Ryan Hardie: Plymouth Argyle striker backed after Chelsea penalty miss

Ryan Hardie's penalty miss stopped Plymouth Argyle having the chance to take their FA Cup fourth round tie with Chelsea to a penalty shootout

Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher has backed striker Ryan Hardie to bounce back from his penalty miss in his side's FA Cup loss at Chelsea.

Hardie saw his spot kick saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga four minutes from the end of extra time as the European champions held on to beat Argyle 2-1.

"He's gutted," Schumacher said following the loss at Stamford Bridge.

"He'll feel like he's let everybody down, but I can honestly say that he hasn't," he told BBC Radio Devon.

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"He's been one of our best players all season, he's always a goal threat, so he's just got to get his head up now and move on quick, and hopefully he can score the winner for us on Tuesday."

Argyle gained plaudits for the way they played against Chelsea, with Macaulay Gillesphey's early header from Jordan Houghton's cross sending the 6,000 travelling Argyle fans wild.

But Cesar Azpilicueta levelled shortly before half time and Marcos Alonso hit what proved to be the winner in stoppage time of the first half of extra time.

"Ryan is a good penalty taker, he normally hits them quite well in training, so I had confidence in him," added Schumacher, who was taking charge of just his 10th game as a first-team manager.

"But by his own admission it wasn't a great strike, it was easy for the goalkeeper in the end and he's a top-class keeper at saving penalties.

"All the players will get around him, Ryan's a real popular member of the group, like they all are.

"Nobody wants to miss a penalty, especially in such a big occasion like that late on in the game, but it's part and parcel of football and he'll have to move on and put it to bed quickly."