The more things change, the more they stay the same. Tom Harris reviews another home draw for Plymouth Argyle.
Miron Muslic’s Plymouth Argyle tenure began with a point as the Pilgrims came from behind to draw 1-1 with Oxford United at Home Park.
A defensive mix up on the right side eventually presented the opportunity for Oxford’s Will Vaulks to thunder a strike in from 25 yards to give the visitors a lead arguably against the run of play.
In a frustratingly stop-start fixture, Argyle once again had to show they had what it took to get anything from the match and they did just that in the second half. Rami Al Hajj ghosted into the penalty area unmarked to head home a pinpoint delivery from new signing Tymoteusz Puchacz as the points were shared.
Here are the ratings from the game.
Daniel Grimshaw, GK – 6 .A handful of stoppage time saves from Grimshaw ensured Argyle held on to a point. The keeper, replacing the absent Conor Hazard, made sure he parried dangerous last minute shots to safety as Argyle kicked off the Muslic era with a draw. His slow distribution and tentativeness to come for crosses was very frustrating for the home faithful.
Bali Mumba, RWB – 6. Mumba didn’t get forward nearly as much as he’d want or Argyle needed him to but generally stuck to his defensive task well despite being caught on his heels with the long ball that led to the first goal. But a steady display from Argyle’s number 2.
Julio Pleguezuelo, RCB – 6. The Oxford goal came down his side when the U’s bypassed Pleguzeulo with a long ball after he had followed his man infield. That aside, another strong display from the Spaniard.
Victor Palsson, CB – 6. He has the chance to stake a claim at the central defensive position with Kornel Szucs sidelined. One positional mistake let him down and it was costly, as Argyle fell behind in the first half. That aside it was another decent showing from Palsson who even had his name chanted at one stage – a first for him this season. Here’s hoping he takes these improved performances in his stride.
Brendan Galloway, LCB – 6. Somehow, he saw the dying minutes out despite picking up some sort of muscular injury and helped limit Oxford to few chances.
Tymoteusz Puchacz, LWB – 7 POTM. A bright start to life in Green for Puchacz who made his full debut at left wing back. He showed what his left foot can do when he put the ball on a plate for Al Hajj in the first half who then drew a fine save from the keeper. The same duo combined again after the break for Argyle’s equaliser. The consistency of his crossing leads a lot to be desired on first inspection, with at least two free kicks and two corners sailing straight out of play.
Adam Randell, CM – 6. The ‘Plymstock Pirlo’ looked knackered towards the end of the game and who can blame him, he’s played week in, week out without rotation for months now. Might benefit from some competition in his department after the departure of Adam Forshaw.
Darko Gyabi, CM – 5. Besides a driving run in the second half which led to a poor pass from the England U21 midfielder, it wasn’t a top notch display from Gyabi. The Leeds loanee was caught on the ball too many times in the first half as Argyle struggled to maintain their early pressure.
Morgan Whittaker, RAM – 6. Some bright movements were on show from Whittaker who doesn’t need a second invitation to try his luck from range – dragged a shot wide in the first half from a similar position to where he scored at Brentford in a game where chances were few and far between.
Rami Al Hajj, LAM – 7. We are beginning to see a bit more of what was promised from Al Hajj who arrived on deadline day in the summer transfer window. It’s back to back Home Park goals for Al Hajj who took his header fantastically, guiding the ball neatly into the far corner. He had two attempts in the first half where he could have found the back of the net, however he was thwarted on one effort and saw another whistle by the post: replaced by Michael Obafemi with 15 or so to go.
Michael Baidoo, ST – 6. It was a home debut for the record signing but it was a quiet display from Baidoo. The forward made some clever runs in behind the defence which went unnoticed by his teammates. However, when he did get the opportunity on the ball, his decision making let him down, most notably when Argyle had a dangerous counter attack in the first half. Give him time.
Substitutions:
Michael Obafemi, ST – 6. Failed to impact the game as his introduction meant Baidoo dropped deeper. Finding regular sustained minutes hard to come by at the moment.
Ibrahim Cissoko, LM – N/A. Argyle moved to a back four to accommodate for Cissoko,s arrival but the winger struggled to get on the ball to cause the visitors any danger.
Jordan Houghton, CM – N/A. Replaced the yellow carded Darko Gyabi late on.
Nathaniel Ogbeta LWB, – N/A. A like for like swap for Puchacz who looked to have picked up a dead leg.