Argyle Under-18s’ unbeaten run in the EFL Youth Alliance Cup continued on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Newport County.
The Greens took the lead in the close encounter at Millennium Fields just after the second-half restart through Cole Fisher’s tap-in. However, a late goal handed the visitors a point on the road.
A quick start for both sides nearly placed Argyle in good stead within the opening 10 minutes of the game. Jamie Lowry’s side had the ball in the back of Newport's net through a Joe Hatch header, but the linesman raised his flag, ruling the goal out for offside.
Minutes prior, Newport’s Corey Evans picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch, before cutting onto his right foot and unleashing an effort at Dan Holman and Argyle’s goal. His strike bounced off the post and ran out of play, ending the Newport attack.
The visitors seemed to be creating more chances than Argyle through the first 45 minutes, but, after half-time, Fisher’s goal changed the entire mood of the game.
A nicely worked team goal saw the midfielder tap home Harry Shield’s cross into the box, with just under ten minutes of the second half played.
No clear-cut chances came for either side until the 82nd minute when Newport drew level. An initial counter-attack from the Welsh side was saved by Dan Holman, but the visitors maintained possession and crossed the ball to the back post, where it was headed home by Cam Egan.
Six minutes later, Sam Lord was shown a red card after receiving his second yellow card for stopping a Newport counter.
Both sides maintain their unbeaten start to the competition, with the Greens sitting top of Group F on goal difference.
Head Coach Lowry was pleased once again with his side’s performance, but he was hopeful of claiming three points at home against the Welsh team.
He said: “Performance-wise, it is really pleasing. The lads worked hard, competed, started really well on the front foot and had lots of chances in the final third. The second half was very similar with them probably growing into the game a little bit more and causing us a few problems on the counter-attack.
“We played from the goalkeeper all the way through. With their goal, Dan's [Holman] come out and made a save initially and they got a rebound, crossed it and scored. It's just very similar things to what's been happening recently.
“It’s something we need to focus and work on to put it right. Overall, a pleasing performance, but we need to start turning good performances into results.”
Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Joe Mwaro (14 Oscar Dean, 56), 3 Harry Shield, 4 Seb Campbell, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Kian Burch, 8 Sam Lord, 9 Joe Hatch (15 Billy Devlin, 36), 10 Cole Fisher, 11 Fletcher Poole. Substitutes: 23 Jack Flower, 12 Sam Hayman.
