Matters to Attend To

Tuesday night saw nearly 5,000 home fans in attendance as Argyle were denied from progressing in the Capital One Cup by two late Gillingham goals, and Saturday's game could well draw in a five figure crowd.

Derek Adams is eagerly awaiting his first league game at Home Park, and is confident the rivalry will attract fans. He said: "There is a very good rivalry and you want that in any football match and it is great that the two dockyards have that. We're expecting a very big crowd on Saturday."

"I think everybody wants to be involved in big occasions; the Dockyard Derby is always a big occasion and we're all looking forward to it.

"Derby matches are always good. Obviously I've been involved in Scotland for many years. Being at Celtic Park and Rangers and involved in 50,000 or 60,000 week in week out, [I am] used to it. It's always nice to have a derby match and seeing a stadium full."

Tuesday night's Capital One Cup clash could also help to bring more fans into Home Park on Saturday, with Derek convinced that fans will have enjoyed the game: "I think it was impressive. We had nearly 5,000 home fans. They have come out in numbers for the first home game of the season and they have gone home and told their friends and family what a good game it was to watch. Hopefully that will add to the numbers on Saturday."

Derek will be looking to assess Tuesday's game and learn from where his side faltered: "We have to look at the negatives as well. The goals we conceded were preventable. We either lose possession of the ball or are out of position and we could have stopped them. For the chances we created, could we have taken the chances and scored a few goals in the first half?

"[I'm] Frustrated from the point of view that we played so well and over the 90 minutes and I think we deserved to go through, but that's what happens in football; sometimes you lose games that you are in total control of but that's just the nature of the game. I thought we played really well and were unfortunate not to go through.

"I think as a team we played very well, and this season, if we're going to succeed we're going to have to play as a team, but I thought the performance on the night [was good]. We were very good at winning the ball back, we played on the counter attack and in the first half we could have probably been two or three goals up."

Argyle's game against Portsmouth on Saturday is a 3pm kick-off, and tickets are still available from the Argyle ticket office or www.eticketing.co.uk/pafc.