John Eustace's signal said it all as Plymouth suffer Derby County double trouble
by Leigh Curtis · Derbyshire LiveMarcus Harness scored a dramatic late winner as Derby County made it three wins in the space of a week to keep them firmly in the hunt for Championship survival with a 3-2 victory at Plymouth.
Derby got off to a terrific start as a long throw into the box from Kane Wilson was flicked on by Nat Phillips who found Harness inside the box.
Long throws were a real problem for Plymouth to deal with and Derby took full advantage to make it 2-0 when Callum Elder's delivery into the box caused havoc inside the box.
It dropped for Harrison Armstrong who opened his body up to meet it superbly on the volley and crashed it into the bottom corner. Maksym Talovierov gave Derby a warning that from 25 yards with a fierce drive that cleared the bar before the hosts had a goal back before half-time.
Derby would have been aware that the first 15 minutes of the second half would be crucial in keeping Plymouth at bay, but it took the hosts just 25 seconds into the restart to pull level.
After making a hash of their restart, Derby watched as Callum Wright's cross was turned into his net by Nat Phillips. Derby attempted to summon a response but they struggled to breakdown Argyle's defence with Ryan Hardie missing a great chance at the other end when he was picked out by Bundu.
But Derby had the final say when Harness fed Elder on the left and his cross was met by the attacker to guide in from six yards. And there was another opportunity to finish the game off when Kayden Jackson was denied by the goalkeeper after excellent work from Jerry Yates.
Another big win
It was not a classic Derby performance by any stretch of the imagination, but at this stage of the season, results are far more important than performances.
This felt like a huge victory not just because it only served to carry on the momentum built from wins over Coventry and Blackburn, but also the context of the table.
Not only did it keep Derby firmly in the hunt for Championship survival, but also bloodied the nose of one of their rivals. While it was not the most aesthetically pleasing win you will ever see, there was a lot to admire about the gutsy nature of this victory.
Having deservedly taken a two-goal lead, to then be pegged back to 2-2, some teams may have wilted as a consequence.
But after Phillips' unfortunate own goal so early in the second half, Derby patrolled their defensive third with great authority and never really gave Plymouth a sniff.
All it required was ensuring that one moment of quality arrived at the other end and there was Harness to tuck away his second goal of the game to send the away section into delirium with three minutes remaining.
It now leaves Derby one point adrift of safety and John Eustace pointing up as he went to celebrate with the fans post-match. It was a good signal of their current momentum. There is still a lot of work to do, but Derby are certainly upwardly mobile.
You don't have to make the game complicated to be a threat
Two of the goals which Derby scored here came from long throws into the box which underlined how you don't need to be fancy to be a threat.
Sending the centre-backs up into the box proved a smart move by Eustace who had clearly spotted a weakness he could exploit during his analysis of the opposition.
Plymouth struggled to deal with the presence of Nat Phillips and Matt Clarke who both played pivotal roles in Marcus Harness' opener and Harrison Armstrong's stunning sidefoot volley.
When you have two centre-backs of their size, why wouldn't you want to maximise the most of their aerial ability?
If you have somebody with a decent throw, then it is essentially a free cross into the box. It was smart management by Eustace and a ploy that Plymouth had no answer for.
Armstrong is up and running
While Derby fans were fuming over the inability to land a striker on deadline day, the furore kind of overshadowed the move for Harrison Armstrong.
David Moyes highly regards the Everton midfielder who is one of those players too good for academy football but not quite ready for the Premier League.
But Everton fans told everybody how good he would be and while he has to be patient to make his first-team bow, it has been worth the wait.
In what has been a terrific week for the teenager, who was called up to the England under-18s, he capped off a memorable seven days with a quite stunning volley.
To hit the ball with that much power, control and accuracy requires a huge level of technical ability. But the 18-year-old proved that he has that in abundance.
Eustace is right in that he has a lot to learn, but you can't teach natural talent and Armstrong is blessed with plenty of it.
Finally....
Watching Derby on the road this season has undeniably been a labour of love and there has been scant reward for their loyalty or the amount of miles they have travelled.
Before this dramatic success at Plymouth, you had to go back to November for the last away win which ended up being a 2-1 win at Coventry and Mark Robins' last game in charge.
Since that triumph, it has been a tale of despair, defeat and a continuous cycle of heartache.
But it was nice for the brilliant away support to enjoy a rare victory away from Pride Park which made the five-hour journey worth it.
Away day wins always feel special because of the effort that goes into planning, travel and so on, but they are even better when there are late winners.
And after watching Derby succumb to enough of them during this campaign, it was about time they had their turn. The celebrations were certainly spectacular.
What did you make of the win at the weekend? Have your say HERE.
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