Argyle are set to play their fifth game this season in the Vertu Trophy – their second against Bristol Rovers – and it has quietly proven to be a significant competition in the development of Tom Cleverley’s Plymouth Argyle.
After a rough start to the season, the Greens had an excellent September, winning five out of their six games. Two of those matches were in the Trophy, with 2-0 and 6-2 home wins coming at the expense of Cheltenham Town and Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s respectively.
As the Pilgrims’ form nosedived through October and into November, Argyle went into a game at the Memorial Stadium, against Rovers, on a five-game losing run. Yes, this was extended to six, but the circumstances – Kornel Szucs being sent off after two minutes, and the Pirates’ winning goal coming in injury-time - showed a night where Argyle displayed a bit of character.
Since that rainy night in North Bristol, Argyle have played 11 games, and lost just three. One of the 11 fixtures was at Leyton Orient, in the second round of the Vertu, where it was the Pilgrims’ turn to win 1-0 with a last-gasp goal, coming from Lorent Tolaj. This got Argyle into the last 16 of the competition, where they now face Rovers, away from home, once again, this time under new boss Steve Evans.
Cleverley has typically rotated a small amount, but not in wholesale fashion, during the Trophy campaign. It is clearly a tournament that he values.
“That’s been our mindset throughout the competition,” Cleverley told Argyle TV. “Yes, the league is our priority, as it is for every club, and we’re not satisfied with where we are yet, even though we’re improving.
“But cup competitions can galvanise a squad and a club, especially when you reach the later rounds. They can build confidence and momentum, and I think we’ve used this competition well in that respect. Now it’s one game at a time. We know how difficult Steve’s teams are to play against – they’re always well set up – and [Tuesday] will be no different. We’ll have to be at our best to get the result we want.
“There have been periods where we needed a win and the competition has given us that. We’ve scored a lot of goals, which boosts confidence, and young players have come in and done very well.
“It was also where we introduced the 4-4-2, notably at Leyton Orient, where I thought we were really effective, and that’s been very successful for us.
“It’s difficult because [Rovers] now have a new manager. Internally, though, that was the game where we showed real resilience. We went down to 10 men after two minutes and took the game all the way to the 94th minute. That was a big moment for us in terms of belief and understanding that we could be hard to beat.
“Ultimately, we didn’t win the game, so we didn’t adapt quite well enough, but we showed a lot of signs that evening of a team coming out of a difficult period. The weeks and months that followed showed that, and now it’s about maintaining momentum.
“Momentum in football is very hard to gain and very easy to lose, so we can’t afford to get complacent.”
