Under-18s huddle

Under-18s Report | Argyle 2-2 Cheltenham Town

Argyle Under-18s’ unbeaten run in the Youth Alliance League continued on Saturday with a 2-2 draw against Cheltenham Town at Millennium Fields.

A brace from Tegan Finn pushed the Greens into the lead, but two goals in seven minutes for the Gloucestershire side halted Argyle from recording a seventh win in a row.

The game saw a quick start, full of attacking threat from Argyle, but the Robins held on and were gifted a golden chance at taking the lead just after 15 minutes. Sopuru Obieri’s run in behind the Greens’ defence handed the forward the opportunity to chip the onrushing Dan Holman, but the effort was overhit and flew over the bar.

On the half-hour mark, Finn inked his name on the scoresheet. High-pressing play won the Greens the ball, with Cole Fisher sliding a ball through to find Finn inside the area, allowing the number 10 to slot home and hand Argyle the lead.

It seemed a second goal was on the cards for Jamie Lowry’s side, but it did not come in the first half. Harley Sneap’s long-range effort was close but ran wide of the post and out for a goal kick, meaning the Greens entered the break with a one-goal lead. 

After the restart, Argyle continued to search for a second and, just after the hour-mark, it came. Finn picked up the ball from a loose pass near the halfway line, drove into the Cheltenham area and calmly slotted the ball into the far bottom corner of the goal, before turning and running in celebration.

Soon enough, however, the visitors were back in the game, with Tom King’s effort finding its way into the back of the net in the 73rd minute.

Cheltenham then found themselves level just seven minutes later when Obieri netted for the Gloucestershire side with an overhead kick in the six-yard box.

Chaos ensued for the remainder of the game at Millennium Fields, with both sides hunting for the winning goal. Argyle came closest first when Finn was through on goal and looking to control Dan Holman’s long ball, but was dragged down outside the area.

Tyler Wainwright was shown a straight red for his foul, but Finn was unable to curl his free-kick effort into the top corner.

The Greens still had defending to do, however, after the set-piece. Cheltenham moved quickly down the pitch and forced Holman into a reaction save which handed both sides a point after the full-time whistle.

“The game should’ve been out of sight,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “We should be able to see out and manage those types of games. I think the goals Cheltenham scored were too easy and too soft.

“However, we did go 2-0 up and had some good build-up play. We knew it would be hard to play how we wanted to with the pitch, but that’s not something we can control. We said we would have to play a certain way, that’s not maybe ideal, to get a result - and we did. Both goals came from forward passes so there are positives, but we know our standards are better than what was on show.” 

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Toby Haley (12 Jowan Wamani, 63), 3 Joe Mwaro, 4 Harley Sneap, 5 Jensen Ireland (capt), 6 Sam Hayman, 7 Cole Fisher (15 Jared Rendle, 77), 8 Billy Devlin, 9 Kian Burch, 10 Tegan Finn, 11 Fletcher Poole. Substitutes: 14 Toby Maclean, 16 Frankie Maund, 23 Jack Flower.