tolaj, but he was hindered by a knock in the back by defender Connor Taylor, who was sent off for, in the referee’s view, preventing a goalscoring opportunity.
In the remaining five minutes, plus eight minutes stoppages, Argyle threw Mathias Ross up front to try to force something, but it never truly looked like happening.
Argyle: 1 Conor Hazard (capt), 2 Mathias Ross, 6 Kornél Szucs, 7 Jamie Paterson (18 Owen Oseni, 76), 9 Lorent Tolaj, 11 Bali Mumba (39 Tegan Finn, 68), 15 Alex Mitchell, 23 Bradley Ibrahim (19 Malachi Boateng, 56), 24 Caleb Roberts (20 Law McCabe, 55), 29 Matty Sorinola, 35 Owen Dale. Substitutes: 21 Luca Ashby-Hammond (gk), 4 Brendan Wiredu, 22 Brendan Galloway, 27 Bim Pepple, 41 Seb Campbell.
Booked: Ibrahim 23, Ross 33, Sorinola 67
Wycombe: 1 Mikki van Sas, 2 Jack Grimmer (capt), 3 Daniel Harvie, 7 Armando Junior Quitirna (24 Donnell McNeilly, 78), 10 Luke Leahy (8 Caolan Boyd-Munce, 62), 11 Sam Bell (44 Fred Onyedinma, 62), 12 Cauley Woodrow (9 Bradley Fink, 81), 21 Jamie Mullins (51 Alex Lowry, 78), 26 Connor Taylor, 42 Magnus Westergaard, 45 Anders Hagelskjaer. Substitutes: 50 Will Norris (gk), 17 Dan Casey, 20 Ewan Henderson, 22 Fin Back
Goals: Woodrow pen 67, 79
Sent off: Taylor 86
Attendance: 3,571 (915 away)
Referee: Scott Oldham
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