Plymouth Argyle U18 vs Bristol Rovers U18

Argyle Under-18s return to home Youth Alliance League South action on Tuesday morning when facing Bristol Rovers at Millennium Fields.

After suffering a heartbreaking, last-gasp defeat to Leyton Orient on the weekend, the Greens are looking to continue strong home form and return to winning ways as the season nears its end.

The Gas have struggled when facing Argyle this season, losing 6-1 in the reverse fixture and 5-0 in the cup in September.

Head Coach Jamie Lowry believes a strong home performance can be achieved on Tuesday, with it potentially being a kick-starter to finish the final month of the season on a high.

“I was pleased with their performance for 90 minutes on Saturday,” Lowry said. “Obviously to concede two late goals is disappointing, but generally the whole game, the boys were fantastic, and it was one of the best away performances we’ve had all season.

“We must use it as a big learning moment for us in terms of not taking our foot off the gas and not punishing them up the other end. We had so many chances to put the game to bed and make it 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0 but, ultimately, we got punished at the opposite end.

“The boys have had a pretty light recovery day leading into the game, especially with the travel back and late arrival on Saturday, with walkthroughs and tactical work.

“It's about the boys wanting to respond. They had a good day on Monday and spoke about how they want to end this season strong, go and win the next three games on the bounce, especially with them being home games.

“Bristol Rovers will be a tough match. We’ve had good results against them previously, but that doesn't mean anything. It’s about doing the right things with our basics in and out of possession.

“The home form is very important to end the season. We've only lost one game at home all season, so we must carry that on and then the season will finish strongly. The boys set themselves the target of winning three from three at home the next two weeks, and that will tee us up nicely for the last game of the season.

“The boys are in a good place and want to end the season as strong and as high up the table as possible.”

Joel Sullivan’s second-half header handed Argyle Under-18s a 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers at Millennium Fields on Tuesday morning.

The Greens’ captain flicked a long throw-in excellently past Will Wilson in the visitors’ goal in the 69th minute to secure the three points at home for Argyle.

A scrappy affair throughout the first 45 minutes created minimal chances in front of goal for either side, but Argyle seemed to come closest.

Just before the half-hour mark, a flurry of attacking corners came the Greens’ way, but strong defensive efforts and marking by the visitors prevented any chances or efforts at goal being formed.

Just seconds after the previous attacking phase, Rovers had a chance of their own. After attacking down the left flank, Wil Turner created room to try and curl an effort into the far corner, but the shot was pushed away comfortably by Dan Holman.

The end of the first half, and the start of the second, played out in the same way, with many Argyle appeals for penalties, but none given. Kian Burch was – seemingly – taken down in the area on two occasions, but the referee waved play on, and the game continued.

Finally, just before the 70th minute, the Pilgrims found the breakthrough. Toby Haley’s long throw was flicked towards goal by a leaping Sullivan and it bounced into the far corner, much to the delight of all players, staff and fans at the sunny Millennium Fields.

Argyle were hunting for a second goal but ended up having to use some last-minute defending and mental strength to hold on for an important victory at home.

Head Coach Jamie Lowry said: “They were fantastic today with their performance, in terms of the basics that we asked for: the fighting, competing, running, one-on-one duels. We were very good. The pitch made it very difficult to play the football we'd like to, even though we had spells of possession and did try to pass the ball. Overall, I’m pleased.

“Sully [Joel Sullivan] is one of the best at heading the ball that I've ever seen. Toby [Haley] has got a fantastic throw, so we mix it up a little bit. We do our homework on how they [the opposition] play and then we'll try and utilise our strength and cause problems.

“It's [keeping a clean sheet] something we spoke about as our objectives for this season and where we're at with them. Clean sheets are a big thing and stopping conceding poor goals, which happened on Saturday.

“Today was not just about the defence or Dan [Holman], it's a collective. Every single one worked their socks off. They ran for the press from the front fantastically. Every single one of them were top performers today.”

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Toby Haley, 3 Joe Mwaro, 4 Harley Sneap, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Cole Fisher, 8 Sam Lord, 9 Kian Burch, 10 Jared Rendle (16 Frankie Maund, 12), 11 Fletcher Poole. Substitutes: 1 Leo McCormick (gk), 12 Toby Maclean, 14 Billy Devlin, 16 Seb Campbell.

PLY Argyle

BRR Bristol Rovers

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