Heading Up

ARGYLE manager John Sheridan has told his players to forget an easily forgettable performance which led to a 2-1 Sky Bet League 2 defeat at Bristol Rovers...

...and aim to put things right at Wycombe on Tuesday.

It was a case of heads you lose at the Memorial Stadium as John watched nodded goals from Rovers’ Chris Beardsley and Argyle’s Neal Trotman send the teams in level at half-time before Pirate striker Kaid Mohamed gave the Pilgrims a mountain to climb with another header in the second half.

They nearly reached first base when substitute Marvin Morgan connected with Tope Obadeyi’s cross for another header that was stopped brilliantly by Rovers’ ’keeper Steve Mildenhall.

Like much of what Argyle attempted on a slippery, bouncy surface that was clearly showing the ravages of being overused by two sports, the chance just engendered more frustration, leaving John to look forward to the Adams Park midweek fixture.

“We’ve got to pick ourselves up,” he said. “We’ve got a tough game against Wycombe but, if we can win there, I think three points from two tough away games would be acceptable.

“We were quite flat today. We just didn’t get going at all. I don’t think we strung two passes together all day. I don’t think Bristol did, either, but they played the ball up to their front men and caused us one or two problems.

“They put us on the back foot more than we did [them], and they played the conditions and the pitch better than we did and that’s what ultimately cost us the game.

“I think we put the effort in but it was just a scrap and Bristol Rovers came out on top. They won the scrap and got the three points.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult game once I’d seen the first five-ten minutes and the pitch, but they are not excuses. It was the same for both sides and they played the conditions better than us, so fair play to them.

“I am very disappointed with the goals we conceded: one from a long throw and one from a simple cross to deal with. They should be dealt with, with the players we’ve got.  We shouldn’t concede, because we were set up and ready. There is not a lot you can do if people switch off in those situations. Sometimes you get punished, and we did.

“I didn’t like watching it. It was one of those games. We might have a few of them with dry conditions as the weather gets better and the pitches aren’t great, but sometimes you have just  got to put yourselves up and be ready for a game like that.”