Dawe Reacts to Cheltenham Defeat

Argyle Women suffered a frustrating defeat on Sunday to Cheltenham Town, losing 2-0 at Kimberley Stadium in FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division action.

Despite starting positively through the even but scrappy opening 20 minutes, Argyle soon found themselves trailing through a quick counter-attack and finish from Cheltenham’s Una Lue.

A second for the visitors came at a similar time, just in the second half, when captain Emily Owen scored from a corner that held some controversy. Argyle’s Amii Kearley was down on the pitch but play continued and the Robinesses scored from the  corner.

Following the goal, Taya Pomfret was shown a yellow card and had to sit out for 10 minutes for a 'sin bin’ period, whilst Head Coach Ryan Perks was shown a red card for his protests on the sidelines.

After Pomfret received her period on the sidelines, Argyle looked to press on and find a much-needed goal with the minutes slowly fading. However, this frustration was soon heightened when Charlotte Whitmore and Ella Stephens were also shown yellow cards and sin-bin periods, leaving the Greens with just eight players on the pitch at one stage.

After the game, assistant coach Jon Dawe shared his thoughts on the frustrating and confusing end to the game but also the positive start to the fixture at the home of Saltash United.

“I think the frustration for all of us stemmed from the incident where Amii was on the floor struggling to breathe,” he said. “We were led to believe that she asked for treatment and for whatever reason this wasn’t permitted. We then don’t defend the resulting corner well enough, and it becomes an uphill task from there.

“We started the game very positively in possession. The girls were playing confidently and our build phase was very good, but if I’m honest we struggled to create many chances today. This was disappointing, given how clinical our assists and finishes were in last week’s game with Gwalia.”

Despite the overall result, an impressive run of three wins before the Cheltenham tie leaves Dawe, the rest of the Argyle staff and the players with a positive feeling to regain ahead of an important Devon Derby fixture against Exeter City at Home Park next weekend.

Dawe said: “We reminded the players after the game that we had come into this fixture on the back of three wins, so it’s important to stay positive and try and bounce back strongly against Exeter in the FA Cup next week.

“We’re returning to Home Park, where the girls love playing, to a pitch we know well and a great set of fans that will get behind us no matter what. We know we can put this result behind us and bounce back, and we hope the Green Army can continue their amazing support like we saw today.”