Rotherham bowed to the inevitable when their relegation to League One was confirmed, while Plymouth gave their own survival chances a shot.
The Millers have known their destiny for a long time. Having remained fairly comfortable last season, they simply haven’t been anywhere near championship class this time around.
Only four wins in 41 games and 82 goals conceded tell a very sorry story, and the only real surprise is that they lasted until April.
Leam Richardson will have long thought about how they can return the first time they ask next season.
He has the knowledge, having guided Wigan to the League One title ahead of Rotherham in 2022 and the South Yorkshire club know how to get out of the third tier even if they can’t make it in the second.
Bali Mumba (left) scored his 10th career goal in the 32nd minute to give Plymouth Argyle a huge boost in their quest for survival.
The Millers saw their two-year stay in the Championship end on Friday night at the hands of Argyle.
Rotherham managed to win just four games from their 41 attempts in the Championship this season.
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For Plymouth, Bali Mumba’s goal in the first half could prove to be of inestimable importance.
This win left them four points clear of danger and they will now stand up and see how Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday fare on Saturday having moved up two places to 19th.
Argyle gambled this week by sacking coach Ian Foster after a torrid run that dragged them into the mud.
Resisting the temptation to hire a ‘Houdini’ like Neil Warnock, they put director of football Neil Dewsnip in charge and he oversaw a vital victory.
The Pilgrims still have big games ahead of them against the likes of QPR, Millwall and Stoke, all teams around them in the table, so there can be no let up.
A tight opening befitted the danger of the occasion, with Plymouth’s Callum Wright the first player to have a good view of goal on the quarter-hour mark, when his shot was blocked by a sliding Hakeem Odoffin.
Rotherham had given themselves a stay of execution by beating Millwall on Easter Monday, their first win since Boxing Day, and the strange early pressure suggested they were still struggling.
In the 17th minute, Sam Clucas saw a low shot from distance powerless to trouble Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper. Rather gruesomely given their situation, that was Rotherham’s last shot of the entire half.
Gradually Plymouth, backed by an impressive contingent who had traveled from Devon on a Friday night, began to look more threatening with talisman Morgan Whittaker pulling the strings.
Wright headed wide from Ryan Hardie’s delivery when he was left unmarked in the middle, but Plymouth would take a crucial lead just after the half-hour mark.
Mumba’s goal was one of the few moments of class on the night between the relegation rivals.
Talisman Morgan Whittaker pulled the strings for the visitors and scored the only goal of the game.
Rotherham had their chances late in the game and enjoyed more possession in the closing minutes but were unable to capitalise.
As expected, Whittaker was the architect, entering the field from the right, raising his head and launching a wide pass to the left towards Mumba.
He had enough lift to clear Seb Revan’s desperate leap to try and intercept, with Mumba controlling perfectly and cleverly beating Viktor Johansson at his near post.
At one point, Plymouth moved up two places in the table, but Rotherham needed two more goals to avoid relegation a little further.
Plymouth continued to apply pressure and Wright’s header at the back post was parried away by Johansson as the half drew to a close.
Rotherham needed to show more fight and shortly after the restart, Odoffin headed in from a Clucas corner in a brief boost for the largely resigned home crowd.
But they were soon holding again as Whittaker effortlessly jumped into space before unleashing a shot which Johansson deflected with her fingertips. Moments later, he launched another shot straight at the Swedish goalkeeper.
Richardson took a risk with a triple substitution from Rotherham, but the direction of traffic remained largely in Plymouth’s favor, with Johansson ducking to save Jordan Houghton.
Almost 9,000 Rotherham United fans attended as their team was relegated back to the third division.
Neil Dewsnip’s team left the relegation zone, but those at the bottom still have a game in hand
The Millers’ Cohen Bramall could have given some hope but he headed the ball wide after a Clucas corner somehow found its way to him when unmarked at the back post.
A better opening followed for Revan, who shrugged off Mumba to fire a shot which Cooper handled well and Odoffin was not far behind with another shot.
Argyle almost did it when Ben Waine headed onto the post from Adam Randell’s corner and Waine should have scored when Revan played a poor back pass, only for Johansson to block.
But Rotherham had nothing left to fight against the fading light as they fell with a whimper.