Under-18s v Leyton Orient (A) | Preview

Jamie Lowry’s Under-18s have not have much football to play lately, with a series of postponements meaning they have played just once since the dramatic draw which clinched the Youth Alliance title. 

That triumph, over Swindon Town, took place on 24 February, and the only game since then has been Argyle’s first Merit League match of the season, in which the Greens drew 3-3 with Cheltenham Town. 

Saturday’s opponents, Leyton Orient, finished fifth in their conference of the Youth Alliance league, in order to qualify for the Merit League portion of the season. Orient have also played – and drawn with – Cheltenham, as well as drawing with Oxford United and beating Swindon Town. 

Lowry is looking forward to getting back in the swing of games, to put into play some of the work done recently in training. 

“We had quite a bit of time off, not having many fixtures available with the conditions,” said Lowry. “The boys are champing at the bit, looking forward to getting back to playing some games. 

“We've been doing quite a bit of shape work. It gives a bit more time to do that rather than playing game-game-game-game. That's been nice, to get a bit more time on the training ground with the lads, now we want to put in practice all the stuff we've been working on. 

“We are expecting [Orient to be] a physical team. They've made a good start to the Merit League; they've not lost yet in three games. 

“We’ve watched a couple of games back. They're big physical players, play forward, run forward, and are quite direct. We're expecting it to be a physical game, a competitive game and a game where we've got to take control and play our game, get the ball down, be nice and calm, be in control in the right moments and, most of all, be ruthless and have a foundation to build on in terms of keeping a clean sheet.”

Lowry and the team will travel on Friday, to play the game on Saturday morning, with the trip being partly funded by Evergreen funds. Not something that most of the young Pilgrims are accustomed to, Lowry sees the overnight stay in the capital as being character building, as his charges learn more than just what they are taught on the football pitch. 

“With the game being in London, it's going to be an overnight stay,” said Lowry. “We’ll travel up on the Friday, which again, is a new experience for the boys. We've done it, I think, once so far this season. 

“It happens to the first team, pretty much every away game, so that's a really good experience to have. 

“It's always nice to have a different challenge, to go and play at a different venue, a different area and a different experience - that adds all together. 

“In preparation, we will talk about traveling up, when do they eat, hydration being important overnight, what time to have breakfast in the morning: all those kind of things are really, really important.

“They're learning, and are hopefully going to take it into a professional environment, They used to traveling - we’re Plymouth Argyle, we travel everywhere all the time - but overnight stays, and how you prepare professionally in those environments and the right times, is really key for them.”