All The Small Things

While a large majority of the Green Army were left wondering where it all went wrong during the mid-week defeat against Stevenage this week, manager John Sheridan was analysing the minutiae of the performance - including a pet hate of his, from set-pieces. 

“It’s about doing the little things right on the pitch,” John explained. “It’s like us taking throw-ins; we are a professional club and we’ve got some good, good players but I’m watching the throw-ins on Tuesday night against Stevenage and I’ve counted six, seven throw-ins in the final third where we lost possession on every throw.

“I’ve probably mentioned throw-ins ten times this season, but you shouldn’t be doing things like that. You should be keeping possession from a throw. We ended up giving possession away and defending from a throw-in in the final third which is, sometimes, very naïve and people should realise it’s an important part in creating a goal.”

Argyle were on course to secure a vital away point during Tuesday’s tie against the Boro before conceding in the 89th minute. Despite pushing for an away goal in the game’s final minutes, the Pilgrims were exposed by a swift counter-attack that followed from a corner kick.

“We’re taking a corner - and no-one has to tell me - but nine times out of ten you don’t score from a corner,” Sheridan said. “Some people are thinking, ‘well, what’s he talking about?’, but I’m thinking some player should be switched on and thinking ‘the ball is going to come out’.

“You should be organised and set-up for the ball coming out. If we score, it’s a massive bonus for us. But when I was a midfielder, I expected the ball to come out so I was always ready to get back into position and carry on playing. We didn’t do that and that’s why we had the goal against us.”