Shaping Up Nicely

Heading into the break 1-0 up thanks to Sonny Bradley’s header from a corner, one may have expected manager Derek Adams to stick, instead of twist. However, pre-empting a Cheltenham onslaught in the second half, Adams switched formation, matching the hosts’ 3-5-2 setup.

“We’ve obviously changed the formation at half time and changed the personnel, because we knew what might happen in the second half,” said Derek.

“I thought that Cheltenham were going to go very direct in the second half. We had to deal with an aerial bombardment in the second half. We knew that was going to be the case because they were down the slope in the second half. 

“They’ve got good quality into the box, they’ve got long throws, and we dealt with it well. I just thought about giving us better protection in the back, to allow us to try and see out the game. 

“It worked well for us. We probably didn’t create much in the second half, but we’ve been able to get a victory.”

The two newest arrivals to the Argyle squad help put these changes into action, fighting back after Dan Holman’s equaliser for the hosts and laying the groundworks for Bradley to head home his second, and Argyle’s winner, in stoppage time. Nathan Blissett once again imposed himself well in a substitute appearance, while Jakub Sokolik had an impressive debut half, playing in between Bradley and Yann Songo’o.

“He made a lot of good headers and he’s tough, as well,” said Adams on Sokolik. “He goes in with his head and reads the game well, and he was composed at times. I was delighted for him. 

“Nathan comes on as well and gives us that extra dimension up front. It wasn’t easy for him because the balls going up to him weren’t the best at times. We didn’t really get enough people around about him.”