Club News

Digging Deep

RYAN Brunt expects himself and the rest of the Argyle squad to put in a dogged, determined display when they pay a visit to Stevenage.

The Greens will make the trip to Hertfordshire on Saturday seeking a fifth successive victory in all competitions, after turning over a two-goal deficit to defeat AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night, with Brunt scoring in a 3-2 win. 

“Obviously we dug deep to get a win in a game that was pretty scrappy,” said Ryan, “so it was a pleasing result for us. 

“It was a tough start – I think we’ve done that a couple of times this season – but the lads got together and really showed a bit of team spirit to get back in it. At the end, we were on top of them quite a bit, so that was good.

“To bounce back in the manner that we did; I think that shows what we’ve got about us.” 

As for his goal, Brunt said: “It was a bit behind me; I didn’t really know it went in until it hit the net! I was pleased to get off the mark, and to do it like that."

The Pilgrims will now square off against a Stevenage side with plenty similarities to themselves. Both clubs were Sky Bet League 2 play-off semi-finalists last season, have changed managers over the summer break, and have genuine aspirations of promotion with some exciting new additions. 

The Boro scored an injury-time winner in this fixture in the previous campaign to secure a 1-0 win in a cold and fragmented midweek affair, but Brunt expects a new-look Argyle side to be up for the challenge this time around. 

“I played in that game and the performance wasn’t great,” said Ryan. “It was a scrappy game, the pitch wasn’t great, and we just couldn’t play the football we were used to playing.

“Hopefully we can go there on Saturday and mix it up a bit. I think we’ve got that now, that we can play but we can also do the scrappy bits and work hard. It’ll be an interesting game. 

“I think they’ve changed a bit, but they’ve still got their core group of players, so it’s going to take time for them to change. I think it’ll be different, but I still think the principles in the players’ heads will still be to work hard and try and close us down well. 

“It’ll be a tough game. We know what their core players are all about. They haven’t played in a week, either, so it’ll be a tough game, but I think we can get a result."