Oxford Utd Under-18s 0 Argyle 1

A SEVERELY depleted Argyle side took their unbeaten league run to 10 games...

...with a narrow, but fully deserved victory in Oxford which maintained their position at the top of the table.

Illness and injuries had hit the Argyle squad hard, with Cory Harvey, Sam Ryan and Connor Macauley all ill and joining injured Owen Jones, Jordan Bentley, Jake Miller, Ben Spear and Jack Calver on the unavailable list.

Central defender Harry Downing was given his Alliance debut, while Harry Hodges, Sam Morgan, Callum Rose and Josh Richards were brought into the squad.

"We had a very young side competing in a very tight encounter but they worked hard to keep a clean sheet for a very pleasing result," said Argyle Youth Academy Manager Kevin Hodges.

The young Pilgrims faced a strong wind in the first half which meant that scoring opportunities were at a premium but they required just five minutes of the second period to score the all-important goal.

Aaron Taylor's superb challenge won possession for Argyle and Alex Fletcher combined with Jason Vincent for the latter to finish well from six yards.

Argyle then had to withstand heavy pressure from their hosts but they were always dangerous on the counter-attack, with Luke Jephcott, twice, and Fletcher going close to increasing their lead.

The one blot on the Argyle copybook was Jamil Roberts picking up a second caution two minutes from time.

Argyle: Mike Cooper, Billy Palfrey, Callum Rose, Harry Downing, Jamil Roberts, Aaron Taylor, Josh Richards, Dan Rooney (Sam Morgan 75), Alex Battle (Harry Hodges 65), Jason Vincent (Luke Jephcott 80), Alex Fletcher.