Plymouth Argyle are ending 2024 at the bottom of the Championship and their season seems to be spiralling out of control under head coach Wayne Rooney.

The Pilgrims have just 18 points at the midway point of their 46-game league campaign following a 2-0 defeat by Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.

It is now one win in 14 matches for Argyle, whose away record is getting beyond embarrassment and becoming a complete humiliation.

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They have lost 11 out of 13 games on their travels this term, including all of the last five, and conceded a whopping 35 goals, and they have still just netted three times.

Oxford have now won both games since the appointment of Gary Rowett as their new boss and after being recently regarded as a team that Argyle must be above to avoid relegation they are now six points clear of the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims conceded their now customary early away goal against the U’s but it was still only 1-0 at the interval and they made a decent start to the second half, but once falling further behind just after the hour mark they never looked like coming back from that.

The travelling Green Army’s anger was evident at the final whistle with calls for Rooney to lose his job. Whatever happens next, these are extremely challenging times for Argyle.

There were surprise returns to action of Morgan Whittaker and Ryan Hardie for the visit to the Kassam Stadium. Whittaker had missed the six previous matches, since the 2-2 draw against home to Watford on November 22, due to a toe injury.

Hardie, meanwhile, made an earlier than expected comeback from the badly gashed left knee which he suffered during the 3-3 draw at home to Middlesbrough on December 21.

Whittaker and Hardie were two of four changes to the starting line-up from the 4-0 Boxing Day thrashing at Coventry City, with goalkeeper Conor Hazard getting recalled and there was also a place in the team for Matty Sorinola.

Hazard took over between the posts from Dan Grimshaw, who dropped down to the substitutes’ bench after conceding 21 goals in the previous six games.

It was Hazard’s first game since he suffered an ankle ligament injury near the end of the 1-0 home defeat by Stoke City at the end of August.

Sorinola played at right-back as Argyle lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, while Bali Mumba in the wide left attacking role, while Whittaker was on the opposite side of the pitch.

Possession of the ball was split evenly as both sides took time to settle into the game, but Oxford opened the scoring in the 14th minute with the first scoring chance of the contest.

Argyle could not clear a corner fully and when the ball was played back into the box by Tyler Goodrham it was met by a diving header from defender Ciaron Brown, who guided it low to the right of Hazard, who was helpless to do anything about it.

It was the 50th goal conceded by the Pilgrims in the Championship this season in only their 23rd out of 46 games, which highlighted their continued defensive deficiencies.

The Oxford supporters taunted Rooney by signing ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as, yet again, Argyle found themselves trailing to an early goal.

Hazard had to make a reaction save with his feet from a close range shot by U’s striker Mark Harris before Oxford left-back Greg Leigh sent the ball into the side netting after a cross from Przmyslaw Placheta.

Argyle’s first goal attempt came following an Adam Randell corner as captain Lewis Gibson got in a header which was comfortably saved by Jamie Cumming, before Whittaker let fly from distance but the ball went well wide.

Argyle came much closer to an equaliser when a Rami Al Hajj shot from inside the Oxford penalty area was deflected off Will Vaulks and the ball bounced off the top of the bar and out for a corner.

Hazard then had to make a decent save to push away a fierce angled shot from Przemyslaw Placheta after the speedy U’s attacker had gone past left-back Brendan Galloway.

Mumba was Argyle’s main attacking outlet as he saw quite a lot of the ball and he had one angled strike saved low at his near post by Cumming as the visitors tried to come up with an equaliser.

Oxford then almost grabbed a second goal following the latest in a series of corners as a looping header from Leigh hit the top of the bar after a cross from Goodrham.

Rooney made a half-time substitution as 19-year-old midfielder Caleb Roberts was sent on for Al Hajj and the teenager had an early shot blocked behind for a corner after a break through the centre of the pitch led by Darko Gyabi.

Argyle were much more on the front foot after the restart. Hardie could not get quite a touch on a dangerous cross from the left by Mumba, who continued to get into some good attacking positions.

The visitors had a free-kick in a shooting position from around 30 yards out after a foul on Gyabi by Placheta, but Randell sent the ball curling over the bar.

Argyle then conceded a second goal in the 61st minute with a low shot on the turn from Placheta when cut back inside by Galloway after the pair had been in a chase for a through ball.

There was a yellow card for Sorinola soon afterwards for a foul on Goodrham while the frustration of the Green Army started to spill over as they sang ‘You’re nothing special we lose every week’ towards the Oxford supporters.

Argyle’s second substitution saw 16-year-old Tegan Finn replace Galloway in the 68th minute, with Mumba moving to left-back, but by now the belief they could get something out of the game seemed to have drained away from the Pilgrims.

Whittaker’s comeback from injury lasted until the 80th minute when he made way for Andre Gray and the rest of the match largely passed off without incident.

ARGYLE: Conor Hazard; Matty Sorinola, Kornel Szucs, Lewis Gibson, Brendan Galloway (Tegan Finn 68 mins); Adam Randell, Morgan Whittaker (Andre Gray 80 mins), Rami Al Hajj (Caleb Roberts h/t), Darko Gyabi, Bali Mumba; Ryan Hardie.

Substitutes (not used): Dan Grimshaw, Nathanael Ogbeta, Jordan Houghton, Julio Pleguezuelo, Freddie Issaka, Victor Palsson.

OXFORD: Jamie Cumming; Sam Long, Elliott Moore, Ciaron Brown, Greg Leigh; Will Vaulks, Cameron Brannagan; Przemyslaw Placheta (Idris El Mizouni 72 mins), Ruben Rodrigues (Matt Phillips 72 mins), Tyler Goodrham (Tidde ter Avest 86 mins); Mark Harris (Dane Scarlett 86 mins).

Substitutes (not used): Matt Ingram, Louie Sibley, Siriki Dembele, Kyle Edwards, Peter Kioso.

REFEREE: David Webb

ATTENDANCE: 11,438

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