St Luke's Challenge Cup Report | Exmouth Town 2-4 Argyle

Argyle progressed to the quarter-finals of the Bayside Graphics Devon St Luke's Challenge Cup on Wednesday night, with a 4-2 win over Exmouth Town.

The Greens were represented mostly by Jamie Lowry’s Under-18s’ side, with first-season professionals Jack Matthews and Caleb Roberts included in the squad in addition.

Roberts scored twice in the first half, either side of a Kian Burch goal, to put the Pilgrims in a strong half-time position. Exmouth rallied after the break, and scored through substitute Ben Griffin, but Tegan Finn’s goal put the win beyond doubt for Argyle, despite a late consolation from Exmouth’s Ace High.

Roberts, playing in an advanced midfield position, notched his first goal after just seven minutes. Fletcher Poole had just gone really close, having a far-post header saved onto the post, but Exmouth scrambled the ball only as far as Roberts, who skipped away from a challenge, and struck home.

Within four minutes, the lead was doubled. Finn caused problems on the right flank, and cut inside to cross. He picked out Burch, who still had plenty to do when glancing a header accurately for the corner of the net, with goalkeeper Frankie Phillips unable to get across to meet the effort.

Each team had a penalty claim waved away before Finn had the ball in the back of the net, but he looked across to see the flag raised for an offside call.

Argyle, well on top, added a third just after the half-hour mark when Roberts again picked up the ball near the area’s edge, and found the net to offer clear daylight between the sides. Before the interval, a superb Harry Shield cross to the far post found Finn arriving, but he volleyed over when a header could have been a better option.

Exmouth were much improved after the break, and after Jack Flower saved a rasping effort from Ollie Knowles, the home side got on the scoresheet with a neat goal from Griffin, who cut in from the right and send a precise effort into the bottom corner.

A crowd of nearly 500 sensed a shift in momentum, and Exmouth struck the woodwork when Griffin’s slightly mistimed cross struck the angle of post and crossbar. Seconds later, from a corner, David Rowe nodded down into a dangerous spot, and Argyle cleared from the line.

The telling moment came on 72 minutes when Matthews threw himself in front of a shot by Griffin, and Argyle instantly broke clear. It was a five-on-two situation, spearheaded by Roberts, who advanced, then released Finn, who smashed home and essentially sealed the win.

Finn should have had another, when he and Roberts combined again, with Finn driving past four defenders and the goalkeeper in a sensational run, but he missed the chance to score, with the goal gaping, blasting over.

Town got a goal back towards the end, with another two substitutes combining. Nathan May, making his debut, made a strong run, and found High, who struck to make the scoreline more palatable for the hosts.

Argyle saw the game out well, though, and against an older, streetwise side, showed a combination of maturity to get through to the next round.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Lowry. “We produced a really mature performance. The support of Caleb and Jack obviously helped the group and gave us that extra little bit that we needed.

“It was a good little challenge for the lads, but they dealt with all the kind of obstacles they had to with the crowd, the evening, and the experience of their players.

“We spoke at half-time about not taking our foot off the gas too much, and we said: ‘if they do get a goal, then it will lift the crowd a little bit. It'll give them a bit of a boost and they'll come and get after us a little bit' - which they did for the first 10 or 15 minutes after the goal.

“We managed that really well. It's brilliant experience of playing men's football. Different experiences are really important for them.”

Argyle: 23 Jack Flower, 2 Jensen Ireland, 3 Harry Shield, 4 Harley Sneap (14 Oscar Dean, 78), 5 Jack Matthews, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Cole Fisher (12 Sam Lord, 68), 8 Caleb Roberts, 9 Kian Burch (15 Frankie Maund, 82), 10 Tegan Finn, 11 Fletcher Poole. Substitutes: 40 Dan Holman (gk).