Saturday 10th December 2016: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Doncaster Rovers

Plymouth Argyle returned to the top of the League Two after beating promotion rivals Doncaster Rovers 2-0.

The hosts’ goals came courtesy of Graham Carey and Jake Jevis. Their goals came either side of half time.

The win has put Plymouth Argyle’s season back on track after losing their previous three league matches against Morecambe, Barnet and Grimsby Town.

Rovers exchanged places with Argyle in the league two table. Their defeat moves them down to third in the league table.  Carlisle United’s 1-1 draw away at Luton Town means that they remain in second place.

Rovers missed a penalty shortly before the end of the game. David Fox bought down Matty Blair in the box. Liam Mandeville’s penalty hit the post which led to pandemonium shortly after.

The visitors were then reduced to ten men shortly after the penalty. Doncaster captain James Coppinger was sent off late in the game for violent conduct. He appeared to grab Plymouth ‘goalkeeper Luke McCormick by the neck shortly after Mandeville’s miss.

Rovers’ manager Darren Ferguson said that: “James may have raised his hand towards McCormick but it was not aggressive.”

Carey’s ninth league goal of the season put Argyle ahead. Adam Butler’s poor back pass towards Niall Mason was intercepted by the Irish midfielder. With Mason slipping, Carey found himself in on goal and he cleverly curled the ball around Rovers’ goalkeeper Marko Marosi from just inside the penalty area.

Jervis got the hosts second. Ryan Donaldson was bought down by Andy Butler in the area. Jervis converted the penalty off the underside of the cross bar for his fifth league goal of the season.

The defeat for Rovers was their first in the league since the 22nd of October when they lost 4-2 to Blackpool; the side they also last to in midweek in the Checkatrade trophy.

Despite the visitors having the better chances in the first half, they were unable to score against Argyle who were very solid at the back. Sonny Bradley particularly stood out in the Plymouth back line.

Bradley said that: “We were very solid at the back today.”

He later added: “If we can get a run together like we had at the start of the season, we will definitely finish in the top three this season.”

Plymouth’s next league game is next Saturday away at Accrington Stanley; Doncaster meanwhile come up against Grimsby Town at home.

Derby County under 23s v Liverpool under 23s

A superb goalkeeping display from Derby County under 23’s Jonathan Mitchell helped his side to a 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool.

The result prevented the young Rams from moving bottom of the Premier League 2 table.

Derby County under 23 manager Darren Wassall made five changes to the side bringing in several first team players that included: stand out performer Jonathan Mitchell, Marcus Olsson, Craig Bryson, Jamie Hanson and Abdoul Camara.

Joe Gomez also started in only his second competitive game since tearing his cruciate ligament 13 months ago.

Matty Virtue had the visitors’ first real chance of the game. He met Brooks Lennon’s cross but his headed effort was comfortably caught by Mitchell.

Abdoul Camara nearly put the hosts ahead with a curling effort from the edge of the penalty area, however the side netting prevented his chance from testing Liverpool ‘keeper Kamil Grabara.

Mitchell was then forced into action again to deny right wing back Corey Whelan. Reds’ skipper Harry Wilson set up Whelan with a clever pass and lowly driven strike forced a good diving save from Mitchell.

Captain Wilson had a superb opportunity towards the end of the first half with a very nice passing move which nearly emulated in a great team goal. A well worked one-two with Virtue put the midfielder through on goal, but Mitchell again prevented the skipper from putting his side in the lead.

Brooks Lennon again forced Jonathan Mitchell into action early in the second half after forcing the keeper to tip his header over the cross bar.

Timi Max Elsnik came closest for the Rams in the second half as his shot came as a result of some well worked football from Derby. Grabara was able to prevent the Slovenian under 19 midfielder from putting his side ahead.

The result means that Liverpool remain in third place in Premier League 2 Division One having missed the opportunity to close the gap on Merseyside rivals Everton who are currently top of the table. The Toffees’ were unable to extend their gap over Michael Beale’s Liverpool side after drawing 1-1 away at Southampton.

Derby County remain second bottom in 11^th place only a point clear of bottom side Tottenham Hotspur after Spurs’ draw away at Sunderland.

5 major talking points from Middlesbrough v Chelsea

Chelsea's 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough on Sunday afternoon moves them top of the Premier League table.

Diego Costa's first half volley was enough for the Blues to pick up their sixth consecutive league victory.

This was the first league encounter between the two sides since January 2009 where the Blues picked up a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to a brace from former striker Salomon Kalou. 

Middlesbrough’s recent form against Chelsea is very poor and the weekend’s result was their seventh consecutive defeat against the South-West London side in all competitions. Their last victory over Chelsea came in August 2006 where they won 2-1 thanks to a 90^th minute goal from Mark Viduka.

Middlesbrough currently sit 15^th in the Premier League table and currently hold the worst goal scoring record of any team in the league this term.

SHOOT! looks at the five major talking points of the game.

The Streaks Continue

Victory for the Blues extends their winning run to six league matches. Not only does their winning streak continue, but that's also the sixth consecutive clean sheet in the league for Antonio Conte's side.

