ARGYLE eSports manager Ben Taylor confesses that it felt like “a massive weight off our shoulders” to secure their first competitive victory over Green Line on Tuesday night.
The 3-1 win lifted the Greens off the bottom of Virtual Pro Gaming League One South, and Taylor is keen to use that crucial first victory as a platform heading into another double-header on Thursday night against Cardiff City eSports and Fearless eSports.
“It’s a considerably better feeling than it was the other day,” admits Taylor. “After the game, it was a much more positive feeling. It felt like a massive weight off our shoulders and it gives us a bit of confidence going into tonight against two good teams.”
The Greens were made to work hard for their first competitive victory, which came immediately after a spirited 2-0 defeat to top-flight RSG eSports in the opening round of the cup. Despite being pegged back to 1-1, Taylor’s colleagues rose to the occasion to get off the mark in domestic competition.
Taylor said: “In the first game we got beat by a good team, and we made the decision to try something slightly different in the second game. We went 1-0 up very early, and even when we conceded the equaliser we didn’t feel that they were in a position to beat us, to be honest.
“Even though they had a lot of the ball, we felt in control and that we’d score if we got a chance – and obviously we got two more to win 3-1.”
With the League One South season still in its infancy, we are just beginning to see the green shoots of progress among a squad that have only been together a matter of weeks – and Taylor is, as ever, keen to emphasise the positives displayed from their opening six fixtures.
“Even though we’ve played a lot of top-half teams, we could still have won a few more. It’s been silly little mistakes that have cost us,” explains Taylor. “For example, in the first game of the season, we only lost 1-0 through a lapse in the last-minute - they’re a good team and they’re fifth in the table.”
Taylor sees Thursday’s games as a perfect opportunity to back up Tuesday’s result – particularly given that the Greens face opponents that they have already beaten once this year.
“We’ve played Cardiff before in pre-season [winning 2-0] and played them off the park, really. Hopefully we can reach the high standards again and get a similar result.
“We really didn’t expect to be in this position, but hopefully we can use the win as a platform and push on. It’s not like we’ve resolved it after one win, we need to get back the five games that we’ve lost, but we’re getting there.”
Argyle kick-off their first game, against Cardiff City eSports, at 8.45pm, before facing Fearless eSports at 9.15pm. Both games will be available to stream live through our Facebook and Twitch channels.