Argyle 3 Barnsley 0

Argyle put together back-to-back wins for only the third time this season with an ultimately comfortable success against a Barnsley side who struggled manfully with the handicap of having to play virtually the entire match a player short. With less than four minutes on the clock, Jermaine Easter latched on to a sublime MacLean flick and got past Tykes defender Lewin Nyatanga, only to be dragged down by his shirt as he closed in on goal. Initially referee Woolmer declined to call a foul, only for his assistant to draw his attention to the offence (flagging so furiously that his flag completely fell apart – first time I’ve ever seen that). After what seemed an eternity, Woolmer finally sent Nyatanga off, for denying a goalscoring opportunity, but decided the offence had taken place outside the box and awarded a free-kick in the D. No matter. Up stepped MacLean to put a purler into the top right-hand corner.

For the next twenty minutes, Argyle threatened to run riot. Some sublime passing and movement, notably from Paterson, MacLean and Nalis, looked for all the world as if it would sweep Barnsley aside. Unsettled at the back, out-competed in the midfield, it was surely a matter of time before the second goal arrived. But it didn’t, and, lulled by the crowd’s chants of ‘Ole!’, the Pilgrims looked dangerously over-confident and more than once almost gifted the Tykes a way back into the match, with Brian Howard and Macken finding their feet and beginning to cause the Pilgrim’s defence some headaches.

Argyle started the second half well and had a goal (rightly) ruled out for handball – Easter (again) bursting through and chipping Warner, but handling in the process. It was frustrating that Mr Woolmer failed to spot the even more obvious handball by Devaney in the area a few moments later. Just as in the first half, Argyle surrendered the initiative and with Jamal Campbell-Ryce causing mayhem down the Argyle right, you couldn’t rule out a Barnsley equaliser.

It almost came midway through the second half when Anderson Da Silva’s thunderbolt made the Barn Park end crossbar shudder. Argyle were having trouble making the ball stick up top, and it was fairly easy to call the substitution of Fallon for Easter, who’d run and run all night, but had trouble with his first touch and was by now being easily muscled off the ball. Except it wasn’t Fallon who came on. Young Jamie Mackie looked a bundle of nerves as he stepped on to the Home Park turf for the first time in the Green and White. Eleven seconds later he was celebrating in front of the Dem’port having got to Halmosi’s exquisite cross and bundled the ball past Warner. Eleven seconds into his debut – a new club record for the fastest debut goal.

To be honest, thereafter the game seemed to pass the lad by somewhat. He couldn’t find a green shirt with a pass, and seemed slow to move and generate space. But with five minutes left, he collected the ball out on the right, stepped past the fullback like he was a figment of my imagination and fired a stunning shot into the near corner. If the phrase, Roy of the Rovers was ever appropriate, tonight was the night.

There was just time for Paul Wotton’s long-awaited return from cruciate and anterior ligament damage – he’s clearly some way off but received a standing ovation as he took the field. And three more points. Perhaps the play-offs aren’t dead yet after all.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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