Nowhere Near

A DISAPPOINTING first-half ultimately cost Argyle any points at Cambridge United in Sky Bet League Two on Saturday.

In a strangely subdued display after a sparkling recent run, the Pilgrims were a long way from their normal standards in the opening 45 minutes and deservedly fell behind to a goal from Cambridge full-back Kyle Knoyle.

Manager Ryan Lowe was far from happy with the first-half display and, despite a vast improvement after the break, Argyle were unable to find an equaliser.

“The first-half was nowhere near good enough and we expressed that at half-time, hence the second-half was a lot better,” said Ryan.

“You can’t have too many of your big players off [their game] and fair play to Cambridge, they go about their business in the right way, they were aggressive, move the ball quick and we couldn’t live with it.

“Second-ball, we were nowhere near, and the first-half performance doesn’t epitomise me, doesn’t epitomise my staff, doesn’t epitomise the football club, and they [the players] were made aware of that. I don’t want to be giving out a rollicking at half-time to get them to play.

“We were the better team in the second-half but didn’t quite have that quality [to score]. We were feeling confident and in good spirits, but I’ll always say that we are work in progress.

“At times, you look a very good team, then you falter a bit, then look a good team again. It is the inconsistency of the league but we need to find that balance and, once we do, there will be a smoother ride.”