REACTION: Hard-Fought Win
Despite his ultimate delight in securing another three Sky Bet League One points on Friday, Argyle manager Ryan Lowe expressed frustration with his side’s second half display in the 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon at Home Park.
He said: “It was a very hard-fought win. First half I thought we were very good, worthy of 1-0 at half-time, and possibly could’ve had a couple more.
“The second half performance wasn’t anywhere near [good enough]. I was animated because we were giving the ball away very cheaply and we had an overload in midfield that we should’ve dealt with quite quickly, but we didn’t.
“We have to give AFC Wimbledon a lot of credit. They’re fighting for their lives. They stuck to it, they changed shape, they pushed four right up and they stopped us, made us go backwards and they had a right good go.
“We’ve played a lot better in second half performances over the season and not got anything from it, so for us to get three points, a win and a clean sheet, I’m over the moon.”
The winner came in the 11th minute, when Tyrese Fornah’s low cross was smartly backheeled into the far corner by Crystal Palace loanee Sam Woods for his first goal since making the move from Selhurst Park in January.
Lowe said: “It was a terrific goal. Tyrese [Fornah] rolled it over his foot, a little bit of a trick, then he smashed it across the front. It was a lovely little flick [from Sam] and it rolled into the corner. Pleased with him, pleased with the goal, and he’s got us a 1-0 win and a clean sheet.
The win now brings the Pilgrims past the milestone of 50 points, which is generally associated with consolidation in the division. With seven games of the Sky Bet League One campaign remaining, though, Lowe has no intention of allowing his team to take their foot off the pedal.
He said: “It’s pleasing that we’ve reached 52 points. We’ve got seven games to go, so there’s 21 points to play for, we’ve got to keep climbing the table as much as we can, keep picking up points, and start enjoying the games more.
The Pilgrims have a quick turnaround for their next outing on Easter Monday, taking on Shrewsbury Town away from home. Despite another heavy shift from the Greens to secure the three points, the Argyle manager is confident his players will recover well for the trip to Montgomery Waters Meadow.
He said: “The workload of [the players] was a different class, we’ve seen they’ve all ran the distances they should be running to win a game of football, so I’m pleased with that.
“The squad is looking fresh, but we’ve got to recover them all now and have a game plan ready for Monday.
“We’ve just got to keep believing and keep building. We just want to keep winning games of football and if they play the way they did in the first half, we’ll certainly do that.”