Green Army rewarded with a brave draw from their longest trip

It was an extremely early alarm call for the Green Army, many jumping on coaches in the middle of the night for the 800-mile round trip to a strong Sunderland side.

The omens were bleak for the Pilgrims after suffering a heavy defeat on Wednesday night and sitting bottom of the Championship, but those faithful fans were rewarded for their hours on the road with a superb 2-2 draw.

Ryan Hardie scored a scruffy opener for Argyle early in the second period, but Sunderland quickly responded with two goals to restore the form-book expectations. The Pilgrims were just a few minutes from a courageous defeat when Nathaneal Ogbeta popped up with a dramatic equaliser.

After the brutality of conceding five goals in the opening half at home to Burnley in midweek, Argyle were pleasingly resolute in the opening exchanges, with one dangerous cross calmly claimed by goalkeeper Conor Hazard.

Adam Randell then tried a strike from distance that kept the home custodian on his toes, but the Greens were generally happy to keep their promotion-chasing hosts at bay with a disciplined and compact defensive approach.

When the rearguard was momentarily breached, Dan Neil spurned a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock, Neil did find his radar just past the half-hour, fizzing a sweet volley goalwards but he was thwarted by an excellent Hazard save.

Hazard produced one more smart block in the closing minutes of a half that also a Callum Wright rebound bounce into the Argyle net, but the Pilgrims deservedly retained their clean sheet at the break.

After the first-half fun, the game burst into life after the break and Hardie stunned the Stadium of Light just before the hour, pouncing on the loose ball after determined work from Wright and Randell to force it over the line.

The Green Army bounce almost immediately turned into a slump, as a whipped cross from Trai Hume was volleyed into the corner by Wilson Isidor.

Despite that setback, there was an encouraging tempo in Argyle’s play, and they almost grabbed another lead when a lofted pass from Randell found Wright for a volley tipped on to the post. It was, therefore, more than a little cruel that Sunderland immediately went up the other end to edge in front through Hume.

Argyle kept on going in a desperate bid to get some reward for their immense efforts and it did arrive from an unlikely source, Ogbeta reacting quickly to a Darko Gyabi flick to smash the leveller into the top corner.

It is a long way to go for the Pilgrims to have any chance of survival but performances like this will, at the very least, make the Green Army proud of their team again.

Exeter City have now gone six league games without a victory and this latest setback was all down to a dismal first-half display at St James Park.

While the Grecians remain a comfortable 11 points clear of the relegation zone in Sky Bet League One, conceding three first-half goals at home to Blackpool was a tough return for City, who eventually went down to a 3-1 defeat.  

There was little sign of the trouble ahead when Pat Jones pinged a long-range effort over the bar and a lovely touch and strike from Jake Richards was deflected narrowly wide for the Grecians.

Blackpool responded with Tom Bloxham cutting inside his man and drilling a shot against the foot of the post. City were back in the ascendancy with a sweeping move that culminated in a Demetri Mitchell cleared at a stretch by the visitors.

The Tangerines, however, were growing in menace, Ashley Fletcher wasting a fabulous chance to open the scoring. Josh Magennis replied with a low drive that brought out the best from Blackpool ‘keeper Harry Tyrer.

Things then went all wrong for City, conceding three goals in the space of 13 minutes.

CJ Hamilton was first to strike for Blackpool, finishing off a swift counter from the visitors, and it got worse for Exeter when Bloxham was gifted space in behind the home defence to calmly round Joe Whitworth for an easy finish.

The Grecians badly needed a half-time regroup, but the chat became increasingly difficult for City manager Gary Caldwell as Fletcher made amends for his earlier miss top score a third for Blackpool.

City were much improved after the break, although, to be fair, it was only a 13-minute blitz that ruined the first-half display.

Blackpool, however, never really looked like relinquishing their healthy advantage and when Millenic Alli scored with an angled strike on 82 minutes, it was only a consolation for Exeter, who will hope for better at home to Leyton Orient on Tuesday night.

Torquay United suffered their first home defeat in the National League South this season, going down 1-0 to Hampton & Richmond Borough, but the Gulls remain level on points with Boreham Wood at the top.