Argyle Woman fell to narrow defeat at Parkside despite a spirited second-half resurgence against Hashtag United Women in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.
Pressure from the Tags put Argyle on the back foot early on, following a close-range finish from Malika Apindia in the ninth minute. The Greens tried through many counter-attacking efforts, from deep in their half, to bring the scoreline level and came close through Taya Pomfret in the 20th minute but the young midfielder struck wide in her attempt to catch the keeper off guard with an early strike at goal.
Hashtag almost doubled their lead towards the end of the first half, following Argyle's period of pressure. One chance forced captain Panagiota Papaioannou to clear a shot off the line after a loose shot in the area beat the dive of Jasmine Read. The Tags had the last major chance of the first half through a volleyed effort from the edge of the area that midfielder Macey Nicholls rifled towards goal, but the shot soared over the bar.
The Tags started the second half similarly to the first half, which resulted in the home side netting another goal early on via Sammy Rowland from inside the penalty area.
Although down by two goals, Argyle showed no signs of giving up and continued to stress the Hashtag backline with quick breaks upfield.
Rebecca Dandridge and Charlotte Whitmore were the spearheads of the majority of these manoeuvres, with each coming close through point-blank chances after breaking past the Hashtag defence, but the hands of Frankie Angel denied the Greens a chance to get a foot back into the game.
As the match approached its end, manager Ryan Perks made use of his substitutes, gradually bringing on players who continued to compliment Argyle’s period of dominance in the final minutes.
Substitute Grace Perrins had Argyle’s final major highlight of the game, driving into the area in an attempt to release a shot goalwards, but Hashtag defender Grace Gillard denied Perrins her chance at her first senior goal, diverting the ball away from danger before the full-time whistle blew.
Argyle Women now take a week's break, before returning to league action once more at Coach Road, Newton Abbot, on Sunday, 5 November, when they will take on 12th-placed London Bees in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 2 Katie Dickson, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou, 6 Lucy Hack, 7 Charlotte Whitmore (20 Fern Orchard), 8 Imy Crawford, 10 Rebecca Dandridge, 13 Grace Smith (19 Erin O’Shea), 14 Tamsin Medd-Gill, 15 Georgie Knott (17 Libby Waylen), 18 Taya Pomfret (24 Grace Perrins).
