Wayne Rooney expressed his delight after claiming his first Championship win as Plymouth boss following a dramatic 3-2 home victory over previously-unbeaten leaders Sunderland.
Skipper Joe Edwards scored a stoppage-time winner after Romaine Mundle had cancelled out Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty which put Plymouth 2-1 up.
Patrick Roberts’ first-half spot-kick had given Sunderland a half-time lead before Daniel Ballard’s own goal levelled matters.
Rooney said: “Obviously we are delighted with three points. I am pleased for the players because they worked hard for it.
“I think any win is a big win. We have had some good performances all over the pitch.
“We were a bit sloppy in the first half, gave away a penalty and go in 1-0 down at half-time.
“I said to them ‘If you up the energy and get your shots off we open the game and we will win the game’.
“We were much better in the second half, played with more energy, put crosses in and got players into the box.
“When they equalised you think ‘oh no not again’ but then Joe gets the late winner.
“If you have a good captain it makes your job easier.
“Ryan does what you want him to do, comes off the bench, wins the penalty and scores to put us 2-1 up.
“It always feels nice to win in any game and to get off the mark in the league. It will now be when is the second win coming?
“I am genuinely pleased for the team and the fans because the fans have seen what we have been trying to do.
“It was a big win for the lads. Hopefully that’s the start of a good run for us.
“I felt the game would be won late on. Not that late on but I had to make a decision on the team that started and finished.”
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris was in a diplomatic mood after the game.
He said: “We scored two goals and it’s never easy to score two goals away. We conceded three goals as well so that’s our problem.
“The first half we had kind of control of the game but it wasn’t a strong control and we felt we had many problems to solve, especially their wingers.
“With the ball we felt it was possible to unbalance their team but we didn’t make the most of that possession.
“A key point is we can have the ball and defend and not always showing a willingness to unbalance (the opposition) and create chances.
“During the second half we still had this problem with their wingers, who were strong today.
“The game became more chaotic as well with many second balls. We lost one, two or three balls during our build-up.
“Our shape was open and at that moment they had the possibility to attack and create chances.
“We need to learn from this experience. When we are not so good with the ball, you can still manage the game to win or to keep the score. It wasn’t the case today.
“It’s been interesting to observe the reaction in the dressing room. We were not too optimistic after our four wins in a row and we are not too pessimistic after a loss.
“Now it’s a question of balance.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. The reason why Man City lost 5 matches in a row Erling Haaland lol Cucuruku Cook that thing… This The Man United cycle. This Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, originaltrollfootball, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Portuguese has promised to not sign any Sporting CP stars in the winter window.However, all bets are off in the summer, with A Bola stating that Geovany Quenda is the main target.United are said to be preparing an offer of £50M plus bonuses to secure the young winger.Amorim can use Quenda in either wing-back position, while he is also capable of playing in the front three.Another player U...
The Algerian's contract expires in the summer of 2026 and he is believed to be eyeing a move away from Molineux.Rayan Ait-Nouri is wanted by Man UtdThat has put United are on red alert for a player as Amorim has made signing a left-back a priority.He wants to boost his options give Luke Shaw's injury record.Shaw could also eventually move into the back-three once the former Sporting Lisbon manager...
Mohamed Salah has said he is yet to receive a formal contract offer from Liverpool, adding that he is "more out than in" regarding whether he will stay at the club next season.Salah, whose contract is set to expire next summer, has enjoyed an impressive individual campaign, having scored 12 goals in all competitions this term, including a brace in Liverpool's 3-2 comeback win over Southampton on S...
Real Madrid monitoring Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite🚨👀 #Branthwaite is attracting the attention of 🇪🇺 top clubs.📃 #RealMadrid included the CB in their list of potential January targets, while 🏴 teams continue to monitor him ahead of June.💰 #Everton would like to keep him but are also open to evaluating bids >€70m. 🐓⚽ pic.twitter.com/5lpoomMdyp— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) Novem...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 3 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 4 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 5 Daily Laugh - Antony and his latest ManUtd session
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 8 Mia Khalifa slams rumours of 'affair with ex-Prem star Julian Alvarez'
- 9 Amorim targets Sporting Lisbon's Quenda
- 10 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire