Heroic 10-man Plymouth Argyle secure memorable Luton Town win

Plymouth Argyle clinched their first League One away win of the season as they beat Luton Town 3-2 in an incident-packed match at Kenilworth Road.

The Pilgrims did so despite the 50th minute dismissal of captain Joe Edwards, who was shown a straight red card by referee Ollie Yates for a challenge on Millenic Alli. The score was 2-2 at the time and Luton had just equalised for the second time with a penalty from half-time substitute Nahki Wells.

Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley was also sent-off later in the second period, but moments after he had made his way around the side of the pitch to the tunnel, his side were celebrating taking the lead again.

The goal owed to some good fortune, with an attempted clearance from Luton captain Jordan Clark hitting midfielder Bradley Ibrahim and the ball rebounded into the net, but the Pilgrims then defended magnificently in the closing stages to pick up maximum points.

Matty Sorinola had opened the scoring for Argyle in the 15th minute with a diving, close range header but Luton were soon level after a penalty from Jerry Yates.

Ibrahim then restored the Pilgrims’ lead in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the first half with a terrific shot, but the drama was far from over as Luton dominated the second half and mounted attack after attack but it was the away side who eventually came out on top.

Argyle have had to deal with a number of injuries at the start of this season and there was another blow for them in the build-up to the game against Luton.

Hungarian defender Kornel Szucs suffered a knee ligament injury in training and faces a spell on the sidelines. In his absence, former Denmark under-21 international Mathias Ross made his first league start for the Pilgrims after joining them towards the end of the summer transfer window.

That was the only change to Argyle’s team from the 4-2 victory over Stockport County at Home Park, with Cleverley again sending the Pilgrims out in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Former Luton duo Brendan Galloway and Bim Pepple were added to the substitutes’ bench, as was 19-year-old on-loan Middlesbrough midfielder Law McCabe for his first match with the Pilgrims.

Galloway had missed the previous two matches because he was on international duty with Zimbabwe, although he did not play in either of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.

Luton’s starting line-up included Dutch defender Nigel Lonwijk, who played on loan to Argyle during their 2022/23 League One title-winning campaign.

Ross lined up on the right side of the Pilgrims’ central defensive trio in the place vacated by the injured Szucs, with Alex Mitchell in the middle and Brendan Wiredu on the left.

Argyle were forced into a substitution in only the fourth minute when Caleb Watts picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Owen Dale, the transfer-deadline day loan signing from Oxford United.

There was also a lengthy early delay when Luton’s Gideon Kodua needed medical attention after a clash of heads with Wiredu when Edwards lofted the ball towards them.

Kodua was eventually able to return to the action and it was not long before the Pilgrims opened the scoring in the 15th minute with just a second goal for the club from Sorinola.

Argyle striker Lorent Tolaj did well to spin and cross the ball into the six-yard area and Sorinola sent his close range header past goalkeeper Josh Keeley into the net.

The Pilgrims’ lead only lasted until the 20th minute when Luton equalised with a coolly-taken by Yates. The spot kick was awarded after a raised arm from Wiredu caught Lasse Nordas as they competed for a header and referee Yates also showed a yellow card to the Argyle defender.

Argyle goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond looked uncertain at dealing with crosses into his penalty area but he did make a smart low save at his neat post to push away a shot from Zack Nelson for a corner.

Dale had his first attacking involvement for the Pilgrims when he broke into the Luton box but both of his attempts to cross the ball into the goalmouth, the second one being put out for a corner.

From a later corner for Argyle, Ross rose highest in the Luton penalty area but sent his header from a Sorinola cross wide of Keeley’s right post.

Ashby-Hammond then made another good save from Millenic Alli’s 41st minute shot for Luton after the ball had been fired across the face of goal from the right by Christ Makosso.

There was a third yellow card of the season for Cleverley when he voiced his unhappiness about a free-kick awarded to Luton very close to his technical area for a challenge by Ross.

However, the Pilgrims’ boss was much happier in the fifth minute of added time when his side regained the lead. Ibrahim won the ball off Nelson on the edge of the Hatters’ box and then sent a well-placed shot beyond the reach of Keeley.

Luton sent on Kal Naismith and Nahki Wells as half-time substitutes for Lonwijk and Nordas and the hosts were soon level at 2-2 with their second penalty of the contest. This time it was Sorinola who was penalised for a foul on Kodua at the far post after a deep cross from Alli and Wells tucked away the spot kick for his first Luton goal.

Argyle needed a period of time to try to stabilise after that early second half setback. Instead, Edwards was shown a straight red card by Yates for a sliding challenge from behind on Alli.

Before play resumed, Ross was replaced by Galloway, who lined up on the left of the defensive trio, with Wiredu moving to the right side and Mitchell stayed in the middle.

Luton had a good chance to take the lead for the first time when the ball was crossed into the box from the right but Yates could not get it on target as he stretched out to reach it.

Alli was then booked for diving inside the Argyle penalty area after a tackle on him by Sorinola before Ashby-Hammond made a low save from a Wells shot on goal.

Shayden Morris made his Luton debut as a 60th minute substitute for Kodua, which was an attacking change from the Hatters as they sensed blood against their 10-man opponents.

Ashby-Hammond safely held onto a long-range strike from Naismith before Cleverley was shown a red card by Yates and the former Watford boss had to walk around the side of the pitch to the tunnel being jeered by the Luton fans.

However, Argyle immediately went back in front for the third time of the afternoon. The ball ricocheted around inside the Luton penalty area following a Sorinola corner and eventually an attempted clearance from Clark struck Ibrahim and rebounded into the net for a goal he knew very little about.

Luton hit back strongly and Wiredu had to come up with an excellent last-ditch clearance after a shot from Makosso was parried away by Ashby-Hammond while Sorinola did extremely well a couple of times to block crosses from the Hatters’ left.

Wells sent a header wide for Luton as they kept up sustained pressure, while Argyle made a double substitution as Tolaj and Sorinola, who appeared to be suffering from cramp, were replaced by Pepple and McCabe.

The referee added on 10 extra minutes at the end of the second half after numerous stoppages, the dismissals of Cleverley and Edwards, as well as multiple substitutions.

Luton piled forward in numbers as Argyle defended their goal with admirable determination. Yates sent a header over the bar when well positioned after a cross from Makosso and that was the closest the Hatters came to an equaliser.

ARGYLE: Luca Ashby-Hammond; Mathias Ross (Brendan Galloway 63 mins), Alex Mitchell, Brendan Wiredu; Joe Edwards, Bradley Ibrahim, Malachi Boateng, Matty Sorinola (Law McCabe 87 mins); Caleb Watts (Owen Dale 4 mins), Bali Mumba; Lorent Tolaj (Bim Pepple 87 mins).

Substitutes (not used): Zak Baker, Owen Oseni, Tegan Finn.

LUTON: Josh Keeley; Christ Makosso, Mads Andersen (Cohen Bramall 71 mins), Nigel Lonwijk (Kal Naismith h/t); George Saville; Gideon Kodua (Shayden Morris 60 mins), Zack Nelson (Joe Gdobe 84 mins), Jordan Clark, Millenic Alli; Lasse Nordas (Nahki Wells h/t), Jerry Yates.

Substitutes (not used): James Shea, Liam Walsh.

REFEREE: Ollie Yates

ATTENDANCE: 11,801 (1,342)

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