Under-18s Report | Leyton Orient 2-1 Argyle

Argyle Under-18s suffered defeat to Leyton Orient on Saturday morning after two late goals from the hosts in Buckhurst Hill. 

Joe Mwaro’s first-half slotted finish seemed enough to hand the Greens the victory away from home, but two goals in the final stages of the tie, from Dan Carter and Uko Oji, secured three points for Orient.

A back-and-forth affair saw neither side create many chances in front of goal through the opening stages, but it was Argyle who caused the first potential problem in the sun. Fletcher Poole got onto the end of a cross from Mwaro and flicked the ball towards goal, which narrowly spun wide of the post and out for a goal kick.

Just over 10 minutes later, Mwaro gave Argyle the lead. Some tidy build-up play from the Greens ended with the number three picking up the ball inside the area and curling an effort into the bottom corner of the goal past Ethan Pike.

The second half started similarly to the first, with neither side creating any clear chances in front of goal. Leyton Orient came closest through the opening quarter-of-an-hour with Zac Hambury’s flicked shot lofting over the bar and out for a goal kick.

Just after the hour mark, the hosts were reduced to 10 men. Defender Zak O’Keefe was shown a straight red for wrestling Kian Burch to the ground, as the last man. Argyle were notable to capitalise on this, however, and soon found their lead gone. 

In the 89th minute, Carter picked up the ball, after Harley Sneap fell to the floor, drove across the box and saw his left-footed shot deflect off Joel Sullivan into the Argyle’s goal. 

Four minutes later, Orient had the lead. A through ball was picked up by the charging Oji and he scored past a diving Dan Holman, securing the three points for the home side. 

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Toby Haley, 3 Joe Mwaro, 4 Harley Sneap, 5 Sam Hayman, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Cole Fisher, 8 Sam Lord, 9 Kian Burch, 10 Fletcher Poole, 11 Seb Campbell. Substitutes: 1 Leo McCormick (gk), 12 Toby Maclean, 14 Billy Devlin, 15 Jared Rendle, 16 Frankie Maund.