Argyle’s 1-0 win at Leyton Orient, in which Lorent Tolaj’s injury-time goal earned Argyle a spot in the last 16 of the Vertu Trophy, was a welcome sight for a few reasons.
For one, it was a response to Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at home to Northampton Town, a game in which Argyle played well in a goalless first half, but then rather capitulated after the break.
Secondly, it meant the Greens picked up some prize money and advanced to the next round of the competition, and with it came a performance which, though it did not blow Orient away, saw Argyle create many more chances than of late.
Tolaj sent a free header wide, and saw a lob over the goalkeeper cleared off the line in dramatic fashion; Owen Oseni had a first-half chance which beat the keeper and went inches wide; and Alex Mitchell, who had a header saved at the start of stoppage time, was clattered earlier in the second half when he beat the goalkeeper to a high ball, and inexplicably was not awarded a penalty.
Head Coach Tom Cleverley declared himself content with the evening’s result, performance and application.
“I thought we were the team who created the bigger chances in the game, especially from open play,” he told Argyle TV. “They had some dangerous moments from set pieces, and they've got good height in their team to allow them to do that.
“It felt a little bit like the first half on Saturday, where we just couldn't break the deadlock.
“I was pleased with the players’ mentality tonight. It was a bit of a disappointment when we didn't get the penalty, which was a stonewaller, and they handled that, brushed it off and kicked on again. It was a thoroughly deserved away win.
“Fair credit to the players; the last two-and-a-half weeks of training and performances include Port Vale (where Argyle won 1-0), the first half on Saturday and all of tonight, which have been really good. Forty-five minutes has not been to the standard, it really rocked us, and we got punished for that.
“We need to be consistent. We need to do a little bit of work on what happens when we go behind; we will improve that.
“I thought we were excellent first half on Saturday, but didn't twist the knife when we had them, and then let the game go. Can we put in that consistency of performance for 90, 95 minutes on Saturday? Today's a good start for the week in terms of confidence and responding from the weekend.”
Three other notable inclusions in the starting line-up were Luca Ashby-Hammond, in goal, Brendan Wiredu in midfield, and Julio Plegeuzuelo, in defence.
For Pleguezuelo, it was his first game of the season, having been injured throughout the campaign thus far. He played a pre-planned 45 minutes, before being replaced at half-time by Mitchell.
Ashby-Hammond was at fault for the goal in a defeat at Bristol Rovers in the group stage, but performed well in this tie, making vital saves, and distributing well with his feet.
Wiredu began the season in midfield, had moved to a central defensive role, and of late has found game time hard to come by, but was strong in the heart of Argyle’s side in East London.
“Luca is a really talented goalkeeper,” said Cleverley. “One mistake in the last round might get highlighted, but his performance, up to then, was brilliant.
“Day in, day out, in training, he’s top level. He’s great support for Conor [Hazard], as well as pushing Conor’s levels higher and higher. He's good around the environment; I'm really pleased that he got rewarded tonight with a strong performance and a real hand to play in getting us to win here.
“It was always planned [for Pleggy] to just to play 45 minutes tonight. He’s been out for a long time.
“This evening is really positive, because we feel like we've gained two players, with Pleggy coming back, but also Wiredu going back in midfield and showing a lot of positivity in there. We dropped him back, [because] we changed system, and he had a difficult moment when he started in midfield early in the season, but I thought he looked really powerful in there today, and that gives you a real good option in midfield as well.”
