Mateta and Odsonne Edouard scored three times in five minutes to complete a remarkable turnaround at Home Park
“We know [Mateta] can do that,” Hodgson said in his post-match press conference. “When he gets in those positions, we know he’s got that composure and ability to strike the ball very well.
“I was very pleased with his and Eddy’s [Edouard’s] goal as well: getting across people at the near-post and scoring from those crosses.
“I thought we were very dangerous when we made the changes from those crossing situations. I am delighted for [Mateta].
“He has waited a long time to get a first-team opportunity from the start. Today he had it, and I'm sure he will be knocking on my door tomorrow telling me: ‘I told you how good I was!’
“It’s nice to have [two strikers scoring]. I thought Edouard was very good as well. It is good to know we have two good players like that, which is what we’re going to need going forwards.”
Plymouth took a two goal lead, and Hodgson says he was not surprised by the Championship side’s quality.
“I didn’t enjoy the first-half very much,” he said. “I thought they were very good throughout. They are a good team. Certainly in first-half I thought they deserved their lead at half-time.
“I don’t think we got anywhere near close enough for my liking to cause them problems and look as though we were going to get that equalising goal.
“We have to thank of course the senior players, the ones who have been playing in the first-team. They replaced some of the younger ones and ones who haven’t played for a while, and they enabled us to create those goal chances and score the goals.
“It was a cracking game of football, no doubt about that. There were 15,000-plus people at the game, very few fouls, one yellow card right at end of game. It was played in right spirit.
“There was an awful lot of quality on display: energy and intensity. I would say I was surprised by how good Plymouth were, but we weren’t, because we studied them as best as we could before we played.
“We knew they were a very good side and made it clear to players that this was a good team they were playing.”