REACTION: Stanley Spirit

Argyle manager Ryan Lowe hailed his players’ ability to bounce back after disappointment at Portsmouth to claim a heartening 1-0 win at Accrington Stanley in sub-zero temperatures.

January signing Niall Ennis marked his first Argyle start with a goal on 51 minutes, with a dogged and determined team performance ensuring that the striker’s opportunist effort was enough to win the game.

Lowe said: “Credit where credit’s due, the lads were fantastic. To have that little bit of disappointment [from Saturday] and to come here, it was a different game.

“Accrington changed shape, they caused us a few problems, Mike [Cooper] made a few good saves, and we had a few chances as well. In terms of the overall game, it was different from them and it was different from us. We know how good Accrington are, we said that last time we played them.”

“It was long balls into the box, but we just had to make sure we dealt with that and our lads were fantastic right from the back to the front. They dealt with Accrington’s pressure as much as they possibly could.

“When you are playing against good players like Accrington have got, you’ve got to make sure you’re switched on and we were switched on for large parts, but we also played some good passes and good football as well.

“We also had chances to score maybe one or two [more] but I’m just pleased for the lads with the reaction from Saturday. They were disappointed; I had to lift them up and their spirits are high again and we got a good three points away at Accrington.”

A mixture of the icy weather conditions and a well-drilled opposition were always going to prove difficult for Argyle to manage, but Lowe was delighted with how his young side handled the occasion.

“We said we wanted to play our football that we like to play, but play it in the right areas. With the pace of Niall [Ennis] and Ryan [Hardie] coming on and getting down the sides, we certainly felt that we could cause them some problems.

“The game plan was that we were coming here to win. We know it’s a tough place to come but the lads were fantastic right the way through, so I’m pleased.”

The win rounds off an excellent few days for the Greens, in which they took four points on the road against sides above them in the table – extending their unbeaten league run to seven games.

“We know every game is tough on the road, every game is tough at home also, so a lot of credit has to go to the boys.

“They’re a fantastic group and I want to keep working with them and keep aiming high, but we’ve got another tough game on Saturday at home to Fleetwood Town.”