Heartbreak for Hazard

Heartbreak for Hazard

5 March 2025

DOWNPATRICK goalkeeper Conor Hazard’s heroics were in vain as Premier League giants Manchester City came from a goal behind to knock Plymouth Argyle out of the FA Cup.

The Northern Ireland international and his teammates knew they were in for a tough test against the current champions of England, but would have had the prospect of a fairytale story somewhere in the back of their minds. 

The magic of the cup does have the tendency to spring a few upsets and that was certainly the case when Hazard and Argyle snatched a shock 1-0 win against top division side Brentford in the third round.

Not many gave them a chance when they welcomed footballing titans Liverpool to Home Park last month and once again, they were in dreamland.

Hazard made three dramatic saves to deny close-range efforts from the Reds’ Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in stoppage time, protecting the one-goal margin created by Ryan Hardie’s spot kick.

The 26 year-old’s performance earned him the title of ‘hero of the hour’ and alongside Hardie’s goal, ensured his side were in the hat for the round of 16.

The Pilgrims would have awaited the resulting draw with bated breath, finding themselves in the mix with fellow championship clubs, Cardiff and Millwall, and a whole host of Premier League teams.

Argyle have found themselves bogged down in a relegation scrap for much of this season, but have been able to find joy in their magical knockout run.

They were drawn away to Pep Guardiola’s Man City and there was no hiding the excitement of their supporters, with a grand total of 7,800 fans making the 560-mile round trip up from the South Coast.

For seven euphoric minutes, the sea of green shirts made waves throughout the Etihad Stadium, after centre-half Maksym Talovierov headed Plymouth into the lead with a header past goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

Until that point, the all-star attack of Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, as well as young striker Nico O’Reilly, had failed to seriously test Hazard.

He had only been troubled by a powerful header from defender Nathan Ake, and made an astonishing save to dispel that effort.

The visitors were on course to take a surprise lead into the break, but were cruelly pegged back when O’Reilly headed De Bruyne’s free kick home, seconds before the half-time whistle.

City strengthened their grip on proceedings after the restart, showing the visiting defenders why they are amongst the best teams in the world.

Hazard has become accustomed to making saves from point-blank range, and he produced a remarkable stop to prevent Bernardo Silva from giving the hosts the lead.

Still, the job was far from done and when De Bruyne stormed through on goal, his shot was no match for the razor-sharp reflexes of the Plymouth number one.

The travelling side may have been starting to believe in the unthinkable, as the final ten minutes approached, but their dreams were shattered as O’Reilly pounced upon a cross and gave Hazard no chance from less than six yards out.

Plymouth had exhausted their resources and as the curtain steadily began to close on their inspiring cup run, it was that man De Bruyne that delivered the knockout blow.

He found himself unmarked in the box and made no mistake in applying the finish touch from substitute Erling Haaland’s low cross, completing a 3-1 win for the Citizens.

The result did not reflect the quality of Hazard’s performance and without him, the Pilgrims would have been out of the contest before it truly started.

Plymouth Argyle and Conor Hazard will now turn focus towards their league survival mission, aiming to make the leap out of the danger zone.