Conor on the Run

CONOR Hourihane believes that Argyle need to put together a run of results over the busy Christmas period and are more than capable of doing so.

The Pilgrims’ skipper was speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 Sky Bet League defeat at high-flying Chesterfield, where soft goals conceded in the first 45 minutes and Reuben Reid’s second-half penalty miss proved costly.

“We definitely shouldn’t have been 2-0 down at half-time,” said the Argyle skipper, after the match. “We were the much better team.

“We probably lost our way a little bit in the second half, but got the penalty and missed it which kind of took the wind out of our sails, and we faded out in the end.

“Reuben has scored so many you can’t point fingers at him. It’s just one of those things.

“We’ve just mentioned, in the dressing-room, that we’ve played Burton, Scunthorpe and Chesterfield, who are all near the top of the league, and should have got something out of all the games.

“We maybe just need to be that little bit more clinical in front of goal. Once that falls, I’m sure we won’t be far away, but we need to be taking chances sooner, rather than later.

“We have got a good squad here. Ruthlessness in front of goal is key. Get a few wins over the Christmas period and you are right back up there.

“It is vitally important we get a little run over Christmas. You can pick up a lot of points in a short space of time.”

Conor was involved in the melee that saw referee Andy Haines awarded a spot-kick for handball as he and team-mate Curtis Nelson went to ground in the penalty area.

“It wasn’t stonewall,” said Conor “[The referee] said that whoever fell on the ball handballed it. I was on the blind side. I can’t really say.”

The ever-present skipper picked up a yellow card for disputing the award and, with five cautions to his name now this season, will miss the pre-Christmas Home Park game against Bury.

“It happens when you are a central midfielder and play as many games as I do,” he said. “It was going to come sooner, rather than later.”