If they are to cement themselves in the title race they'll need to keep this run going for as long as physically possible.  This is definitely easier said than done, with Chelsea's next two fixtures being against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and former Champions Manchester City.

Middlesbrough's form comes to an end

Despite the defeat ending Boro's three game unbeaten run (including draws away at Arsenal and Manchester City), the Teesside outfit are in 15th position, just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Fixtures are not favouring Middlesbrough at the minute and they are not getting any easier with ‘the Smoggies’ facing Champions Leicester City, Liverpool and Southampton all inside their next four fixtures.

It is vital that they pick up points against relegation rivals such as Hull City, Swansea City and West Ham United if they want to avoid an instant relegation to the Championship.

Luiz's Solidarity

Chelsea's deadline day signing had left them as a bit of a laughing stock in the footballing world after they announced the return of cult hero David Luiz.   However, with six clean sheets on the bounce and form that keeps Chelsea skipper John Terry out of the starting line-up, is Luiz's return a stroke of genius by Conte?

Luiz was one of the Blues' stand out performers on Sunday and you'd struggle to spot the 'mistake' that a lot of pundits and fans claim he has in his game.

The £30 million signing is proving to be a new player under Conte's management and will his form earn him a quick recall into the Brazil national squad?

Where are Middlesbrough's goals coming from?

Middlesbrough may be sat in 15th in the Premier League table, but they have scored the least amount of goals of any Premier League side this season.

With top scorer Christian Stuani not featuring against Chelsea, all eyes were on star signing Alvaro Negredo.

However, the on-loan Valencia striker was again unable to score leaving the former Spanish international with only 1 goal in his 12 league appearances on Teesside.

If Middlesbrough are to stay up this year, they seriously need to sort their goal scoring problems out fast.

Moses now a fan-favourite

The Nigerian international may have had to be very patient in his Chelsea career, but Victor Moses is finally getting both regular football and fan recognition.

After loan spells at Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham, Moses has seriously impressed Conte this term and has started every game since the switch to three at the back.

His performances this season have prevented Willian and Branislav Ivanovic from getting regular game time and with the fans spending large chunks of Sunday chanting 'Victor Moses' could this be the revival of the wingers’ career?

Boreham Wood crash out of FA Cup

Boreham Wood’s FA Cup dream came to an end after losing 2-0 in their first round replay away at League Two outfit Notts County.

Goals either side of half time from Jonathan Forte and a moment of magic by substitute Aaron Collins.

The replay came after the two sides previously drew 2-2 in their original first round fixture 10 days ago.

Forte’s first half strike came courtesy of poor defending by ‘The Wood’. Visiting defender Joe Devera was unable to head away skipper Carl Dickinson’s long pass. The error put Forte clean through on goal.

The goal for the ex-Barbados international came as a welcome release, as the forward was without a goal in his previous five matches.

On loan Wolves forward Aaron Collins produced sheer brilliance with the last kick of the game, after his dipping strike from just outside the area came off the underside of the crossbar, before bouncing over the line to confirm the non-league sides exit.

The visitors though they had scored early in the first half, but Matt Paine’s header from a Bruno Andrade free- kick was disallowed for an off the ball incident.

Just before Collins’ late goal, Jamie Lucas nearly put the visitors’ level as his injury time header forced a good save from County goalkeeper Adam Collin.

Notts County’s second round clash against Peterborough will take place on Sunday 4^th of December.

When will Brighton lose?

Brighton and Hove Albion extended their impressive Championship unbeaten streak to ten matches following their 2-0 victory at Ashton Gate. Their bonfire night victory came courtesy of a breath-taking long range strike from midfielder Steve Sidwell and winger Jamie Murphy’s first half efforts.

The seagulls’ run has kept them in second position in the league only three points behind league leaders Newcastle United. Thanks to results earlier in the day, Albion are now five points clear of third placed Huddersfield Town.

The win is also their eleventh clean sheet of their league campaign which is incredibly impressive given that they are only sixteen league games gone.

Their resilience at the back is joyous to watch and considering only six teams have only been able to score past Chris Hughton’s side this season, you can’t help feeling that their defence alone can put Brighton as big contenders to go up this season.

Hughton’s side have used a very consistent back four formed by their captain Bruno, Shane Duffy who arrived on the south coast in the summer from Blackburn, former Bristol City loanee Lewis Dunk and Cameroon international Gaetan Bong.

The quartet have played together 10 times in the league this season and in those matches have kept a staggering six clean sheets. Lewis Dunk was heavily linked to join Crystal Palace in the summer and if he can keep clean sheets in the way that he has been, it may not be long before we see more speculation surrounding the Albion centre half.

Sidwell grabbed his first league goal of the season with a superb left footed effort over Richard O’Donnell from 50 yards out. The whole team including the goalkeeper celebrated their opener with an Anthony Knockaert shirt who was missing from the side today after the passing of his father earlier this week.

Sidwell said; “It’s been a tough week, football always comes second to family, our thoughts to go out to him and his family and that goal comes for them.”

