Stokes Happy With Progress

ARGYLE Academy Youth Development Phase Lead Coach Phil Stokes was pleased with Tuesday's display against an international side which saw them beat the Japanese FA Academy 1-0.

The young Pilgrims won for a second consecutive day in the Dale Farm Milk Cup, having won their opening game 5-0 against North Dublin.

On Tuesday, Alex Battle's goal was the decider during a game that Argyle dominated, but were frequently repelled by Japan goalkeeper Tomorhiro Kato.

Despite the smaller winning margin, Stokes felt that Argyle had improved from their previous outing.

"There's always things to work on," he said. "I think throughout the tournament we are going to be learning as from every game we pick something up and hopefully try and build on it.

"I think what we talked about yesterday was some of the things the players applied today and they've become a much better team for that.

"The performance today was pleasing all round in both the first and second half. We were disappointed that we didn't score more goals but it's two out of two and they're probably on target in terms of what we're trying to achieve from the team. We're certainly happy with the start we have made and we are progressing day by day."

When asked about the danger of being over-confident, Stokes replied: "We have to concentrate on what we are doing. We can't worry about too many other things as there are some very good teams in the tournament. But we have shown that if we play to the best that we can play then certainly we can match teams and we certainly outplayed a good Japan team today.

"The boys have to show that the consistency is there and that perhaps they don't get a little bit complacent. As the tournament progresses they're going to get tired and perhaps a few niggling injuries will might appear and they have to make sure they're on it."