Argyle Women return to league action on Sunday, 2 February, facing Lewes at Home Park in the FA Women’s National League.
After suffering defeat in the cup semi-final against Stoke City, the Greens are looking to bounce back and claim an important three points against a tough South Coast opponent.
In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, the Rooks came away as two-goal victors, with a struggling performance from the Greens not being enough to force a result on the road.
Assistant head coach Jon Dawe, who will be in the dugout due to Ryan Perks’ suspension from his red card against Cheltenham Town in November, has made sure preparations correctly take place to battle for three points.
“Nothing changes in terms of our preparation,” Dawe said. “As usual, the application and attitude of the girls in training this week has been excellent.
“We lost the away game to Lewes, but their goals came from two individual mistakes on our part. If we can eradicate these errors from our game, it can give us a platform to get some positive results and build some confidence.
“I think in the second half of the semi-final last weekend, we retained the ball better on the regains, and showed far more bravery on the ball, against a very strong Stoke team. This naturally enabled us to get higher up the pitch and achieve more final third entries. The passage of play which led to Georgia Wilson’s chance was a sign of what the players can produce when they believe in themselves.”
Despite the result against Stoke City not going in Argyle’s favour, a positive was still seen on the pitch through the return of Grace Smith. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder missed a significant amount of time through injury but has since recovered, and came off the bench for the final minutes of the game.
Smith admitted that it was a tough time being away from the sport but was delighted to make her return in front of the cheering Green Army.
She said: “[Coming onto the pitch] was a special moment for me. I've been back training only for a week, so I was really grateful for the coaches to give me that opportunity to come back onto the pitch.
“I've had a tough few months out. It's been hard at times. I've had the support of my teammates, coaches and my family. So, to finally be rewarded with that time back on the pitch and get the minutes, I'm really happy and going to kick on now and work for the next few weeks.
“I had a stress fracture in my foot. Originally, we thought it would only be eight weeks, but it turned out to be a lot longer, so the recovery process was really difficult. That's what made it harder, with the time frame. There was no end in sight.
“To finally get back in January and get cleared to train, it was a real relief and I’m so grateful that I can be back playing football. I think these are the moments that you realise when it's taken away from you, you appreciate it more.”
Tickets for the game are now on sale, with the game against the East Sussex side kicking off at 2pm on Sunday.
Single match tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for over-65s and £3 for under-18s. Under-14s go FREE with a full-paying adult.
Tickets for the Lewes fixture can be purchased by visiting argyletickets.com.
You can also purchase tickets via phone by calling 01752 907700, or by visiting the Home Park Ticket Office from 10am to 4pm on Monday to Friday, or 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.
