Risk and Reward

DEREK Adams rolled the dice by playing Jake Jervis in Argyle’s game against Carlisle United, and the manager’s calculated risk came up trumps in an excellent 4-1 win.

After suggesting in the build-up to the Pilgrims’ game against the Cumbrians that their following fixture against Northampton Town was a more likely point of return for Jervis, many were surprised to see the forward in the starting XI at Home Park. 

Jake showed no signs of his recent groin injury, though, and scored a brilliant brace as the Greens cruised to victory. The gamble paid off for Adams, and the boss feels that style of management is indicative of the Sky Bet League 2 season’s opening throes. 

“He trained on Monday and there was a possibility of him being involved tonight,” said Derek. “I just decided yesterday that I would play him, because he’s one of those players who can benefit the team, and tonight he’s shown that. 

“I was worried that he hadn’t overcome his injury enough, and I took a gamble. I took a risk. 

“All clubs are finding their feet, and at the start of the season you get a lot of clubs taking risks. I’ve seen that over the last few weeks, because they want to try and get points on the board and they’ll go gung-ho. 

“That’s just the nature of the game at the start of the season. As we get into it, teams will probably be more conservative. 

“In the first half I think [Carlisle] were a bit kamikaze. I think that they played with a lot of attacking players in their team tonight, and I heard them before saying they were going for it, so that’s what they did.”