Focus on Development

ARGYLE Ladies are without a match this weekend, so the attention is focussed on the Development team.

The Development team are looking to make it three wins in a row against bottom club Exeter & Tedburn Rangers. Fans are reminded that the match is at the Salt Mill, Saltash on Sunday at 2pm, and admission is free.

They will go into the game without the services of three centre halves. Team captain Rachel Javan is still recovering from her head injury, Giota Papaioannou is on international duty and Rachel Heron is unavailable for selection. Also missing will be the injured Dani Wyatt.

Once more, this opens the door for some of the youngsters to impress the Argyle management team. They are hoping to add another 16 year-old to their already impressive list by including Isla Brumhead in their squad. Also included could be Steph Beck whose experience will be invaluable around these youngsters.

The management team are determined not to let them sit back and think one performance makes a season after beating Bude 10-2 last week. They were quite critical of their percentage of shot to goal ratio in their last match and the team were shown a breakdown of this during the week.

Manager Rob Bonney commented: “It may seem harsh to some people looking at how many goals we scored, but the girls know that we want to get the best out of them every game and this is just one aspect we need to work on. It's another challenge on Sunday but one the girls are looking forward to.”

Squad from: Maddie Walsh, Sally Salter, Maddy Leppard, Jodie Randall, lsla Brumhead, Beth Cowd, Kiara Robins, Hannah Brock, Maisie Williams, Nicola Champion, Beth Everson, Lucy Solloway, Leah Johnson, Scarlett Williams, Steph Beck, Ellie Bishop, Chardonnay James. 

While the Pilgrim first-team are frustrated by being without a match, this has not stopped manager Dave Leonard from trying to improve his charges in training.

“Being without a game is annoying but it will give some of the girls who are carrying knocks a bit of a rest.,” said Leonard.

“I am not sure how I expected the season to pan out. I am not saying that the season has gone as expected but how the girls would react to me, my philosophy how I wanted them to play, the philosophy of how I wanted them to train.

“I think they have literally taken this on board and fully trust what I am trying to do and the massive confidence shown. We haven't got a game this week but we had 15 at training this week, that would not have happened a few seasons ago and the work rate they put in as it is important to see that competition for places is high.

“These girls are on a five-day training routine. They do seven hours a week training, so for them to turn up as a group is testament to what they are trying to achieve. I wouldn't say we have hit the heights of my expectations I want them to achieve but I would say we are probably at 80%. I know the team and I know we can achieve more.”

Commenting on their game at Home Park in December where the match against Watford is one of the test events when the refurbished grandstand is open at 38% of capacity. This means over 2,000 fans could be seated watching the game.

“It’s brilliant that it could be over 2,000 fans to watch what could be a top of the table clash. I know the [Watford] manager quite well and it could be a tough game.”