Under-15 Triumph

THE benefit of Argyle's under-15s participating in the Northern Ireland SuperCup was plain to see as the youngsters became the only Category 3 Academy side to qualify for the Premier League under-15 Floodlit Cup.

The youngsters travelled to Cheltenham Town on Sunday, September 1 to take part in a qualifying tournament which they won by securing two victories and a draw in the third game.

They began in style by beating host side Cheltenham 6-2 thanks to four goals from Will Jenkins-Davies and a brace from Freddie Issaka.

A fine Oscar Halls hat-trick saw Argyle beat Walsall 3-0 in the second game before a goaless draw against Portsmouth sent the Pilgrims through to the first round group stage, while Pompey were knocked out.

Argyle are in South Group B, where they will be up against Category 2 side Cardiff City and two Category 1 Academy clubs in Southampton and Swansea City.

They start with a trip to the Cardiff Academy ground for a 6.30pm kick-off on Wednesday, October 2 and then have over a month before they are back in action again with a November 7 game against Southampton, which kicks-off at 6.30pm at Buckland Athletic's fine facilities at Homers Heath, Newton Abbot.

A trip to Swansea's Landore Training Ground follows on Wednesday, November 27 with a 6.30pm kick-off. It's back to Homers Heath on Tuesday, December 10 for the visit of Cardiff (6.30pm). 

Argyle are back on their travels in 2020, starting off with a trip to the Staplewood Campus where Southampton await them on Wednesday, January 15 (6.30pm).

Their final group game is at Homers Heath against Swansea on Wednesday, January 29 (6.30pm) before the top two of each group go through to the quarter-finals.

Academy Manager Phil Stokes was delighted with his U15s squad, saying: "It's the first time we have qualified for the Premier League U15s Floodlit Cup.

"This is a fantastic achievement for the Academy and once again demonstrates the excellent work going on within the Foundation and Youth Development Phase.

"As an Academy, we want to be testing our young players against Category 1 and 2 opposition and the Premier League Floodlit cup provides us with six tough games."