Jamie Lowry previews U18s trip to Wimbledon

Argyle Under-18s Head Coach Jamie Lowry believes back-to-back victories will place his side in a strong position when facing AFC Wimbledon in the South Youth Alliance League on Saturday. 

A league victory against Bromley was followed by Joe Hatch’s heroic performance against Bristol Rovers in the Youth Alliance Cup, where the forward scored all five of the Greens’ goals at Millennium Fields. 

“Confidence is high,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “There's definitely been more of a buzz around the place, which is really good when going into a very difficult game away at Wimbledon on Saturday. We’re going into it full of confidence, however. We'll plan like we do every game and prepare properly. 

“The performance against Bristol Rovers was pleasing as an all-round team effort. We were outstanding and pressed aggressively. We spoke about it before the game about our press being nice and aggressive and by pressing high, we'll get success.  

“As for Joe, credit to him. We've worked loads in the last couple of years with him about minimal touches in and around the box and first-time finishing. He's worked really hard, so I’m pleased for him, and also extremely proud for the other lads really to have that high intensity and go back-to-back after the Bromley game as well. 

“Defensively, the strikers are our first line of the press, so it must not be just the goalkeeper and defenders that get a pat on the back after a clean sheet, it's everybody. 

“It was very good to get our first clean sheet of the season, something to build on, and it gives us confidence moving onto Saturday.” 

AFC Wimbledon have started their league campaign on the front foot, with an unbeaten run of four games and have picked up 10 points in the process. Lowry and the Greens are aware of their run of form but have made sure preparations have been put in place to maximise performance away from home. 

He said: “The boys in their first year played in the under-17s game on Tuesday, so they had a lighter day on Monday before the game. The second years trained on Monday and Tuesday. The boys who needed to work worked and those who needed to recover recovered. We’ll be fine and ready to hit the ground running on Saturday. 

“I'm looking for the competitiveness we've been showing the last couple of games. Our willingness and desire to run and compete has been great and I think there's a good foundation for us to build on. That'll be needed against them [AFC Wimbledon]. They're a very, very good robust side, who are also competitive and physical. 

“We need to stamp our foot on the game, play the way we want to try and play and keep the good things that we're showing at the moment repeating.”