Argyle Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup journey begins on Tuesday night with a game against far-flung Carlisle United.
The third-round tie at Brunton Park kicks off at 7pm and will be the Greens' first match in the competition this season. Carlisle progressed from the previous round with a 1-0 victory over Barnsley.
Last season, Argyle suffered heartbreak against Crystal Palace at Home Park at the same competition stage. This year, however, Head Coach Jamie Lowry believes his side can progress to the next round of the cup if the squad’s mindset and mentality are in the right space.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “It's a big event in the under-18 calendar and something the boys always look forward to. We’re excited to go up there. We've had good preparation and are going to go and give a good account of ourselves. I spoke to the lads about how we must be, and do what’s got us success so far this season.
“I think [the FA Youth Cup] is something that gives you a real good flavour of what first-team football is like. We’re playing in the first-team’s stadium, travelling the night before and doing things relevant to that first-team environment. It's something for the boys to get a flavour of. It's a great experience for them to go and explore it, and say, ‘yeah, this is what I want to do.’”
An obvious factor and talking point of the third-round tie is the distance. The near 800-mile round trip will be in the minds of many players and staff, but Lowry has ensured that this does not become an excuse or distraction when it comes to kick-off on Tuesday.
He said: “It is something we spoke about. The away-game mentality must be that we’re taking the journey and things out of it. It's all about what happens on the pitch in the 90 minutes. That’s our mindset. That's our mentality.
“We've banned words and any talk about the journey: ‘it's a long way’, etc. That's been banned on the coach and talking about it before. It’s all about what happens on the pitch, with the boys and their mindset.
“We've been in strong form recently and that’s what we can ask of them: ‘Come on, let's go and be Plymouth Argyle, play the way we play, in and out of possession and give us the best chance of winning’.”
Although the competition holds importance on the calendar, for obvious reasons, Lowry and his staff are reminding the squad not to waver and move away from principles which placed them in good stead for the first half of the season.
“I think the biggest thing for the boys is their mindset and focus because it is an FA Youth Cup game,” he said. “It's very easy for the lads to get sidetracked, distracted or try and do something a little different because it's an FA Youth Cup game, but what we’ve been doing has been working. Stay focused, stay calm, be brave on the ball, pass the ball like you want to pass, be nice and aggressive in the press like you want to - that's what's been successful for us.
“We don't have to change too much. We need to adapt to the way they play and try to utilise our strengths against their weaknesses; the boys need to treat it like another game, just in a different competition.”
