Waine and Hardie give Rooney’s Plymouth win against Cheltenham
“What was your overall impression of the ‘wow’ factor?” It could be a question for Plymouth supporters as they headed for the exits after witnessing a welcome first win under Wayne Rooney but is actually a line from the judging criteria for the British Fireworks Championships, the other show in town on the night, down on the waterfront. After a chastening start to life back in the dugout, this win will surely be of great relief, no matter its questionable importance in the grand scheme of things. It will also surely make his Thursday more comfortable, Rooney the headline act for a sold-out Q&A at this stadium.
This threatened to be an awkward evening until Ben Waine opened the scoring, the shot count totting up for Plymouth (it finished at 32, eight of which were on target) with Cheltenham very much alive in the contest. But nine minutes from time Ryan Hardie slotted in and then the substitute Mustapha Bundu made it 3-0 with a smartly taken strike from the edge of the box. In the end Plymouth were into round two with minimal fuss, Cheltenham dispatched. This was the Plymouth supporters’ first glimpse of Rooney at Home Park, with the stadium not hosting any pre-season games owing to a new £1m pitch being laid. Plymouth routed Cheltenham 5-1 in a friendly less than a month ago and while it was not quite the same emphatic scoreline here, a first victory, strangely, felt somewhat priceless. Before play began, a handful of photographers focused their lenses on Rooney as he stood on the edge of his technical area.
