A GROUP of Argyle's talented teenage players returned to their school classrooms after spending their half-term break in Riga playing against the Latvian and Belarus under-15 international teams.

The trip, the most ambitious ever undertaken by the Pilgrims' Centre of Excellence, was a reciprocal arrangement following the Latvian youth team's visit to Plymouth last August, when Mike Pejic's under-18 team beat them 8-2 on aggregate over two legs in the pre-season Duchy College Cup competition.

Unfortunately, the schoolboy's outward journey, scheduled to take 12 hours, turned into a 16-hour marathon when the aircraft on their flight from Stansted developed a technical fault over Germany and had to be diverted to Frankfurt for emergency repairs.

So, it was perhaps understandable that Argyle's travel-weary youngsters started their first game, against Latvia, disappointingly, conceding three goals in the opening 20 minutes, but they recovered their composure well to keep the final score 3-0.

"Actually, some of our possession play in this game was excellent, and striker Aaron Spear was unlucky with six or seven chances from which he nearly scored, so we paid a high price for our earlier defensive frailties," commented head of youth development Gordon Bennett.

Regrettably, defensive slips were again to the fore as our lads slipped to another 3-0 interval deficit in their second game, against Belarus, but this time they hit back in the second half with two well-taken goals.

First Aaron Spear scored with a 15-yarder after being set-up by a perfectly-weighted through ball from midfielder Dan Hart; then co-striker Jared Sims converted a similar pass from left winger Jordan Copp to make the final score 3-2.

"It was good for our boys to test themselves against international opposition in foreign conditions, and the trip gave the players an idea of just how hard they will have to work if they are to make the grade as professionals one day.

"Perhaps the greatest benefit came from the coaching sessions our Centre of Excellence manager, Allan Evans, and coaches Chris Souness and Richard Hancox put on during the subsequent two days.

"Allan, who played centre-back for Aston Villa and Scotland with such distinction, was able to put on some particularly helpful sessions for the defenders, which will be good preparation for this squad's next big test, in the prestigious Northern Ireland Milk Cup tournament at the end of July," adds Gordon.

Argyle's squad for the Latvia trip comprised: goalkeepers Connor Sidley-Adams and Sam Trudgian; defenders James Richards, Jordan Pearce, Jack Stephens and Jamie Richards; midfielders Luke Young, Jed Harper-Penman, Dan Hart, Lewis Hilton, Tom Fowler, Jordan Copp and Jake Gosling; and strikers Aaron Spear, Jarred Sims, Isaac Vassell and Matt Lecointe.

The lads' trip to Ireland will mark Argyle's debut in the week-long Milk Cup event, which has attracted entries from top clubs world-wide, including the current Cup holders Guadalajara and Nexaca (both Mexico), Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), Brondby (Denmark) and Rosenborg (Sweden) as well as Chelsea, Everton, Wolves, Watford and Swindon Town.

Argyle have been drawn to play Queen of the South at Limavady on Monday July 28 (k.o. 12 noon), and the County Down representative team at Portrush on Tuesday July 29 (k.o. 1.30pm). Their games schedule during the remainder of the week will depend on their results in these first two matches.

Participation in the Milk Cup is part of the most ambitious pre-season programme ever put together for the club's schoolboys, with games for the different age-groups from under-9 to under-16 against a number of crack Academy clubs, including Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.