Dewsnip thought the relegation-threatened Pilgrims showed ‘incredible resilience’ after falling behind to a 73rd minute QPR goal in the Championship clash at Home Park
Devon Dewsnip said that Plymouth Argyle’s players had ‘great perseverance’ as they overcame a one-goal deficit to earn a point from a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers, their relegation rivals.
The Pilgrims, who were playing at Home Park for the first time since head coach Ian Foster was fired, fell behind to a close-range goal from QPR midfielder Sam Field in the 73rd minute.
Before a stroke of luck in the last minutes, it looked like they were going to lose their sixth straight league match at home without scoring a goal.
When Argyle substitute Mustapha Bundu confronted QPR custodian Asmir Begovic, he flapped at an inswinging corner from Adam Randell, causing the ball to hit Albert Adomah and bounce off him into his own net.
In a match that will be shown on Sky on Friday night, the Pilgrims will host title-chasing Leicester City, and at least they will have something to build on from their draw.
“We really thought we could win the game,” Dewsnip stated. We were still of the same opinion at halftime. The team needed to demonstrate extraordinary resiliency at that precise moment when they scored.
“I think the audience was amazing in supporting us, and we scored the goal, which might be really helpful. We view it as a point earned rather than a lost chance at home. We’ve already scored four points in two games, so our momentum is shifting, and we play again on Friday.”
“At this football club, heads don’t go down,” he said. The players’ tenacity is astounding. If you go back a few seasons, you should be able to recall the occasions when we have scored in extra time to either win or tie a game. They simply never say “pass away.” It appears to be ingrained in the society.”
Argyle’s goal to tie the score at home was a scruffy one, but it came after a very long wait.
Dewsnip said: “The lads are saying it’s an own goal but he (Bundu) is definitely claiming it, I haven’t seen it yet, but who cares as long as it goes in?”
Generally, though, it was another match where the Pilgrims struggled to create clearcut chances, managing just four shots on target overall, a far cry from when they were a potent attacking threat in the first half of the season.
Dewsnip said: “I think what I would like to do is look forwards as opposed to backwards and hopefully we can score more than one on Friday, and we will have Hull here in a couple of weeks, which could be really important, and we will be looking to score again then.”
There was praise for the Green Army in the season-highest crowd of 16,928 from Dewsnip for the support they had shown to the players.
The director of football at Argyle commented, “They were fantastic.” “When you first step outside, banners are waving. If you are an employee or player for the Queens Park Rangers, your immediate reaction is “Wow, game on.” We have a lot of support from the audience to continue playing in the league. I’m sure they’ll be back on Friday. More of the same.”
Michael Cooper, the custodian, was a comforting presence for Argyle. He made one outstanding stop against Paul Smyth in the second half while the score was still 0-0, and it was sad that he gave up Field’s goal after making an amazing diving save early in the game.
Dewsnip declared: “He was excellent. Michael has clearly sustained two serious injuries, and I believe that goalkeeping requires more time than.
“I believe that right now, Michael is beginning to resemble his best self again. Let’s hope he can go a little bit further still to keep the goals out.”
“He made one the other night at Rotherham as well,” Dewsnip continued. The point is that they kind of have an effect on the opposition in the sense of ‘My God, he’s good isn’t he, maybe we won’t shoot as much,’ even though Michael’s teammates and the coaches aren’t astonished by his saves.
“It’s incredible what occurs on a psychological level, so Michael is improving, supporting our team, and, of course, getting pushed by two other excellent goalkeepers, Conor Hazard and Callum Burton, every day in training.” It’s a beneficial aspect of
Following the draw with QPR, Argyle slid to 20th place, two points above the relegation zone. With Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to Millwall, Leicester will be the team’s next opponent.
“The mission has not changed; it is still to remain in this league, which means that we must have three teams below us. Nevertheless, we manage that, whether it be through points or even goal differential,” stated Dewsnip.
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