All Change

TACTICAL changes and substitutions played a part in Argyle’s second-half rally against Bury, according to manager John Sheridan.

The Pilgrims found themselves 2-0 down within 15 minutes of their Sky Bet League 2 encounter at the JD Stadium, thanks to goals from Tom Soares and Danny Rose.

With the Greens in need of a way to quell the danger of their opponents and cause danger themselves, John made some aggressive changes after the restart, bringing on three substitutes – Marvin Morgan, Lee Cox and Ben Purrington – at the same time and switching their formation to a 3-5-2 to match the Shakers.

Those decisions paid dividends in the 66th minute when Reuben Reid dispatched a penalty that was won from a counter attack, and Argyle were unlucky on many occasions to not net an equaliser as Bury ran out 2-1 winners.

The gaffer is no stranger to the tactics – using 3-5-2 for a period last season and making three subs at once in the Pilgrims’ previous outing against Stevenage – and believes those changes were the turning point of the game.

“We matched them up with the 3-5-2 and, once we did that, I thought we were the better team,” said John.

“I do not do it often, but I just thought it was a way to try and give us a lift. We changed our shape and I think it worked.

“We knew we had to do something to get back in the game, and we definitely did that. We did well with it last season, and I was thinking of starting with it today.

“There is always a chance that you could get an injury but, when you are 2-0 down, you have to try things.

“When you are chasing the game, sometimes you have to take chances. We were well on top in the second half.”