AFTER five weeks without a competitive match, it was hardly surprising that our youngsters looked slightly below par in this Youth Alliance South-west Conference game at Haye Road, Elburton, which was played in wet and windy conditions that deteriorated seriously as the game went on.

Head of youth coaching Mike Pejic was without centre-back Ryan Leonard - who travelled with the first-team to Leicester - and injured left-back Connor Clifford, so he switched Curtis Nelson to the heart of defence, and played Sam Sawyer and schoolboy Jamie Richards in the full back positions. Influential midfielder Luke Young also made a welcome return to action after two months on the sidelines with a troublesome ankle ligament injury.

The Young Pilgrims had an early chance to take the lead after ten minutes. Sawyer sent Matt Rickard through on goal, only for the striker to be fouled inside the penalty area, but Sean Kinsella's spot-kick was saved by the visiting 'keeper, diving to his left.

Twelve minutes later Rickard was set up by co-striker Lewis Coombes but his goal-bound shot was kicked clear for a corner.

On the half-hour mark Liam Head cut in threateningly from the right flank but put his effort narrowly wide of the near post, and then United's 'keeper dived bravely at Coombes' feet to keep his goal intact six minutes before the interval.

Ollie Chenoweth made a couple of good saves in the second half, as Oxford come into the game more with the wind behind them, but both teams seemed to be overcome by the elements as the game wore on and the final whistle came as something of a relief to all concerned.

Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Ollie Chenoweth; 2 Sam Sawyer, 5 Jordan Trott, 6 Curtis Nelson, 3 Jamie Richards; 7 Liam Head (15. Sims), 4 Sean Kinsella, 8 Luke Young, 11 Jake Baker (14 Jordan Copp); 9 Matt Rickard 10 Lewis Coombes. Subs (unused): 23 Raivo Varazinskis, 12 Jack Stephens, 16 Dan Hart.

Our youngsters face a testing home second round tie in the Youth Alliance Cup against Millwall next Saturday (kick-off 11am). The game has had to be switched to Dartmouth F.C.'s Longcross ground as no suitable venue is available in the Plymouth area.

The match is a repeat of last season's fourth round F.A. Youth Cup-tie at Home Park in January, which Pej's protégées won by a narrow 3-2 margin. The Young Lions are in the enviable position of being able to call upon no less than ten of their line-up at Home Park still young enough to play on Saturday, whereas the Greens have only four players - Kinsella, Leonard, Young and Jordan Trott - still eligible.

Our Centre of Excellence schoolboy teams' games next weekend against Exeter City are being classified as 'development' matches and will be played behind closed doors, with no spectators.