EFL

Neil Dewsnip praises Plymouth’s ‘never say die’ attitude after QPR draw

By Sports Desk April 09, 2024

Plymouth director of football Neil Dewsnip praised his side for their “never say die” attitude after claiming a late leveller in a 1-1 Championship draw with relegation-rivals QPR.

Albert Adomah scored an 85th-minute own goal as Argyle piled on the pressure from a later corner after Sam Field had fired Rangers into a 73rd-minute lead following a goalmouth scramble in which home goalkeeper Michael Cooper made two incredible saves.

Dewsnip said: “When QPR scored, the team had to show incredible resilience. ‘Never say die’ is a part of the culture here. The team were superb and the fans fantastic.”

Managerless Argyle slipped to 20th as a result to sit just two points above the relegation zone, but Dewsnip said: “We see it as a point gained at home not an opportunity missed as that’s now four points in two games.

“It means momentum is changing and we go again on Friday. I like to look forward so hopefully we will score more than one on Friday.

“We will look forward rather than backwards. I see the point as a positive point, we are going the right direction again.

“Michael (Cooper) has been injured but he is getting sharper game by game and made some superb saves again tonight, as he did at Rotherham.

“All the players were superb tonight. Michael had a fantastic game, Adam Randell did, Dan Scarr, Lewis Gibson but I could go on and on and name every one of them because I thought they all played their part in a tremendous performance.

“Friday night against Leicester is huge. The players will recover now and then we all go again on Friday.”

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes – whose side hover four points above the bottom three – said: “It was disappointing not to win as we did enough to win the game. We needed to score a second (goal).

“That’s always going to be the target at 1-0. We not only created chances to win the game but enough to close the game out.

“I have mentioned this not once, not twice that unfortunately, it’s something we have experienced many times this season.

“And then you know if the opposition get a half-chance in this type of situation they will score and that’s exactly what happened.

“For us today it was important for us to react in a strong way after losing and I am delighted to say that’s what we did.

“After we scored we kept pushing hard for a second and I know if we carry on playing this way we are going to win football matches.

“I don’t usually look at the table. Tonight it was about the last five games.

“Now we have four games left and I want to win all of them. We need to keep on pushing, we need more points.

“Our focus is on the next game and we know that Hull will be difficult because they are chasing the play-offs but there are no easy games in this division.

“We have to make sure that collectively we recover from this one and be well prepared to go again.”

Related items

  • Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season

    Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".

    The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.

    Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.

    "You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.

    "Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."

    United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.

    They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).

    Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.

    "I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.

    "I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."

    "The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.

    "I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."

  • Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona

    Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.

    Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.

    Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.

    Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.

    Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins. 

    Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid

    Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.

    Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.

    This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition. 

  • Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return

    Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.

    Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.

    Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.

    Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.

    Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.

    Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.

    Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return

    There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.

    Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.

    With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).

    And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.