Academy Preview | Cheltenham Town (H)

Argyle's Under-18 team returns home on Saturday, 4 February (11am) to play Cheltenham Town in the EFL Youth Alliance League at Millennium Fields.

The Young Pilgrims come into this game in excellent form, leading the league coming off the back of a dramatic last-minute victory against fellow title challengers, Portsmouth, which was clinched by Cole Gibbings' goal late strike.

Cheltenham Town, on the other hand, sit seventh in the league table began 2023 with a mixed bag of emotions. The statistics indicate Argyle’s excellent record against Cheltenham, with the Greens having won the four previous meetings, most recently an FA Youth Cup 3-0 victory at Home Park.

Under-18 manager, Darren Way, shared his thoughts on the game and what he expects from his players.

He said: “A win would be really important to the players and the rest of the staff. With only three games to go, we need to make sure that the players stay consistent with their performances.”

“The mood, the energy, the players attitudes have been excellent in training all week. Some of the players are players I've worked with for three years and I know personally how much being successful at the end of this campaign means to them. Everyone is putting in a phenomenal effort and we're also getting good development in terms of performances.”

Way analysed the team's performance and praised the whole team after last week's thrilling match against Portsmouth. With only one league game lost in the league, the manager says that the players' mental toughness and persistence have impressed him throughout the season.

“I think the game had a little bit of everything,” said Darrenn. “We controlled the game in the first half, Portsmouth came out strong in the second half, got their goal and then went 2-1 up. To see the fight back and see that this team never gives up is really good.

“When you talk about winning, it is knowing how to defend and being defensive when you need to be defensive, how to keep a clean sheet and we’ve kept a few clean sheets.

“We’ve only lost one game in this whole campaign which takes some doing considering the travelling and everything else that goes involved. They never give up and as a team, they care for each other. That's one thing that I've been really impressed with, that they all care about one another.”