With champagne spraying and 4,000 traveling fans dancing in the stands, Plymouth Argyle finally had their moment.
So much is made of Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and others in League One – the ones with the history, grandeur and bigger budgets – but it will be the Devon club that move into the second tier as champions.
Green dreams came true as this final afternoon victory over Port Vale saw Steven Schumacher’s team crush a century of points and return to the Championship after 13 years.
A celebration that began when they were promoted alongside Ipswich last weekend continued into a packed end at Vale Park as goals from Adam Randall, Joe Edwards and Finn Azaz saw them come from behind after James Plant’s early opener.
It’s an incredible achievement in a notoriously tough division that has come to resemble a graveyard of former Premier League clubs.
Plymouth Argyle secured first place in League One on Sunday by winning 3-1 against Port Vale
Steven Schumacher’s side finished first after Ipswich could only draw 2-2 at Fleetwood
The Pilgrims were supported, as always, by a vociferous following from south-west Vale Park
Especially given the Pilgrims’ desperate position a decade ago when Argyle, amid crippling financial problems, was left alone in the Football League as relegation rivals also lost on the final day.
James Brent was the businessman who saved the club before passing the reins to current owner Simon Hallett, whose shrewd leadership and financial backing took them to this point.
Schumacher’s promotion when Ryan Lowe left for Preston in 2021 proved a masterstroke, his data-driven approach and willingness to allow players to present tactical plans, completing the club’s redemption.
Despite all that, Plymouth’s £4 million per season playing budget dwarfs Ipswich, Wednesday and many others in League One and will look even smaller in the Championship.
“The other clubs that everyone has mentioned this season are historically bigger clubs than us,” Schumacher said. ‘It does not matter.
“We went about our business every week, we went out to win our games and deliver performances for our fans because the players care about this club. Now that we are champions, we can no longer be ignored.
“For any club to get over 100 points is a milestone, so for us to do it all season under the intense pressure from Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley. It’s an incredible achievement.”
Schumacher has a date with the needle after promising his daughter he would get a tattoo if his team reached 100 points and burst out laughing when reminded.
The Plymouth supporters who had risen since silly hour to make the 250-mile journey to the Potteries certainly made their presence felt.
The parking lot on the other side was a sea of green as they partied at 10am to tunes pumped out by a DJ. Once inside, they cheered on everyone in their colors who came out for the warm-up, then cheered them back in.
But the Green Army were silenced – at least for a short while – as Plant stormed through within the first three minutes to score for Vale.
It owed everything to Danny Butterworth’s vision in midfield, as he saw Plant run past Macaulay Gillesphey down the right channel and play the perfect pass.
Plant beat Plymouth goalkeeper Callum Burton in the one-on-one to surprise the Vale fans.
Plymouth took some time to get going. Their first notable chance wasn’t until the 18th minute when Bali Mumba headed back over the goal and wide of Callum Wright’s cross.
But two well-taken goals in the space of five minutes turned the game upside down and restored Plymouth to the top.
On 34 minutes, Argyle attacked down the left and Niall Ennis did just enough to keep the movement flowing in the box as Vale tried to scramble it away.
After James Plant put Vale ahead within three minutes, Adam Randell equalized for the visitors
A goal from Plymouth captain Joe Edwards (right) saw them go 2-1 at half-time
Substitute Finn Azaz (right) put the icing on the cake after an hour with a third goal
At the final whistle, Plymouth celebrated loudly with their 3,926 fans making the trip
The ball sat perfectly upright for Randell on the edge of the box and he crashed it into the bottom corner.
That created pandemonium, with a veil of green smoke briefly enveloping the ending, and the excitement had only just died down when Plymouth took the lead.
This time they attacked from right to left, with Mumba working the ball through to Callum Wright, whose low pass over the Vale box was tempting.
Just as it seemed to elude everyone, Plymouth’s Captain Edwards arrived at the back post to fire into a shrinking hole.
Although Ipswich were only drawing at this point, Plymouth knew they might need an insurance goal and got the start of the second half going.
Randell curled a swinging corner into a packed box and goalkeeper Aiden Stone punched away, before Mumba fired a shot at the crossbar a few minutes later.
Edwards then cleared the crossbar from short range after some good work from Finn Azaz, the Argyle midfielder was tagged by the referee after claiming it should have been a corner kick. Just after news trickled down that Fleetwood had equalized 1–1 against Ipswich, Plymouth added their third.
It was a great finish from Azaz, lifted high into the net from just inside the area after Wright cut in on the right. He may have been fouled, but the referee played an advantage and his pass saw Azaz score.
Matty Taylor had a stoppage-time header ruled out for offside, but it would have been just consolation either way. That was that. Plymouth are champions – and in what style.