Peterborough United are the only team to make a flawless start to the League One season, while has been a difficult start to the campaign for Plymouth Argyle. Things won’t get any easier with Grant McCann’s side in town. The pair are both promotion hopefuls and so the game is an early six-pointer down in Devon. It heats up even more after the pair’s EFL Cup clash in the week, which went the way of Peterborough.
Plymouth Argyle Clash With High-Flying Peterborough United
🏟️Home Park looking fine in the☀️#pafc pic.twitter.com/t2Fj4lafSM
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) August 13, 2022
Home Park is Somewhat of a Fortress
Managers have come and gone at Home Park but Plymouth have remained a constant force on home soil. From the start of February to the end of last season, Steven Schumacher’s men conceded six goals at home.
This run includes ten games and, amazingly, five of the six goals came in that final day embarrassment against Liam Manning’s MK Dons. Thus, there were eight clean sheets, including in the matches with Sunderland and Portsmouth.
Such form has carried on into the new season as Plymouth welcomed relegated Barnsley down south. There was just one goal in that match which saw a duo of summer signings, Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz, link up.
𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 ✅
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐈𝐭 ✅A terrific debut goal from matchwinner Finn Azaz. #avfc pic.twitter.com/ODLefFBbnI
— The Villa Academy (@academyavfc) July 30, 2022
On the flip side, Peterborough were reasonably solid on the road even though they were struggling in the Championship. In that same time period, the Posh scored goals against both Fulham and Bournemouth. Jack Marriott was the man for the big occasion, these being two of his nine league goals in 2021/22.
Marriott was also on target in wins over Barnsley and Queens Park Rangers in the latter stages of the season. Barnsley faced relegation alongside Peterborough whilst it was an impressive run-out at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. Jonson Clarke-Harris scored either side of the break as his side fought back from an early Luke Amos strike, keeping their survival hopes alive at the time.
The Tale of the Tape
As previously mentioned, this fixture took place in the week. Both sides were much changed but goals from Ricky Jade-Jones and Joe Taylor made the difference at Home Park all the same.
Peterborough spent just one season in the second-tier this time around having gone up automatically alongside Hull City. Plymouth have, in the meantime, established themselves in League One.
Going back to when they last met and Clarke-Harris was the scourge of Ryan Lowe’s men, scoring both home and away. Also on the score sheet in a 3-0 win at Home Park was Sammie Szmodics. The former Bristol City man opened his account with his new side Blackburn Rovers on the weekend as they themselves scored three at the Liberty Stadium.
— jonson clarke-harris (@ClarkeHarris) July 30, 2022
Prior to that, this was a fairly balanced fixture. Plymouth and Peterborough boasted two wins apiece across 2017/18 and 2018/19. In August 2017, the pair met for the first time in six years and this was during McCann’s first stint at the Weston Homes Stadium. The man in the opposite dugout was the charismatic Scotsman Derek Adams.
In the two Argyle wins, Graham Carey and Ruben Lameiras scored goals at the death, two excellent players of yesteryear for the Pilgrims. Meanwhile, Posh had three red cards across the four fixtures. Two came in the defeat at in Devon under the stewardship of Steve Evans in which Carey calmly converted from the penalty spot.
Read More: Plymouth Argyle and the New League One Season
Finn Azaz is a Difference Maker for Plymouth Argyle
Fast forwarding back to the present day and the times of Carey and Lameiras are gone. Danny Mayor fits the bill when it comes to that sort of profile but there is a new creative man in the middle of the park.
Finn Azaz is the Plymouth player in question, who is on loan at the club from Aston Villa. He spent last year with Newport County and excelled under Michael Flynn’s tutelage and then James Rowberry.
Turning attention to their opponents and Peterborough have two of the best forwards that the division has to offer. Clarke-Harris and Marriott are good for a number of goals in this division whilst Szmodics and Siriki Dembele have moved on to pastures new.
The aforementioned duo scored the goals against Cheltenham Town whilst new boy Hector Kyprianou found the back of the net when Morecambe and Derek Adams came to town. The 21-year-old Cypriot joined from Leyton Orient this summer and is highly thought of at his new club.
These are two very capable sides with lofty ambitions for the current season. Plymouth Argyle will boast the home advantage, but it could go either way.
