Wed 30th Oct
Kick-offTBC

STV Stevenage

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PLY Argyle

Jamie Lowry

Argyle Under-18s are looking to make it three wins from three games in the EFL South Youth Alliance League on Wednesday, when they face Stevenage away from home. 

Jamie Lowry’s side have found strong form in recent weeks, picking up seven points out of a possible nine in league play, beating Exeter City and Cheltenham Town, and drawing with Luton Town. 

Despite having a quick turnaround from Saturday and travelling away from Plymouth, Head Coach Lowry believes his side can take the confidence and belief into the game on Wednesday morning and continue to play at a high standard to further their unbeaten run. 

“We spoke at half-time in the Exeter game that we just needed to be a little bit more aggressive on the front foot,” Lowry said, “Go the extra yard to put pressure on, have intent to win the ball back; I think that helped us on the weekend. 

“The boys are high in confidence. You can tell from training; the buzz around the place is really good. To get a result from Wednesday, we will again need to fight, compete, win those 1v1s, and be brave enough in possession to be able to make passes, get on the ball and play through the lines when we need to. I think they would be the key things. 

“We watched a couple of games, and Stevenage are very strong. They play forward when possible and have some big physical lads who are probably more of a physical threat than a technical threat, so that's what we're mindful of when we're prepping for the game. It’ll be that usual thing of 'can we deal with first and second balls?' and try to maybe stop it at the source if we can.  

“We need to be ready to compete and fight. We talk about it in every game, which is the basis and the foundation of how we currently play. We have to work hard; we have to compete. 

“We had a lighter session Monday, and will have another light one on Tuesday, to keep the legs for Wednesday. Due to the way we try to play - intense, full-press, super-aggressive football - we demand a lot from the boys during the 90 minutes. It's important that we train efficiently but are also still mindful that they recover and are fresh to go for the next game.” 

Argyle will look to progress further up the league table with Wednesday's away fixture. The Pilgrims currently sit in tenth place on 10 points from seven games, whilst Stevenage hold eighth on the same points, but have two games in hand. Argyle Under-18s are looking to make it three wins from three games in the EFL South Youth Alliance League on Wednesday, when they face Stevenage away from home. 

Jamie Lowry’s side have found strong form in recent weeks, picking up seven points out of a possible nine in league play, beating Exeter City and Cheltenham Town, and drawing with Luton Town. 

Despite having a quick turnaround from Saturday and travelling away from Plymouth, Head Coach Lowry believes his side can take the confidence and belief into the game on Wednesday morning and continue to play at a high standard to further their unbeaten run. 

“We spoke at half-time in the Exeter game that we just needed to be a little bit more aggressive on the front foot,” Lowry said, “Go the extra yard to put pressure on, have intent to win the ball back; I think that helped us on the weekend.  

“The boys are high in confidence. You can tell from training; the buzz around the place is really good. To get a result from Wednesday, we will again need to fight, compete, win those 1v1s, and be brave enough in possession to be able to make passes, get on the ball and play through the lines when we need to. I think they would be the key things. 

“We watched a couple of games, and Stevenage are very strong. They play forward when possible and have some big physical lads who are probably more of a physical threat than a technical threat, so that's what we're mindful of when we're prepping for the game. It’ll be that usual thing of 'can we deal with first and second balls?' and try to maybe stop it at the source if we can.  

“We need to be ready to compete and fight. We talk about it in every game, which is the basis and the foundation of how we currently play. We have to work hard; we have to compete. 

“We had a lighter session Monday, and will have another light one on Tuesday, to keep the legs for Wednesday. Due to the way we try to play - intense, full-press, super-aggressive football - we demand a lot from the boys during the 90 minutes. It's important that we train efficiently but are also still mindful that they recover and are fresh to go for the next game.”  

Argyle will look to progress further up the league table with Wednesday's away fixture. The Pilgrims currently sit in tenth place on 10 points from seven games, whilst Stevenage hold eighth on the same points, but have two games in hand. 

Fletcher Poole

Argyle Under-18s claimed a well-earned point on the road against Stevenage on Wednesday in the EFL South Youth Alliance League.  

The game at Stevenage FC Sports Hub ended goalless, but both sides did create chances in front of goal throughout the 90 minutes to try to claim victory. 

Starting on the front foot, Argyle won a free-kick and a corner, but key defensive work from Boro halted any forward progress. Soon enough, the tie turned into a back-and-forth affair, with both sides continuously looking to get on the counter after a defensive stand. 

The first major chance of the game came for the hosts in the 18th minute. Forward Frank Norris picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled an effort towards the bottom corner of Dan Holman's goal, forcing the Argyle keeper into a diving save. 

The Greens had crossing opportunities from corners, but Stevenage’s Rylee Mitchell used his tall frame to claim the ball on multiple occasions. Norris had another chance in front of goal but could not turn his effort on target, watching his shot slice over the bar and out for a goal kick. 

Stevenage dominated the opening stages of the second half, punishing Argyle with a strong press, but the hosts could not turn sustained possession into celebratory moments. 

Head Coach Jamie Lowry turned to his bench for the final 20 minutes of the game, with Frankie Maund and Joe Mwaro coming on to help the Greens over the line and claim an important point away from home.  

Lowry said: “That’s a really good point for us today. Stevenage were a difficult team to play against. They were big, physical, and strong, and had a few older boys in their team. We started with two under-16s and finished with three on the pitch, so I’m really delighted with the battling performance.  

“In the first half, we probably shaded it. We just lacked a little bit of quality in the final third to go and create any clear-cut chances, but we still played well. In the second half. We were probably a little bit loose with the ball, probably a bit of tiredness and the journey kicked in. They had a little bit more of the ball and we made it a bit more difficult for ourselves having to defend corners and set plays with the physicality of them. 

“However, massive credit to the boys as they defended outstandingly by keeping a clean sheet. A strong point on the road against a very difficult Stevenage side, so I'm delighted and now we move on to Saturday. A bit of time for the boys to recharge Thursday and Friday, and then we go again on the weekend.”  

The Greens look to extend their unbeaten run in the league to five games on Saturday when they face Swindon Town at Millenium Fields. 

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Lewis Flowers, 3 Harry Shield, 4 Harley Sneap, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Sam Lord, 8 Billy Devlin, 9 Kian Burch (15 Frankie Maund, 70), 10 Seb Campbell (12 Joe Mwaro, 77), 11 Fletcher Poole. Unused subs: 14 Jared Rendle.