Argyle’s Zimbabwean defender Onismor Bhasera got Argyle out of jail on Saturday afternoon with a last minute goal to salvage a 3 – 3 draw with non-league Stourbridge in the FA Cup first round.
Argyle got off to a good start, Warren Feeney’s close range headed goal put the home side in the lead after just four minutes but the lead was cancelled out in the 37th minute by Aaron Drake with another close range headed goal. The scoreline at half time was 1 – 1 and the game could have gone either way, the non-league side were putting in a fantastic performance at Home Park.
The visitors took the lead in the 53rd minute with an audacious lob over Romain Larrieu by Ryan Rowe. Carl Fletcher leveled the scores in the 70th minute with a power shot from outside the penalty area. Then things took a turn for the worse as Robbie Williams was shown a straight red for bringing down Ryan Rowe, Sean Gebbis converted the spot kick to put the non-leaguers into the lead for a second time. With the man over, Stourbridge were favourites to progress to round 2!
But Plymouth defender Bhasera had other ideas, scoring a late equaliser in the 88th minute before a second Pilgrim, Conor Hourihane was shown red for a second bookable offence deep into added time. Now with the two reds and Fletchers fifth yellow of the season, the player/manager, Hourihane and Williams will all miss the next league game. I believe that lack of discipline, not only cost the Pilgrims in this game but will affect the next league game against local rivals Torquay.
Newly appointed manager Carl Fletcher has defended the red cards stating “It’s more enthusiasm, to try and do well and win the ball back“, which is all well and good on the training field but given the lack of players in the squad, this is not good! Now Argyle are three players short for the next game which could be crucial given the lack of experienced players in the squad at this time!
The only upside is that all three players will be available for the replay next Tuesday, I expect Stourbridge to be stronger at home, which is an ominous sign given how well they played at Home Park, the good news is that some added revenue should be coming the Pilgrims way as the game will be televised live on ESPN; guess the six goal thriller peaked some interest from the TV companies!