MUSLIC: 'IT FEELS BIG'

THE PILGRIMS GIFTED ALL THREE GOALS IN DERBY LOSS

- By CHRIS ERRINGTON

MIRON Muslic thought Plymouth Argyle gave away all three goals as they were beaten 3-2 by Derby County in their Championship relegation six-pointer at Home Park.

The bottom-of-the-table Pilgrims trailed 2-0 by the 26th minute after goals from Marcus Harness and Harrison Armstrong, which both came following long throw-ins into the penalty area.

Argyle were able to battle back, though, with Mustapha Bundu scoring with a fantastic free-kick in the 38th minute before Derby defender Nat Phillips conceded an own goal almost immediately after the start of the second half. At that stage it looked like the Pilgrims had the chance to go on to win the match and complete a remarkable turnaround in a high-pressure situation.

It was still 2-2 in the 84th minute when Muslic sent on Rami Al Hajj for defender Kornel Szucs as an extra attacking player for the closing stages of the game.

However, just four minutes later, Argyle failed to clear their lines defensively and Derby ruthlessly punished them for that with a quick break and a slick finish from Harness.

It was a hammer blow for the Pilgrims, who could not come up with another scoring chance to draw level even though referee John Busby added on an extra 10 minutes at the end of the match.

The significance of Argyle's defeat was acknowledged by Muslic, who said: "It feels big, I think we simply gave away two goals. Two easy goals through throw-ins we simply could not defend.