Azaz is pivotal in determined Argyle display against Owls

DESPITE a powerful free-kick strike on a debut for striker Mustapha Bundu, it was Finn Azaz who earned top marks and the star man rating in Plymouth Argyle’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.

Although Bundu won the plaudits of the fans for his first-half goal that rocketed into the net off the underside of the crossbar, Azaz proved pivotal for the Pilgrims with his display, and arguably deserved a goal of his own in a man-of-the-match display.

Here are the player ratings of PlymArgyle reporter Chris Errington from the 3-0 defeat of bottom-of the-table Sheffield Wednesday at Home Park.

Mike Cooper 6 

Played at Home Park for the first time since January 21 after recovering from his ACL knee injury.

One bad pass out from the back almost led to an opening goal for Wednesday in the first half and he also failed to cleanly catch a cross into his penalty area, which is uncharacteristic for him, but made a couple of solid saves after that. A good game for him to get under his belt and move on. 

Joe Edwards 7 

Back in the team, and with the captain’s armband, as he lined up at right-back after being an unused substitute for the 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

Made a crucial early block when John Buckley got in a powerful shot for Wednesday from inside the Argyle penalty area. Was always around to play his part in the defensive effort, with a high level of energy and determination.

Dan Scarr 7 

A strong display from the centreback, with one of his main contributions to Argyle’s win coming in the first half when he put pressure on Lee Gregory when the Wednesday striker got in a shot from an excellent scoring position and sent the ball flying over Mike Cooper’s crossbar, rather than into the net.

The Owls were on top at that stage and a goal then could have made the game a very different contest.