Even without star man Knockaert, Brighton and Hove Albion have proved that they have what it takes to push for promotion this season with Bristol City manager Lee Johnson claiming that “Brighton deserve promotion this season”.

It’s fair to say that ten games unbeaten is a very impressive streak, and the question on everyone’s lips now is, when will they lose a league game?

Five Key Points From Midlands Derby Stalemate

Walsall extended their unbeaten run to six matches after their 1-1 draw against Coventry City at the Banks’s stadium.

The two midlands rivals shared the honours with goals from Erhun Oztumer and Andy Rose respectively.

The draw lifts Coventry City out of the relegation zone and extends their undefeated run to three matches.

The visitors took the lead towards the end of the first half as Rose, finished off a cross from the right side courtesy of Marvin Sordell with a coolly taken volley past home goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

Rose only started the game due to an injury suffered to Chris McCann against Rochdale last Saturday.

Oztumer’s second half strike put the host’s level and his effort from just inside the area was his eighth goal of the season. The goal itself came from a cleverly worked move by Oztumer, Kieron Morris and substitute Simeon Jackson as their passing move contributed heavily to the goal.

Walsall back to their best

Manager Jon Whitney took charge of the Saddlers in March, and despite a shaky start to this campaign, Whitney has got his side in a good run of form.

His side have picked up 21 points so far in their 15 league games this season with 11 of those points coming in their last five last Football League One fixtures.

Whitney has said; “I’m really pleased with our progress in the opening third of this season” with his side sitting just three points shy of the play off places.

Coventry out of the relegation zone

 The draw at Walsall lifts Coventry City up two places to 19^th in the League One table and out of the relegation zone.

The club have had their difficulties this season with the continuous battle between supporters and the board of directors, which has affected the players mentally.

However, the Sky Blues are now unbeaten in their last three matches and have won four of their last six in all competitions.

Coventry possesses some of the strongest players in the division, and with results starting to go their way; Mark Venus’ side could start to fly up the league table.

Erhun Oztumer’s Wonderful Form

Since arriving at Walsall from Peterborough United in the summer, Erhun Oztumer has been in stunning form and is one of the strongest players in Jon Whitney’s side.

The attacking midfielder has notched eight goals this term with five of them coming in his last four league games. The 25 year old is nearly surpassing Whitney’s targets for the season, as he only expected “ten to a dozen goals” for the midfielder in this campaign.

Oztumer is a joy to watch and if he can keep playing to this standard, big name clubs will soon be knocking on the door for this in form midfielder.

Coventry City’s Support

For the local midlands derby, Coventry City took an impressive 1,981 fans on the 28 mile journey to Walsall.

With less than 7,000 fans at the Banks’ Stadium, Coventry out sung the hosts for the vast majority of the afternoon.

These are encouraging signs for the West Midlands side as regular large attendances both home and away will help maintain their current run of results.

Kieron Morris

The Walsall midfielder had an impressive afternoon, but the home fans will definitely be concerned as Morris was forced off injured just before the end of the match.

Morris was on the end of a reckless challenge from Coventry’s on loan left-back Lewis Page which Page was very fortunate only to receive a yellow card for his awful challenge.

The Saddlers will now face an anguishing wait over their midfielder who set up Oztumer’s goal.

Kachunga hands McClaren his first defeat

Elias Kachunga’s late header ended Derby County’s four game unbeaten run as Steve McClaren suffered a 1-0 loss in his first defeat since his re-appointment.

Kachunga’s header came from a cross by second half substitute Harry Bunn and his header past Scott Carson sent Huddersfield up to third in the Championship table level on points with the automatic promotion places.

Derby County drop one place to 21^st position only two points clear of the relegation zone and newly appointed manager McClaren said “The defeat was very cruel and we didn’t deserve that”.

Huddersfield looked very nervous in defence particularly in the early stages of the game with Derby’s attack causing some nervous clearances from Town goalkeeper Danny Ward.

Czech Republic international Matej Vydra had two good chances to put the visitors ahead, the first coming off a great cross by Cyrus Christie but the forward was unable to direct his header on target. The second came via a Will Hughes cross that Vydra connected to, however his powerful close range volley flew straight over the cross bar.

Hughes himself also had a good effort midway through the first half which curled just past the far post from outside the penalty area.

Nahki Wells had a great chance to put the hosts in to the lead, some fantastic play down the left side from Town eventually found its way to full back Chris Lowe. His driven cross picked out Wells and his shot forced a great save from goalkeeper Scott Carson.

Derby came close to getting a late winner. A superb lofted pass by Cyrus Christie to Tom Ince put the winger through on goal; his effort forced a superb save from ‘keeper Ward.

The late goal caused heartache for the Rams as they had a lot of chances to gain at least a point from the game. Steve McClaren said; “The players were magnificent today, we just need to be able to perform like that for 95 minutes”.

He added; “There were three or four mistakes, we thought we’d be able to see the game out”.

The win for Huddersfield puts them back to winning ways after consecutive defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End in the past week.

Winning manager David Wagner said; “It was a fantastic game of football”. He added; “It was intense and full of chances that we should have taken earlier in the second half”.