Plymouth Argyle remain top of League One with a thumping victory over Bolton Wanderers

Plymouth Argyle continue their reign at the top of League One as they beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 in horrific weather conditions.

Two goals from set-pieces in the opening 15 minutes saw the hosts take control of the contest, with the third being netted in added time of the second half courtesy of a big helping hand from a sodden pitch in Devon.

There were just five minutes on the clock when Plymouth took the lead through Brendan Galloway. The former Everton defender poked home from close range as the ball bobbled about in the area with Bolton failing to clear their lines from a corner.

Another former Toffee, Conor Grant, fired a second less than 10 minutes later to double the Pilgrims’ advantage. Again, the visitors failed to react to a corner with this one finding its way out to Grant on the edge of the area. Given the space to do so, the midfielder took aim at goal as the ball flew past Bolton goalkeeper Joel Dixon.

Josh Sheehan then fired an effort at goal up the other end but Plymouth shot-stopper Michael Cooper was equal to it as the game began to settle down.

Towards the end of the first half, Argyle could have had a third through Joe Edwards. He found space in the box and got a shot off which Dixon palmed behind for a corner as the half came to a close.

After the restart, Bolton kicked towards their 708 fans who had made the mammoth 590-mile midweek round trip down south and went in search of a route back into the contest.

Oladapo Afolayan saw a couple of shots well held by Cooper, but the hosts defended resolutely and maintained their two-goal lead.

Argyle again went close through Pantuche Camara, before Bolton brought former Pilgrim and current club captain Antoni Sarcevic off the bench at Home Park.

After Camara’s effort hit the post, Sarcevic fired wide of the goal and in doing so passed up on an absolutely golden opportunity.

Eoin Doyle and Elias Kachunga were also brought on by the visitors to a pitch that was getting increasingly sodden as time ticked on and rain became heavier by the second.

Sheehan saw a free-kick from the edge of the box saved well by Cooper, and with that Bolton knew that their night was going to be one without any success in front of goal.

As the game went into five minutes of time added on, the Home Park turf resembled a paddling pool. Both teams struggled to play the ball, and in truth had there been any longer left, the referee would have been left with no option but an abandonment.

That said, Argyle did get their third before the final whistle was blown in quite comedic fashion, though Bolton boss Ian Evatt won’t see it that way.

After the ball got stuck in the grass, Plymouth broke with Danny Mayor. When Bolton goalkeeper Dixon rushed out and had the ball dinked over him, the Pilgrims had an open goal to fire into.

However, Mayor wasn’t the scorer. As he got into the box, the ball stuck under his feet due to the saturated surface underneath him, and the same can be said for teammate Ryan Hardie who tried and failed to take the ball into the net. Fortunately for the pair, Ryan Broom did manage to get it over the line.

With that, a sodden evening in Devon came to a close. 3-0 arguably flattered Plymouth, but boss Ryan Lowe won’t care as they remain top of League One.

Meanwhile, Bolton have now lost their last three league games without scoring a single goal. Stopping the slide sooner rather than later is undoubtedly the aim for the Whites.

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