Plymouth vs Cardiff

21 February 2026 · League One · 2025/26 · Referee Darren Drysdale

Full time 5 – 2

Half-time: 3–2

Lorent Tolaj 28’, 68’ (pen)
Aribim Pepple 31’, 34’
Mathias Ross 81’

Omari Kellyman 33’, 43’

Match summary

Plymouth won comfortably, 5-2 at home to Cardiff. Plymouth led 3-2 at half-time.

In the first half, Lorent Tolaj put Plymouth ahead in the 28th minute, Aribim Pepple made it 2-0 in the 31st minute, Omari Kellyman pulled one back to make it 2-1 in the 33rd minute, Pepple made it 3-1 with a header in the 34th minute, and Kellyman made it 3-2 in the 43rd minute. In the second half, Tolaj made it 4-2 from the penalty spot in the 68th minute and Mathias Ross made it 5-2 with a header in the 81st minute.

The chances backed that up: Plymouth created 2.95 expected goals (xG) from 16 shots to Cardiff's 1.68 from 18.

Match stats

29% Possession 71%

16 Shots 18

9 Shots on target 6

3 Corners 8

185 Passes 462

62.7% Pass accuracy 80.5%

23 Tackles 16

24 Fouls 10

3 Yellow cards 4

2 Offsides 1

Key events

Plymouth Cardiff

Kick-off

Caleb WattsShot on target

3’

15’

Omari KellymanFoul

Lorent TolajLeft foot shot

1-0

28’

29’

Omari KellymanShot on target

Aribim PeppleRight foot shot

2-0

31’

33’

Omari KellymanLeft foot shot

2-1

Aribim PeppleHeader

3-1

34’

Caleb WattsFoul

37’

43’

Omari KellymanLeft foot shot

3-2

Mathias RossOff the ball foul

44’

45+6’

Gabriel OshoArgument

Half-time3-2

46’

Rubin ColwillDavid Turnbull

Matthew SorinolaCaleb Watts

46’

Second half underway

52’

Perry NgShot on target

62’

Callum RobinsonJoel Colwill

62’

Cian AshfordChris Willock

Matthew SorinolaShot on target

64’

67’

Perry NgArgument

Lorent TolajPenalty

4-2

68’

Malachi BoatengFoul

70’

72’

Alex RobertsonFoul

Lorent TolajShot on target

72’

75’

Rubin ColwillShot on target

76’

Ronan KpakioPerry Ng

Bradley IbrahimBrendan Sarpong-Wiredu

80’

Mathias RossHeader

5-2

81’

Aribim PeppleShot on target

82’

Xavier AmaechiLorent Tolaj

85’

Owen DaleAribim Pepple

86’

88’

Calum ScanlonJoel Bagan

90+7’

Cian AshfordShot on target

Full-time5-2

How the chances added up

Running total of expected goals (xG) for each side through the match. xG rates each chance by how often similar shots are scored. A goal is marked where it was scored.

Plymouth 2.95 xGCardiff 1.68 xG Goal

Tap a goal for the scorer and score.

Shot map

Every shot and where it was taken from.

Cardiff attacking Plymouth attacking

Size shows xG Goal On target Off target or blocked

Hover or tap a shot for the player, minute and xG.

Player stats

Goalkeeper1 player


Conor Hazard	90′	4	2	31	–	–	–	–	–

Defenders5 players


Joe Edwards	90′	6	2	1	8	1	14	1	–	1	–
Mathias Ross	90′	–	–	–	1	1	15	2	1	–
Alex Mitchell	90′	–	2	1	1	1	10	–	–	–	–
Wes Harding	90′	3	1	2	6	2	7	–	–	1	–
Matthew Sorinola Came on as a substitute	45′	3	1	1	6	2	9	4	–	–	–

Midfielders6 players


Ronan Curtis	90′	–	1	26	2	0.15	3	–	8	5	–	–
Malachi Boateng	90′	–	–	25	–	0.01	2	1	5	3	1
Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu Taken off	80′	–	–	13	1	0.04	1	1	3	2	1	–
Caleb Watts Taken off	45′	–	–	11	–	0.01	–	–	–	3	–
Bradley Ibrahim Came on as a substitute	10′	–	–	4	–	0.00	–	–	–	–	–	–
Owen Dale Came on as a substitute	12′	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Forwards3 players


Lorent Tolaj Taken off	85′	2	–	4	3	1.00	0.36	2	5	1	10	–
Aribim Pepple Taken off	86′	2	1	5	3	0.90	0.01	1	8	2	7	–
Xavier Amaechi Came on as a substitute	13′	–	–	–	–	–	0.00	–	4	1	3	–

Goalkeeper1 player


Nathan Trott	90′	3	5	33	–	–	–	–	–

Defenders6 players


Perry Ng Taken off	76′	1	–	–	10	1	29	1	–	1
Gabriel Osho	90′	2	–	1	7	3	52	1	–	–
Calum Chambers	90′	1	1	1	5	2	72	2	–	–	–
Joel Bagan Taken off	88′	3	–	–	8	4	60	–	–	–	–
Ronan Kpakio Came on as a substitute	14′	1	–	–	1	–	11	1	–	–	–
Calum Scanlon Came on as a substitute	10′	–	–	–	1	1	9	–	–	–	–

Midfielders7 players


Alex Robertson	90′	–	–	57	3	0.06	1	–	5	2	3
David Turnbull Taken off	45′	–	–	21	–	0.02	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ollie Tanner	90′	–	–	24	1	0.09	1	–	6	1	1	–
Joel Colwill Taken off	62′	–	–	16	–	0.02	4	–	8	–	3	–
Chris Willock Taken off	62′	–	–	24	1	0.11	–	–	1	1	1	–
Rubin Colwill Came on as a substitute	45′	–	–	25	1	0.01	–	1	4	–	2	–
Cian Ashford Came on as a substitute	28′	–	–	10	–	0.08	1	–	4	–	–	–

Forwards2 players


Omari Kellyman	90′	2	–	5	3	1.10	0.02	–	7	3	13
Callum Robinson Came on as a substitute	28′	–	–	1	–	0.04	0.00	–	–	–	6	–

Came on Taken off Sent off Red is the most in that position for the team

Every player who took the pitch, starters first and then substitutes. A dash means none. xG and xA are expected goals and assists.

Before kick-off

Plymouth win 32% Avg odds 2.94

Draw 26% Avg odds 3.62

Cardiff win 42% Avg odds 2.19

Chances implied by the average closing odds, with the bookmaker margin removed.

Form going into the game

Plymouth D L L W W

Cardiff W D W W W

Last five league games before this one, oldest first. Select one to open it.

Previous and next meeting

Previous meeting: Cardiff 4-0 Plymouth, 30 Aug 25 All Plymouth vs Cardiff meetings

Shots, expected goals, timeline, lineups, team and player statistics from Bzzoiro Sports Data (sports.bzzoiro.com). Results and odds from football-data.co.uk.