Plymouth Argyle U18 vs Sutton United U18

Argyle Under-18s are hunting for back-to-back victories at home in Youth Alliance League play on Saturday afternoon when facing Sutton United.

Joel Sullivan’s second-half header handed the Greens three points against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday afternoon. They are now hoping for another positive performance on the weekend at Millennium Fields.

The visitors sit below Argyle in the South league table, and will also be looking to end the season on a high and continue to move up, much like the Pilgrims.

Head Coach Jamie Lowry knows the challenge at hand against a physical and gritty side, but believes confidence from Tuesday’s victory will play into Argyle’s hands at home.

“We’ve got another game at home, which is always nice,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “The last result and performance against Bristol Rovers give us something to build upon, which is key for consistency. We’re looking to go and get back-to-back wins, which would be really nice.

“It’s going to be quite a physical game. The pitch is still dry and bobbly, which is not ideal for us, but we just have to do what we can do in terms of our performance and understand how best to play the surface. We’re all looking forward to trying to get back-to-back home wins.

“Preparation has not been too bad because we get to watch their previous few games. We try and look for any consistencies or strengths and weaknesses they have in their side. It's not too bad.

“We know what they're about. We know it'll be quite a physical game. They'll be quite direct, which is their strength, so we need to be able to deal with the aerial duels and then hopefully try and put our little bit of magic on the game when possible.”

Despite only having three days of recovery and preparation, Lowry thinks his squad is in a very good position to battle for an important three points on Saturday.

He said: “They’ve been really good, as you can imagine off the back of a good win on Tuesday. It's been light and more tactical than anything on their legs because we’re saving them for the performance on Saturday. It’s been a really good atmosphere - and the sunshine helps as well!

“There are always smiles on everyone's face. It makes it more enjoyable. The boys are ready to go again on Saturday.”

Argyle Under-18s had to settle for a point at Millennium Fields on Saturday afternoon after drawing 1-1 with Sutton United.

The Youth Alliance League South tie started immediately in favour of the Greens, with Harley Sneap putting the home side ahead just 49 seconds into the match, but minutes before half-time Sutton equalised through Taylor Boon.

Sneap’s goal in the opening minute was thanks to some tidy and quick build-up play from Argyle. A fast-paced move down the left ended with Cole Fisher setting up the Greens’ number four to slot home into the far corner with his left foot before the stopwatch had even hit a minute.

The remainder of the first 40 minutes was very stop-start; both sides had chances in front of goal, the best coming for Frankie Maund. Argyle repeated their attacking phase for the goal but made an extra pass to find the open number 10 inside the area. Maund had to watch his shot get saved by Sutton’s Sam Roberts after his touch gave the visitors’ goalkeeper enough time to recover across and get set.

In the 42nd minute, an equaliser was found. An attack down the left for Sutton, this time, rewarded them, as substitute Boon picked up the ball at the back post and fired an effort into the far-left corner, beating Dan Holman and several Argyle defenders retreating to the goal-line.

The second half was much like the first, with neither side causing many major problems for the other despite the fast-paced nature of the end of the game, meaning both teams had to settle for a point in the rain in Devon.

Head Coach Jamie Lowry said: “We had a really good start, with Harley scoring early, after combining with Cole Fisher. We were on top for the first 20 minutes and should have put the game to bed, to be honest, with some great chances.

“That probably sums up our season really, where we don't put teams to bed while we're on top and then we don't keep the ball out of the back of our net down the other end keeping teams in games. Overall, some really good bits and some not-so-good bits.

“It’s all part of our learning development, however. We need to improve those little bits to make sure we’re more ruthless in games and kill teams off when we're playing really well.”

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Toby Haley, 3 Trialist ((14 Joe Mwaro, 35) 15 Seb Campbell, 65)), 4 Harley Sneap, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt), 7 Cole Fisher, 8 Sam Lord, 9 Kian Burch, 10 Frankie Maund (16 Jared Rendle, 65), 11 Fletcher Poole.

PLY Argyle

SUT Sutton Utd