Plymouth Argyle head on the road to the West Midlands this weekend, facing table-toppers West Bromwich Albion.
The Baggies ascended to the summit of the Championship last time out thanks to the Devon side’s win at home to Sunderland, with Joe Edwards nicking a 93rd-minute winner. It sent Argyle two points clear of the relegation zone after five games and only their second victory of the season after an EFL Cup triumph against Cheltenham Town.
Wayne Rooney’s side have been plagued with problems, especially between the sticks due to an injury to Northern Ireland international Conor Hazard following the sale of Michael Cooper to Sheffield United. Former Shrewsbury Town man Marko Marosi was brought in to support Daniel Grimshaw, who started last-time out against the Wearside outfit.
Speaking to club media ahead of Plymouth’s visit to The Hawthorns, assistant head coach Pete Shuttleworth discussed how the win over Sunderland has boosted the club. He said: “It has to give you confidence when you play like that.
“After the first 25 minutes, I thought we were excellent. The lads executed what we asked them to do, and they thoroughly deserved that win. It was a good performance as well as a win.
“We have to replicate that and build on it on Saturday against West Brom, who are a good side. You take something from every game. There have been bits in every game where you think: ‘that’s what we want to happen’.
“In the closing stages against QPR, when we were down to ten men, the desire to protect your goal and defend your box was outstanding. If we can bring a bit of that, and the quality we showed on Saturday – if we can put all those bits together, we’ll be a good side.”
Albion come into the game as the in-form side in the division, scoring nine goals and conceding a league-best two. Josh Maja also leads the scoring charts in the second tier, scoring five and assisting an additional goal. Their only slip-up this campaign came in the cup against League Two side Fleetwood Town.
On how he anticipates West Brom to challenge his side, Shuttleworth added: “They have a lot of Championship experience in that team. They are a team that has been together for a while, and it is no surprise they’ve started well. They’ve added bits of quality, they’ve got pace, and they’ve got a lot of depth. We expect a tough challenge.
“It’s a tough place to go. It can be a good atmosphere up there when they are playing well. We’ve got to be able to deal with that and then put our own stamp on the game as well. It’ll be a tough challenge but one we are ready for.”
Writer’s View
Plymouth Argyle have had a solid start to a campaign they were tipped to struggle in. After his failed spell at Birmingham City, Wayne Rooney seems to have fallen back in love with management whilst at Home Park as he strives to bring the club a third straight season in the Championship. West Brom will be the second straight big test after their late win in Devon against Sunderland.
Argyle showed Regis Le Bris’ side they are no pushovers, overcoming The Black Cats in a thrilling game which could have gone either way. Carlos Corberan’s side will be hard to crack and being on the road makes it all the more tougher on a Plymouth side that scored 60% of all their goals last time out. Ultimately it may be too much to overcome but a positive performance at The Hawthorns would be a great sign to achieve their goals.
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