Pilgims' dire away form is just not acceptable

EVEN by their own low standards for away matches this season, Plymouth Argyle's performance in the 2-0 defeat by Hull City on Tuesday was a particularly wretched one.

- By CHRIS ERRINGTON

Yes, there have been much heavier losses 6-1 at Norwich City, 5-0 at Cardiff City and 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City and Coventry City - but few have felt as dispiriting as the one at the MKM Stadium.

For starters, it came against a Hull side who prior to kick-off had collected the fewest number of points from home matches in the Championship this term, just 13 (two wins and seven draws) from 17 fixtures.

Argyle had also shown tremendous fight when they played Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round tie at the Etihad Stadium only three nights earlier.

Anything close to the same level of performance against Hull, in what was always going to be a much more important match because of their battle to escape Championship relegation, would likely have been enough to pick up three precious points.

Their preparation for the match on Humberside had been as good as it could have been. The Pilgrims' squad stayed in the north of England after the FA Cup tie rather than returning to Plymouth for a very brief period and then setting off on their travels again.

Yet, what we saw at the MKM Stadium was a game where Hull, despite clearly being low on confidence playing at home, found the Pilgrims far too easy to beat. They got their 2-0 lead with a couple of goals early in the second half and were content to make sure it stayed that way until the end.

Argyle did not have one shot on target, and just three goal attempts all game. You had to feel for the die-hard members of the Green Army, who made the trip to Hull on a Tuesday night and had such a deflating experience.