‘Substance over style’ was how Tom Cleverley assessed this rarest of Argyle beasts, a week with two wins in it.
It would take the most deliriously, perma-happy Pilgrim to get giddy about the entertainment value of the six-point week, with Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Wycombe Wanderers followed up by a win by the same scoreline on Saturday against Rotherham United. These were ground-out, gritty victories – doing all you can to get over the line.
In equal measures, it would be unfair of anyone to be too disparaging about the manner of the two victories. They were indeed, just that – victories. It was true when it was said that Argyle were good in the first halves at home to Northampton Town and Bradford City, and were perhaps not as bad as 3-1 made it look at Huddersfield Town. But the key is, those game were lost, and that had to change.
The bare facts are now: three wins from the last four, four from the last six. Clean sheets at the exact same rate. Five goals conceded in the last seven games – and three of those were in one half, one was a bit of an aberration, and the other was a disputed penalty.
It perhaps feels like a base has been built, and if Argyle are dogged and can keep clean sheets – we had three in the first 21 games of the season; we’ve had four in the last 22 days – then converting a chance is all it can take.
This time, it was Joe Ralls, impressive in the heart of Argyle’s midfield, and the man on the spot when Owen Dale cut a ball back towards the end of the first half to be smashed in, in what happened to be the game’s deciding goal.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but the win is the main thing,” said Head Coach Tom Cleverley, after the game. “It does feel good. We’ve been desperate not only to follow up a victory with another one, but to put consecutive wins together. Six points from two games changes a lot in football. This one was the most important.
“After the first half-hour, I thought it was probably the flattest I’ve seen a game — nothing in it. But in the 15 minutes before half-time, we were good: we had purpose, we had quality in our attacks. The second half never really got going. On the positive side, it’s a good habit to win when you’re not at your best. On the improvement side, we know we still have a long way to go.
“It wasn’t our most free-flowing team performance, but there were some really good individual displays. Rallsy was one; [Alex] Mitchell’s defending in our box was outstanding, and you’ve got to be impressed with what Pleggy (Julio Pleguezuelo) has done since coming back — four games in two weeks and we’ve only conceded once in those.
“We’ve got the fundamentals of a squad that can put a run of results together. We know we want to improve and be a bit more attractive and entertaining, but right now it’s substance over style. That’s key to picking up points. It’s four wins in six. This is a long-term journey to becoming a complete football team; with the players we have available right now, this is the most effective way for us to play.
“[The fans have] stuck with us through a difficult run of results and now we look like we’re coming out of it. We won’t get complacent. We have to learn from September, when we won five games and then took a backward step.
“Having experienced players back in the team helps drive standards. Ralls has been fantastic since coming in, and the mainstays like Joe [Edwards], Brendan Galloway and Pato (Jamie Paterson) give us a really good balance. They won’t let levels drop.
“We’ve got a week without a game now before the chaos of Christmas — the calm before the storm. It’s nice to go into that off the back of a win.”
