Plymouth Argyle without a shot on target in 3-0 defeat by West ...

Plymouth Argyle slipped to a second consecutive Championship defeat at Home Park in four days as they lost 3-0 to play-off chasing West Bromwich Albion.

It was a performance which was far removed from the swashbuckling attacking style seen from the Pilgrims this season as they posed hardly any threat all game. Morgan Whittaker and Ryan Hardie, who have combined for 30 goals this term, did not have a single scoring chance between them.

Just as was the case against promotion-chasing Leeds United on Saturday, when they lost 2-0, Argyle faced strong top six opposition in West Brom but nonetheless the Green Army had every right to expect more from their side than they produced.

Read More:Argyle vs West Brom RECAP

Try Plymouth Live Premium for free with no ads, fun puzzles and new features

Albion were totally dominant in the second half, which is when all their goals were scored as Cedric Kipre, Mickey Johnston and Tom Fellows all found the back of the net.

The Pilgrims ended the game without a single shot on target and just four goal attempts, which explained why there were some boos from frustrated fans when the full-time whistle sounded.

Hardie had returned to lead the attack for Argyle as Ian Foster made five changes to his starting line-up from the defeat by Leeds, when he had played as a second half substitute for Ben Waine.

Foster swapped both of his wing-backs as Bali Mumba and Lino Sousa, who began his career in the academy at West Brom, came into the side for Matty Sorinola and Mickel Miller.

There were also returns for defender Brendan Galloway and on-loan Leeds midfielder Dark Gyabi, who had been unable to play against his parent club at the weekend.

Dropping down to the bench were Waine, Sorinola, Miller, Julio Pleguzuelo and Jordan Houghton, with Whittaker taking over the captain’s armband.

Goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who was on loan to Argyle during their 2019-20 League Two promotion-winning campaign under Ryan Lowe, continued his ever present record in the Championship this season for West Brom.

There was almost a goal for the visitors in only the third minute when Alex Mowatt was allowed to run forward from midfield and get in a shot which took a deflection and hit the outside of Conor Hazard’s right post.

Soon afterwards, West Brom captain Jed Wallace made a surging run into the Argyle box but as he lined up a strike on goal Galloway made a superb sliding tackle on him.

The Pilgrims threatened for the first time in the ninth minute when Nathaniel Chalobah headed the ball away as far as Adam Randell, who was 25 yards out, and his volley flew inches wide of Palmer’s right post.

That chance apart, Albion dominated the possession as they forced Argyle onto the defensive, with Hazard stretching to punch clear a John Swift corner amid a crowded goalmouth.

The home side had penalty appeals in the 16th minute when Gyabi charged into the West Brom box and there was contact from Chalobah as the 20-year-old fell to the ground, but referee Tom Nield, who was well positioned, took no action.

It was the sort of incident that has just not led to Argyle being awarded spot kicks this season, and that fact has been picked up by former manager Steven Schumacher as well as Foster.

West Brom had the next scoring opportunity when Jed Wallace flicked the ball over Lewis Gibson for Andi Weimann to run onto and the on-loan Bristol City striker had a powerful shot parried away by Hazard.

Sousa sent a right-foot shot over the bar from just inside the West Brom penalty area before Wallace had a volley from the edge of the box which would have been on target blocked by Mumba as he stretched out a leg.

Argyle had to successfully defend a couple of very long throw-ins from West Brom right-back Darnell Furlong as it remained goal-less until the interval after a first half lacking in quality.

West Brom went close to opening the scoring in the 47th minute when Weimann ran onto a pass from John Swift but sent his low shot wide of Hazard’s left post as Galloway closed him down.

Argyle did not help their own cause as they gave the ball away cheaply and that allowed West Brom to build up some real attacking momentum.

Wallace was only denied the opener when his first-time shot from outside the box hit the inside of Hazard’s left post and rolled across the goal rather than going into the net.

Mumba was yellow-carded for a foul on West Brom left-back Connor Townsend in the 57th minute and soon afterwards was replaced by Sorinola at right wing-back, while Miller was also sent on for Sousa at the same time.

Hazard then did well to flick a close range header from Chalobah over the bar but from the resulting corner Albion took a 61st minute lead when Argyle could not deal with the cross into their six-yard area and Kipre slotted home.

The goal had been coming for the visitors given their dominance but it was still a poor one for the Pilgrims to concede.

West Brom continued to control the game and doubled their lead in the 76th minute when Johnston, not long after he had come off the bench to replace Weimann, scored their second goal.

It was all too easy as Johnston cut inside Sorinola and when he was not closed down by defender Ashley Phillips he placed a shot high into the net, giving Hazard no chance of making a save.

Foster made a triple substitution in the 79th minute as Houghton, Mustapha Bundu and Joe Edwards were sent on for Gyabi, Alfie Devine and Randell.

The frustration had been building among the Green Army at the lack of any attacking threat from Argyle and there were loud groans when the ball was played back to Hazard on one particular occasion.

Grady Diangana should have got a third goal for West Brom but shot over the bar from close range but they did add to their tally in the first minute of added time.

Wallace let fly with a low shot which was pushed away by Hazard but Fellows followed up to score from a tight angle.

It was a fifth home Championship defeat of the season for the Pilgrims and saw them drop one position to 17th five points clear of the relegation zone with 13 games remaining.

ARGYLE: Conor Hazard; Ashley Phillips, Lewis Gibson, Brendan Galloway; Bali Mumba (Matty Sorinola 59 mins), Adam Randell (Joe Edwards 79 mins), Darko Gyabi (Jordan Houghton 79 mins), Lino Sousa (Mickel Miller 59 mins); Morgan Whittaker, Alfie Devine (Mustapha Bundu 79 mins); Ryan Hardie.

Substitutes (not used): Callum Burton, Julio Pleguzuelo, Ben Waine, Freddie Issaka.

WEST BROM: Alex Palmer; Darnell Furlong (Semi Ajayi 82 mins), Cedric Kipre, Erik Pieters, Conor Townsend; Nathaniel Chalobah (Okay Yokuslu 65 mins), Alex Mowatt (Adam Reach 82 mins); Jed Wallace, John Swift (Grady Diangana 65 mins), Tom Fellow; Andi Weimann (Mickey Johnston 71 mins).

Substitutes (not used): Josh Griffiths, Callum Marshall, Pipa, Jovan Malcolm.

REFEREE: Tom Nield

ATTENDANCE: 16,310 (1,201)

For more Argyle content that you cannot get anywhere else, sign up for Chris Errington's weekly Inside Home Park newsletter HERE