Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Port Vale: FLW reports as 10 man Pilgrims keep play-off hopes alive | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle hosted Port Vale in their final home game of the League One season.

10-man Plymouth Argyle secured a 2-1 win over already relegated Port Vale, thanks to a Bim Pepple brace.

The first 20 minutes of the contest were absolute chaos. Plymouth took the lead through Pepple just three minutes in, only to be reduced to 10-men moments later when Conor Hazard handled the ball outside his box.

Vale equalised after 13 minutes from a Connor Hall header at the back post, but the home crowd were left furious at referee Isaac Searle, as he missed a blatant handball from Jahiem Headley in the build up to the goal.

History repeated itself at the start of the second half, with Pepple giving Plymouth the lead three minutes in. The striker netted his second of the afternoon with an excellent finish from outside the box.

That would prove to be the decisive goal in the fixture, as the 10 men of Argyle held firm, securing three points and taking their play-off fight to the final day of the season.

Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Port Vale

Argyle needed less than three minutes to take the lead. Ex-Valiant Tolaj's perfectly-weighted pass sent Pepple one-on-one with Joe Gauci, and the Canadian made no mistake with the finish, slotting calmly into the bottom right corner.

Three minutes later, disaster struck. Hazard was caught out by a long ball forward from Vale, using his hands outside the box to bat it away. Referee Searle reached straight for his back pocket, sending the Argyle keeper for an early bath.

Vale levelled the contest less than 10 minutes later. A corner which came from a Headley handball was recycled into the box and nodded in at the back stick by Hall.

Tolaj tried his luck with an acrobatic effort as the clock hit 25 minutes. The Swiss striker met Owen Dale's cross with an overhead kick, but the ball hung in the air before dropping just wide of Gauci's far post.

Substitute goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond prevented former Argyle forward Ben Waine from giving Vale the lead five minutes later with a strong stop down to his left, tipping the Kiwi's strike from range behind for a corner.

The final 15 minutes of the first half were much calmer than the previous 30, with both sides mustering chances, but neither were able to find the back of the net before Searle blew for halftime.

Lightning struck twice at the start of the second half, with Pepple giving the Pilgrims the lead three minutes in. Some brilliant work from Dale freed the Canadian, whose left-footed strike hit the bottom right corner from outside the box.

You wouldn't have thought Argyle had 10 men with the way they were playing. Tom Cleverley's side were in total control going forward, and almost had a third when Tolaj headed just wide from eight-yards out.

Two ex-Valiants then linked up just past the hour mark to test Gauci once again. Curtis nodded in Tolaj from an Ashby-Hammond goal-kick, but the Vale keeper was equal to the forward's powerful drive at his near post.

Pepple almost secured his hat-trick in style with 20 minutes left to play. Another brilliant ball forward from Ashby-Hammond was miscontrolled by a Vale defender, allowing the striker to send a volley towards goal, which narrowly flew over the bar.

A heart-in-mouth moment came for Argyle in stoppage time as a powerful strike from the edge of the box took multiple deflections, sending Ashby-Hammond scrambling the wrong way, but the ball fortunately rolled harmlessly behind.

The Green Army were in tremendous voice, with "Green and White barmy army" blared by the 16,000-strong home contingency throughout stoppage time, before Searle's whistle was met by a cheer that could be heard all the way from Cornwall.

The 10 men of Argyle ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a special brace from Pepple, and a mammoth defensive display, keeping their hopes of securing a play-off place alive until the final day, but heavily reliant on other results.

Plymouth Argyle player ratings

Port Vale player ratings

J. Gauci - 5

O. Hernandez - 6

J. Gabriel - 6

C. Humphreys - 6

C. Hall - 6 (L. Gordon 46'(5))

J. Headley - 6 (D. Brown 80'(5))

R. Croasdale - 5 (R. Walters 56'(5))

J. Shipley - 6 (G. Ward 56'(5))

E. Archer - 5 (G. Hall 71'(5))

B. Waine - 6

M. Sherif - 5

Unused substitutes: B. Amos, T. Magloire

read more

Match attendance

There were 16,129 fans present at Home Park on the glorious April afternoon, with a respectable 355 making the long journey down with Port Vale.