It was 90 minutes of dominance at Home Park on Wednesday night, when Argyle’s Under-17s scored seven goals without reply and claimed victory over Devon rivals Exeter City.
Seb Campbell scored four of the Greens’ goals, with one each coming from Billy Devlin, Tegan Finn and Lewis Flowers in the game under the lights at the Theatre of Greens. Argyle sit on top of Group K, but Bristol City and Cardiff City are yet to face each other in the second game of the competition.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry was delighted with his teams’ performance, which has placed them in good stead ahead of the final group stage game against the Robins.
“I’m delighted and really pleased for the lads,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “We got what we wanted from the game in terms of being ultra-competitive, trying to pass the ball and do the right things with our patterns and the way we want to play. Scoring lots of goals is pleasing and I’m super proud of the boys tonight in new surroundings. I don't think many of them had played on the pitch and under the floodlights before; it's a new atmosphere and I’m pleased for them.
“Before the start of the game, we went through tactical details and everything, but I think the biggest thing, I said was to go out there and enjoy it and play with a smile on their face. We always say as coaches that we're too old and can't run around that. We're super jealous of them being able to go on the pitch and play at Home Park. It’s an incredible surface, so go and enjoy themselves and I think that's what they look like they did tonight.”
Campbell was the talk of the match, scoring four goals, including a second-half hat-trick in front of 500 fans at Home Park. Lowry was thrilled with the forward’s performance, but also with every member of the squad’s determination and grit throughout the 90 minutes.
He said: “I don't think he’ll [Seb] get much sleep tonight. He’s deserved it, however. He worked hard, got his press right and was good in front of goal. We’ve talked about him scoring more goals and being more threatening around the box, so it's a pleasing part of his development.
“It was a strong team performance, keeping a clean sheet and being solid, so that's a foundation to go and build on. The press was to stop Exeter playing and trying to regain the ball nice and early and then once we regain it, can we go forward and hurt them while they're out of shape? And we did, so I’m happy. Every player in each position did their role and collectively that led to 11 outstanding performances.”
A short turnaround awaits some of Wednesday’s squad, with Argyle’s Under-18s returning to EFL South Youth Alliance League action on Saturday at Cheltenham Town. The game away from home is one in which Lowry hopes his side can continue the run of strong performances and bounce back from a tough loss in Gloucestershire earlier in the season.
“The first years will just be recovering, stretching and going for a swim on Thursday,” Lowry said. “They’ll have a little bit of a light day and then on Friday, they're going to have a tactical session and be short and sharp for Saturday’s game. There’ll be a short turnaround, but we’ll look after them.
“The second years are training and keeping sharp ahead of Saturday. We need to go and make up for earlier in the season against Cheltenham when we didn't give a strong account of ourselves. It's something we need to go and change.”
