Argyle beat Bristol Rovers on penalties

Game drawn at full-time

A penalty shootout victory saw Plymouth Argyle beat Bristol Rovers and take all three points in their first Football League Trophy – known as the Papa Johns Trophy - game of the season.

Under a beautiful sunset at Home Park, Rovers made a solid start, knocking the ball around confidently as they sought to find some weaknesses in the Argyle back line.

But it was Argyle who got a foothold of the game after a competitive opening five minutes, creating a multitude of opportunities.

Joe Edwards hit the bar with a header, Ryan Hardie forced some strong saves from Rovers’ keeper Anssi Jaakkola, and Callum Hall went close from a corner.

Plymouth keeper Callum Burton was called into action late in the half when John Marquis’ neat footwork was followed by a lovely pass to Luca Hoole, whose strike was well parried by the keeper.

Hardie had a fine opportunity to open the scoring early in the second period when he capitalised on a defensive error, but a tremendous block by Clark denied him, as Argyle started the second half as they had played for much of the first.

But it was Rovers who took the lead when Jerry Lawrence played a stunning ball over the top for Ryan Loft.

The forward shrugged off his marker and produced a composed finish through the legs of Burton as the away side took the lead.

Argyle were awarded a penalty shortly after when Morgan Whittaker was fouled in the box, and Hardie drove the spot kick down the middle to draw Plymouth level.

The home side should have taken the lead when Hardie played a superb ball into Morgan Whittaker, but he could not keep his header down, and Rovers survived.

A frantic minute saw Bristol substitute Aaron Collins denied by the legs of Burton, before Plymouth escaped up the other end.

Jordan Houghton’s effort was saved by Jaakkola, and Hardie’s follow-up was cleared off the line.

Another effort from Whittaker, and a further shot into the gloves of Jaakkola from Adam Randell followed, and Argyle looked the more likely to grab a winner than Rovers head into the final 10 minutes.

A heroic piece of defending from Houghton denied Saunders from point-blank range, and with neither side able to find a breakthrough, penalties were needed after the match ended 1-1.

Finn Azaz, Macaulay Gillesphey, Houghton and Niall Ennis scored in the shootout, as Argyle took advantage of misses from Antony Evans and Greensdale to take all three points after a 4-3 win on penalties.

Plymouth travel to Swindon for their next fixture in the competition, and face a trip to Derby on Saturday in League One.

Argyle First team coach, Kevin Nancekivell, was enthralled by the game, which both sides attacked with full commitment.

“Really enjoyed it, I thought the crowd of 2,300, something like that, can go away really pleased,” he said after the game.

“Lots of open football, lots of end to end, I thought Bristol Rovers had a good go at it, as we did.

“Two relatively strong teams for the competition, so we treated it with a lot of respect, [we had a] penalty shootout, which is always nice for people to watch the drama of that unfold.

“Thankfully, we’ve come out on top of it and got some points on the board, it’s been a good night.”

Youngsters Oscar Halls, Jack Endacott, Will Jenkins-Davies and Frederick Issaka all made an appearance and their respective performances were those of established first team players.

“That’s what the idea is really, that they do slot in, they understand the system,” explained Nancekivell.

“They understand the philosophy of how we play, all the way through, from the first team all the way down to the younger age groups at the academy. 

“So, that’s nice to see that being transferred from the training pitch to the main pitch on a matchday.

“Jack did that today, he’s done that before, I felt Oscar and Will showed glimpses as well of their potential.

“So, really pleasing night for everybody associated with the club.”

Line-ups:
Plymouth Argyle:
Callum Burton (GK), Macaulay Gillesphey, Jordan Houghton, Joe Edwards ©, Ryan Hardie, Morgan Whittaker, Adam Randell, Nigel Lonwijk, Jack Endacott, Oscar Halls, Will Jenkins-Davies

Substitutions:
Michael Cooper (GK), Matt Butcher, Niall Ennis, Bali Mumba, Finn Azaz, Jeff Forkuo, Freddie Issaka

Bristol Rovers:
Anssi Jaakkola (GK), Lewis Gordon, John Marquis, Jordan Rossiter, Paul Coutts ©, Ryan Loft, Trevor Clarke, Harvey Saunders, Glenn Whelan, Luca Hoole, Jerry Lawrence

Substitutes:
James Belshaw (GK), Alfie Kilgour, Aaron Collins, Antony Evans, Luke McCormick, Harvey Greensdale, Ryan Jones