STRIKER Reuben Reid continued his fine goalscoring form with a late equaliser for Argyle as they drew against AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.
The Pilgrims seemed set for defeat in south-west London until Reid fired a low shot past 'keeper Ross Worner in the 88th minute.
It was his 12th goal of the season in all competitions, and fourth in the last three games.
After a goal-less first half which was dominated by Wimbledon, the home team deservedly took the lead in the 47th minute.
That was striker Michael Smith headed home from close range after a cross from the left.
Wimbledon did not build on that, however, and a change of tactics from Argyle gave them fresh attacking impetus.
Reid had one shot superbly saved by Worner before he put the visitors on level terms.
It was a far from fluent performance from the Pilgrims but they kept battling away and eventually got their reward.
Argyle's starting line-up was the same as for the 3-2 win away to Oxford United on Boxing Day.
That meant 17-year-old Ben Purrington retained his place at left-back after a successful debut for the Pilgrims at the Kassam Stadium.
There was one change on the substitutes' bench, with Durrell Berry included instead of Guy Branston.
Berry was available after serving a one-match suspension against Oxford but manager John Sheridan stuck with Purrington at left-back.
Argyle put themselves under early pressure by conceding some needless fouls inside their own territory.
The resulting free-kicks did not lead to any clearcut chances for Wimbledon but they allowed them to dictate the play early on.
Argyle had their first chance in the 10th minute, and it was very good one.
Striker Caolan Lavery got on the end of a corner from Andres Gurrieri but he headed the ball into the ground and it bounced over the crossbar.
Moments later, Argyle midfielder Lewis Alessandra forced a good save out of Worner.
Alessandra's 20-yard shot had plenty of power behind it and Worner had to be alert to push it away.
Argyle 'keeper Luke McCormick had to come to the rescue for the visitors soon afterwards.
Gurrieri gave away possession and then centre-back Curtis Nelson failed to cut out a pass which Smith raced onto.
The on-loan Charlton Athletic striker got away a shot but it was blocked by McCormick.
Smith went close with a looping header which bounced narrowly wide as Wimbledon put a series of crosses into the Pilgrims' penalty area.
Argyle could not retain possession for any length of time and continued to come under pressure.
McCormick made a diving save from striker Charlie Sheringham's header after an excellent cross from Callum Kennedy in the 28th minute.
Kennedy played at left wing-back and was a constant attacking threat on that flank, causing a lot of problems for Maxime Blanchard.
Gurrieri also spent more time tracking back to try to deal with Kennedy than getting forward..
Argyle had a rare attack in the 35th minute when Lavery sped into the box but he was cleanly tackled by Wimbledon defender Barry Fuller.
It remained goal-less until half-time, although Alessandra had another opportunity just before the break.
Lavery rolled the ball back to Alessandra and his shot was pushed away by Worner as he dived to his left.
It had been a lacklustre performance from the Pilgrims up until that point.
They had come under heavy pressure at times but centre-backs Curtis Nelson and Neal Trotman were very strong in the air.
Wimbledon's dominance earned its reward at the start of the second half, though
Smith was not picked up properly when the ball was crossed into the Argyle penalty area in the 47th minute and he powered a header into the net.
The Pilgrims had failed to heed the numerous warnings from the first half that Smith was an aerial threat.
Argyle had a chance to equalise almost immediately but Alessandra miscontrolled the ball when in a good shooting position.
Gurrieri had a goalbound shot blocked by Wimbledon defender Alan Bennett in the 58th minute.
Argyle made their first substitution soon afterwards, with Berry replacing Gurrieri as part of a change of tactics.
Berry and Purrington played as wing-backs, with Blanchard moving into central defence with Trotman and Nelson.
Alessandra also moved into a central role behind Reid and Lavery as Sheridan tried a new approach to the contest.
Reid went close to putting Argyle level in the 66th minute when a close range header from Alessandra's corner was scrambled away for a corner.
That chance apart, Wimbledon defended solidly and continued to frustrate the visitors' attacking intentions.
Sheridan made a double substitution in the 81st minute in an attempt to force an equaliser.
Lavery and Alessandra were replaced by Tope Obadeyi and Nathan Thomas respectively for the closing stages of the game.
It was a debut for Thomas, who signed for the Pilgrims as a free agent on Christmas Eve.
Argyle almost drew level moments later when a fierce 25-yard shot from Reid was superbly saved by Worner.
Reid was now partnered in attack by Obadeyi, with Thomas playing behind them.
Argyle had most of the possession and their adventure paid off when Reid equalised in the 88th minute.
A superb cross-pitch pass from Purrington picked out the Argyle striker and he drilled the ball across Worner and into the bottom corner of the net.
It was an emphatic finish for Reid's 12th goal of the season in all competitions.
The change of tactics had certainly benefited Argyle as it gave them more of a platform to build their attacks from.
They pushed forward for a late winning goal but it remained 1-1 until full-time, even after four minutes of added time.
.
0 comments:
Post a Comment