Way previews Portsmouth

Argyle’s Under-18 side are back home this Saturday, 28 January as they face Portsmouth in the EFL Youth Alliance League, at Harper’s Park. 

Argyle go into the weekend having missed last Saturday's game against Newport County AFC, due to the pitch being frozen and unplayable.

The two sides are in good form and on lengthy runs of undefeated games. Portsmouth are currently one spot ahead of Argyle, who are two points behind, having played one game fewer. This means that it will be an exciting encounter to see who can get an edge and position themselves best to compete for top spot.

Under-18 manager, Darren Way, shared his thoughts on the game and how the squad have prepared for it following last week’s postponement.

He said, “The players did a session straight away and I think that was important. They had Sunday off and then were straight back into training Monday.”

There is little doubt Darren would have loved to play the game and get more rhythm into the players ahead this Saturday’s game - which, based on the table, is a significant one.

He said, “This is going to be a tight game, Portsmouth has always been competitive, they've always been a really good game certainly over the last three and half years of being in.

“They've got some good players, exciting players, and it's a long journey that's for sure. Travelling from Portsmouth and getting off the bus and then after that make sure that your concentration levels are high, but the players have been really demanding from themselves and each other this week so it’s a game we're excited to play.”

Way also took the time to recognise some of the squad's older players, praising their maturity, calmness, and experience acquired over the season, and emphasising how crucial all these qualities are to becoming a professional player.

The likes of Oscar Halls, Jack Endacott, Will Jenkins Davies, and even Caleb Roberts, serve as role models for the younger players in the side who aim to be there one day.

“With the group that we have; Oscar Halls, Will JD, and Jack Endacott, they've been involved in teams that have competed, whether it's FA Youth Cup or whether it’s the Merit League or whether it’s the Youth Alliance. I think they've been conditioned now to the detail. As I said we missed out on one goal last year, so they know the importance of every game now with the four games remaining and they've been training very well and that's good to see.

“Everyone wants to beat Plymouth Argyle because we've got a good reputation, we’ve got a good style of play, and everything is going into this game to be exciting.

This weekend's game against Portsmouth will be moved from Millennium Fields to Harper's Park, Plymouth Argyle's first team training base.

Way said “Hopefully, fingers crossed, we end up with a few more people watching, it’s played at Harper’s, which is a nice environment for our players in terms of their development. They train there when they went with the first team, and it enables us to play the way that we want to play so it will be a good game.”

The game kicks-off at midday and supporters can follow the action on the Academy’s Twitter page, @PAFCAcademy.