Plymouth Argyle followed up their superb FA Cup victory over Liverpool with a five-star display against Millwall at Home Park as they recorded their biggest win of the Championship campaign and also moved off the bottom of the table.

Exactly three weeks after their humiliating 5-0 home drubbing by Burnley, Miron Muslic’s resurgent Pilgrims made it three wins in a row in all competitions by thrashing the Lions 5-1.

Millwall went into the match on a run of four consecutive victories but were swept aside by an Argyle side who were clinical when it came to taking their chances. They were gifted the opening goal, though, when former Pilgrims’ loan signing Joe Bryan put the ball into his own net as early as the sixth minute.

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Ryan Hardie doubled their lead with a 10th minute penalty and it remained 2-0 until the 53rd minute when Mustapha Bundu scored with a perfectly-placed shot.

Hardie then made it five goals for him in the last three games with an excellent opportunist finish soon afterwards, and deservedly earned the sponsors’ man-of-the-match selection.

Bryan did get a goal for Millwall in the closing stages but it was Argyle’s Bosnian defender Nikola Katic who had the last word as he poked the ball over the line in the 86th minute to complete a comprehensive win for the home side.

The Pilgrims’ sixth league win of the season moved them off the bottom of the table above Luton Town, who lost 2-0 away to Sunderland and will play host to Argyle next Wednesday.

Argyle’s starting line-up showed three changes from the FA Cup triumph over Liverpool. Julio Pleguezuelo and Tymoteusz Puchacz were both missing from the squad and they were replaced by Victor Palsson and Nathanael Ogbeta respectively.

There was also a change in central midfield as Jordan Houghton came into the side for Darko Gyabi, who was on the bench. Also among the substitutes was defender Kornel Szucs as he returned to matchday duty for the first time since the 0-0 draw at Stoke City on January 4 due to injury.

Bundu was again up front for the Pilgrims, with Hardie and Callum Wright in attacking support of him. Ogbeta and Matty Sorinola were the wing-backs with Houghton and captain Adam Randell in midfield.

Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic played their third successive games for the Pilgrims since joining at the end of the winter transfer window, with Palsson alongside in Argyle’s defensive trio, while Conor Hazard was again between the posts.

There was a superb start to the game for Argyle as they raced into an early 2-0 lead. They went ahead in the sixth minute when an excellent low cross from the left by Wright was missed by Hardie, who probably should have scored, but the ball hit Bryan and rolled into the net.

The Pilgrims got their second goal in the 10th minute with Hardie’s third penalty in as many matches, and his fourth of the season.

The spot kick was awarded after a long throw-in by Palsson was not dealt with by Millwall and Randell just got to the loose ball before Casper De Norre, who caught the Argyle captain and referee Jeremy Simpson immediately blew his whistle.

Hardie calmly slotted home the penalty to take his goal tally for the season to six in all competitions and the Pilgrims had made a flying start to the contest.

Millwall almost came up with an immediate response when striker Mihailo Ivanovic got in a header from a Camiel Neghli free-kick but Hazard touched the ball wide for a corner.

Bundu had the next scoring opportunity for Argyle but blasted well wide of the target after Wright had released Ogbeta on the left and the overlapping wing-back put in a good cross.

Hazard tipped a fierce long-range strike over the crossbar from Neghli, who carried most of the attacking threat for Millwall. Soon afterwards, he went past Sorinola and got into a dangerous crossing position but the ball was cut out by Talovierov at the near post.

Wright was involved a lot for Argyle going forward and he had a far post header saved by Lukas Jensen after a driven, deep cross from the right by Sorinola.

Ogbeta also had a chance after a clever drag back of the ball created some space for himself but he then smashed the ball high and wide,into the Barn Park End.

Hardie went close to extending Argyle’s lead shortly before half-time when he received a pass from Houghton on the left and cut inside onto his right foot before sending a shot just wide of Jensen’s left post.

Millwall boss Alex Neil decided not to make any changes to his side at the break despite their two-goal deficit and they fell further behind in the 53rd minute.

A long clearance from Hazard was headed inside by Palsson and dropped to Bundu, who checked back inside onto his left foot and placed a shot beyond the reach of Jensen into the net.

Argyle then got a fourth goal in the 56th minute, and Hardie’s second of the match, when he deftly chipped the ball over Jensen after Millwall’s George Saville had lost possession when he was put under pressure by Randell.

Neil made a double substitution before play restarted with former Argyle loan signing Luke Cundle and Neghli replaced by Femi Azeez and Ra’ees Bangura-Williams.

There was also a triple change from Muslic shortly after the hour mark as Ogbeta, Randell and two-goal Hardie made way for Bali Mumba, Gyabi and Michael Baidoo.

Hardie had put in a tremendous shift in the games against Liverpool and Millwall and it made sense to take him off even though he was on a hat-trick, with the away match against Blackburn Rovers coming up on Saturday.

Azeez had a fierce low 25-yard free-kick deflected wide for Millwall before Muslic made another change when he took off the hard-working Sorinola in the 71st minute and sent on Szucs for his return to action after injury.

Aaron Connolly had a low shot comfortably saved by Hazard before Argyle’s fifth substitution saw Bundu make way for Rami Al Hajj in the 78th minute.

Millwall reduced the Pilgrims’ deficit a couple of minutes later when Bryan slotted home after a low cut-back across the face of goal from the lively Azeez, who had made a positive impact for the visitors coming off the bench.

Al Hajj tried an audacious shot with a free-kick from a very tight angle which Jensen had to stretch to push wide of his near post, but Argyle grabbed their fifth goal from the resulting corner.

Jensen made a smart reaction stop when Al Hajj’s inswinging corner was headed towards goal by a Millwall player and the ensuing scramble ended with Katic poking the ball into the net while he was sat on the ground.

ARGYLE: Conor Hazard; Makysm Talovierov, Nikola Katic, Victor Palsson; Matty Sorinola (Kornel Szucs 71 mins), Adam Randell (Darko Gyabi 62 mins), Jordan Houghton, Nathanael Ogbeta (Bali Mumba 62 mins); Ryan Hardie (Michael Baidoo 62 mins), Callum Wright; Mustapha Bundu (Rami Al Hajj 78 mins).

Substitutes (not used): Dan Grimshaw, Malachi Boateng, Muhamed Tijani, Freddie Issaka.

MILLWALL: Lukas Jensen; Tristan Crama, Japhet Tanganga, Jake Cooper, Joe Bryan; George Saville, Casper De Norre (Billy Mitchell 77 mins); Camiel Neghli (Ra’ess Bangura-Williams 56 mins), Luke Cundle (Femi Azeez 56 mins), Aaron Connolly (Duncan Watmore 77 mins); Mihailo Ivanovic.

Substitutes (not used): Liam Roberts, Murray Wallace, Ryan Wintle, George Honeyman, Wes Harding.

REFEREE: Jeremy Simpson
ATTENDANCE: 15,453 (502)

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