Wayne Rooney endured a crushing 4-0 defeat to Frank Lampard’s Coventry, piling more pressure on the struggling Plymouth Argyle manager. The highly anticipated managerial face-off between the former England teammates took center stage on Boxing Day, overshadowing a vital Championship fixture for Argyle, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Argyle extended their winless streak to nine league games with another heavy away loss. Coventry did all the damage in the first half, with goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ephron Mason-Clark, and a brace from Josh Eccles propelling Lampard’s side to 14th place in the standings. Since Lampard’s appointment last month, his team has secured three wins and now sits just 10 points away from the playoff spots.
Plymouth’s dismal form can partly be attributed to their lengthy injury list, as Rooney was without key players like Ryan Hardie, Michael Obafemi, Ibrahim Cissoko, Muhamed Tijani, and Morgan Whittaker for Thursday’s clash. The absence of key players forced former Derby manager Wayne Rooney to hand 16-year-old Tegan Finn his first start, following his debut as a substitute in the 3-0 loss to Leeds last month.
🚨🏴 FT: Coventry 4-0 Plymouth ✅
Frank Lampard beats Wayne Rooney. pic.twitter.com/okx8bmp4IS
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 26, 2024
Plymouth were also without captain Joe Edwards for the trip to the Midlands. Coventry’s dominance was evident from the outset, with Sakamoto opening the scoring just five minutes in. Eccles made it 2-0 after 20 minutes and added his second on the stroke of halftime, following a strike from Mason-Clark, who netted his fourth goal in six games under Frank Lampard’s management.
Rooney’s troubles deepened in the 87th minute when Callum Wright was sent off, ruling him out of Sunday’s match against Oxford United. Adding to the pressure, the Manchester United legend endured chants of “sacked in the morning” from his own fans following Eccles’ second goal before halftime. Plymouth, now two points from safety, has shipped 16 goals in their last four away fixtures this month.
Sunday’s clash against 20th-placed Oxford offers Plymouth a crucial opportunity to end their slump and ease the growing calls for Rooney’s dismissal. Coventry, on the other hand, will host Millwall at the Coventry Building Society Arena, the same side they defeated earlier this month to secure Lampard’s first win in charge.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
