Man United legend Wayne Rooney 'sorry' for Plymouth supporters after Norwich thrashing

Plymouth head coach Wayne Rooney conceded that his team fully merited their crushing 6-1 defeat at the hands of Norwich. Borja Sainz was in scintillating form, netting a hat-trick as Argyle suffered their third significant away loss in the Championship this season, following previous setbacks at Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff.

"We were nowhere near good enough we are down to the bare bones with injuries but that is no excuse," Manchester United icon Rooney acknowledged. "We were fortunate to be only 2-1 down at half-time. You then hope for a reaction in the second half but once they made it 3-1 I thought we went under, which is very disappointing. The players just didn't look like they thought they could get back in it."

Rooney then didn't mince words about the performance, adding: "We need to be a lot better than that the next 24-48 hours are not going to be very nice for the players." "I have praised them a lot this season for their performances at home but away needs to much better than this and we have got to get to the bottom of why it keeps happening it can't carry on like this."

Expressing empathy for the supporters, he added: "I just feel sorry for the fans who have come all this way they will be not be pleased with what they have seen tonight." The match began with Norwich dominating early on, seizing the lead within two minutes as Sainz scored while Plymouth's offside appeals were ignored.

After relentless pressure, Sainz extended his team's lead with a composed finish at the 17-minute mark, but Mustapha Bundu clawed one back for his side just before the break following an intercepted risky pass. The second half saw dominance resume.

Shane Duffy notched the third goal with a header from a corner, and Sainz sealed his hat-trick by expertly curling the ball past goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw later in the half. Subs Anis Ben Slimane and Ante Crnac added gloss to the scoreline with fine strikes towards the end, compounding a tough evening for Rooney's squad.