Southampton (H) | Schumacher's Reaction

A late Che Adams goal for Southampton won a pulsating encounter at Home Park on Saturday, with Saints leaving with a 2-1 victory.

The Scotland international’s injury-time winner followed a quickfire exchange of goals early in the second half, as Nathan Tella’s opener for the Saints was followed within two minutes by a Ryan Hardie equaliser.

After the game, Argyle manager Steven Schumacher was a little conflicted. Since he became Pilgrims boss, he has not left the ground without any points on many occasions, so he was naturally disappointed with the outcome. However, Argyle, in front of a watching audience on Sky Sports, played really well, having the better of the game before the break, and striking the post from Morgan Whittaker when the game was poised at 1-1.

For completeness, it is worth mentioning that Saints also struck the woodwork, and drew a magnificent save from Conor Hazard. It was a game that was in the balance throughout, but in the end the fates tipped it Southampton’s way.  

“To concede a goal like that late on in the game, obviously we're gutted,” Schumacher told Argyle TV. “We don't like losing any game of football, especially here at Home Park, but I thought we played really well. I can't be too disappointed. I thought the lads gave us absolutely everything that they've got.

“We showed some real moments of quality, made some nice passages of play and caused Southampton loads of problems. We just didn't have enough quality in the final third to make the most of the opportunities that we did get.

“It's all a learning curve and we'll get better.”

At the final whistle, Argyle players visibly sank to their knees, but were given a huge reception from a sold-out Home Park crowd, indicating just how much the Green Army appreciated the team’s efforts.

Schumacher said: “We say to the players all the time: ‘Give us 100% effort and the fans appreciate it.’ You can see what we're trying to do. The result didn't go our way today, but they've seen that their team played well, created loads of opportunities and pushed a top Southampton team all the way.

“I'm really pleased that everyone stayed behind, clapping the players off. They deserve that applause because they work so hard.

“I'm really proud of the lads again. The effort was there, the quality was definitely there. I don't think Southampton will get many harder games than they faced today.

“We were gutted to go behind, but the response was brilliant. It was a lovely move, a lovely bit of football. Every time our lads were positive and passed it forwards today, I think we were a threat. It was a really great goal from Ryan. I’m pleased for him again to get another goal here.

“They hit the crossbar, Conor made a good save, we hit the post. It could have gone either way, at the end of the day. Unfortunately we're on the wrong end of it.”

After three games, Argyle have four points, having won one, drawn one and lost one. That is the bare facts of the season’s opening, but over the last two games Schumacher’s teams have gone toe-to-toe with Watford and now Southampton, two fancied teams in the Sky Bet Champions, and looked like they belong.

Schumacher is taking solace from Argyle’s performances, but equally stresses that his team must learn from their experiences and become more clinical where it counts.

“There's no point in putting all our effort in and getting beat,” he said. “We felt we got the plan right, we felt we were organised. We pressed and caused problems in the right areas. There's no point doing all that if you don't finish opportunities off. It's something that we need to just keep getting better, keep trying to improve.

“I felt we were the better team in the first half. They probably edged the possession stats, but we expected that. I think we created the clearer opportunities, we looked more dangerous, and we started the game very well. We just lost that momentum, Southampton got a couple of corners then we lose the ball on a transition moment.

“We got punished. They picked the right pass out, and it was a lovely finish from Tella.

“It's been a good start. Today, we've played well. We've got no points from it, but we felt on another day we could have got points out of it. Watford and Southampton will definitely be up there. We've pushed them all the way in both games. If we can keep our energy levels up throughout the season, we'll be fine.”