Plymouth Argyle vs Norwich City. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Plymouth and Norwich City at Home Park as Morgan Whittaker scored a hat-trick in a crushing win for Argyle on Saturday afternoon
Saturday 23 September 2023 18:54, UK
Morgan Whittaker scored his first Championship hat-trick as Plymouth stormed to a 6-2 mauling of Norwich at Home Park.
Promoted Argyle had the points all-but wrapped up by half-time after racing into a 4-0 lead through a brace from Whittaker and further goals from Dan Scarr and Finn Azaz - two of them coming in stoppage time.
Whittaker then added his third of the afternoon just before the hour and, although Norwich pulled two goals back through Adam Idah, Plymouth wrapped up a comprehensive win late on through Luke Cundle.
Attacking midfielder Whittaker got the ball rolling in the 15th minute when he latched on to an incisive through-ball from Adam Randell on the edge of the box. The 22-year-old beat his marker and swept the ball home past keeper Angus Gunn from close range.
Central-back Scarr profited with Argyle's second goal in the 35th minute, firing home as City failed to clear a dangerous Azaz cross from the right.
Scarr's fellow defender Lewis Gibson met the ball with a thumping shot that crashed off the Canaries bar and Scarr was first to react, netting with a thumping close-range strike which gave Gunn no chance.
Argyle doubled their lead in the five minutes of first-half stoppage time, with top scorer Ryan Hardie providing both assists.
First the Scottish striker teed up Whittaker on the edge of the box and he made no mistake with a measured finish from 20 yards.
Two minutes later Hardie again proved provider with Azaz benefitting, finishing off a mazy twisting and turning run into the penalty area with another sweet strike, curling the ball around the diving Gunn.
Whittaker could have completed his hat-trick in the opening minutes of the second half as Argyle countered but after being teed up by the unselfish Azaz, the two-goal forward's shot was saved by Gunn's outstretched leg.
Norwich looked for a lifeline and Conor Hazard made a superb save in the 58th minute, getting down well to keep out Idah's first-time shot from a cross from the right.
It proved a double blow for the visitors as a minute later Argyle swept up the other end of the pitch and made it 5-0.
With Norwich committed, Hardie collected the ball midway in the opposition half, beat two defenders and then set Azaz on his way down the left.
His ball into the on-running Whittaker enabled the £1milllion summer signing from Swansea to complete his first Argyle hat-trick with a side-footed finish past Gunn.
Norwich gained late consolation when Gabriel Sara put Idah in on goal and he finished clinically in the 72nd minute, and soon after the Republic of Ireland forward doubled his tally from the spot after Argyle's former City player Bali Mumba fouled substitute Onel Hernandez.
That made it 5-2 but Azaz and Argyle were not finished.
The playmaker's cross-field ball set Mustapha Bundu away and he put fellow substitute Cundle in on goal for a close-range finish.
Plymouth's Steven Schumacher:
"I thought we played really well and I spoke earlier in the week about how our performance on Tuesday didn't look like us. It's been a while since we had a performance like Tuesday and we felt we could do something about it. It wasn't a hard fix really. It was just about putting in a bit more effort and obviously getting people in the right positions and doing the basics right.
"When we get that right as a team we always look a threat and so I was really pleased with the reaction from the lads. We knew that the speed that we have got up top would cause their centre-backs problems. What pleased me the most was the understanding of what we were trying to do and then the execution of it was brilliant."
Norwich's David Wagner:
"It was a disappointing result and a horrible afternoon for us. I am very angry about how we responded after we conceded the first goal which was an offside situation. For the second goal we didn't do our job in the wall when they had two players on the ball, and after the two goals unfortunately we totally lost our heads and this is something that should not happen. Then we conceded four counter-attack goal -because we lost our heads we played in spaces where we shouldn't play.
"We have been quite solid at the back in the past and haven't looked vulnerable on the counter-attack and today was totally the opposite and this is something that is not good enough. We lost our heads after the first two goals and conceded a deserved heavy defeat because of it. We wanted them to win the second half and make it better but we conceded two further counter-attack goals in the transition. This game is quite easily explained, and the players are smart enough they know exactly what went wrong and we will show them again and discuss this. This can't happen. Football is a game of mistakes but you can't lose your head."
