Under-17s Report | Bristol City 4-3 Argyle

Argyle suffered a heartbreaking, last-minute 4-3 loss to Bristol City on Tuesday night, ending their 2024/25 Under-17s Professional Development League Cup campaign.

The Robins held a one-goal advantage after a dominant first 45 minutes thanks to Rushon Walker. The forward stole the ball from an Argyle defender and slotted home just before the quarter-hour mark.

However, the Greens’ second-half performance should be applauded. Facing a strong and high-pressing Category Two academy was no easy task, but the youthful side continued to bounce back at every stage.

Bristol did double their lead five minutes after the restart through Walker but, just three minutes later, Kian Burch tapped home a rebound following a save by Freddie Godden to give Argyle the hope they needed.

Again, however, Walker managed to find the back of the net, securing his hat-trick and extending the home side's lead to two. The pressure seemed to be getting to Argyle, but a Jack Flower save seemed to boost Jamie Lowry’s side to push forward and search for another goal – which happened.

After some strong forward play from substitute Frankie Maund on the left flank, his ball across the box was tapped home by Seb Campbell just before the 70-minute mark and, just 15 minutes later, the game was level. Argyle were awarded a penalty, with Cole Fisher stepping up and calmly converting into the top right of the Robins’ goal.

For the remainder of the game, it was a complete scramble from one goal to the other. Bristol City pushed into Argyle’s final third and forced Flower into an acrobatic double save, before the Greens rushed down to the other end of the pitch and nearly scored the winner.

Maund headed towards goal and saw his effort get saved by Godden initially, but the rebound fell perfectly to his feet. The forward managed to get a shot away with the ball seemingly stuck under his body but it narrowly ran past the outside of the left post.

This hope soon turned into upset, however. The hosts quickly moved up the pitch, centring the ball to Daniel Ezendu, who cut onto his left foot and placed the winner into the bottom corner.

After the game, Head Coach Lowry said: “Tonight, in the first 45 minutes, we were really poor, miles off our standards that we set ourselves. We didn't compete with Bristol City and it seemed to be men against boys in the first half but, in the second half, we were much better and much more competitive.

“We played the game a bit better in terms of playing the ball beyond the press it a bit more, playing into our forward players and getting on the first and second ball, so I’m pleased with the second-half performance and the reaction the boys gave at half-time.

“They were super aggressive on the front foot, made us work hard and pressed the life out of us so we needed to be tidy and good on the ball. In the second half, we probably had the more clear-cut chances, but we didn't finish them, and then they nicked a goal at the very end. We’re disappointed to be out of the competition, disappointed that we couldn’t progress and win the game, but it’s a good learning curve for the young side.”

Argyle: 23 Jack Flower (capt), 2 Joe Mwaro, 3 Toby Maclean, 4 Cole Fisher, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan, 7 Fletcher Poole (15 Billy Devlin, 65), 8 Sam Lord (12 Joe Rapson, 80), 9 Kian Burch (14 Ollie Evans, 70), 10 Seb Campbell, 11 Jared Rendle (16 Frankie Maund, 45).