Cooper thrilled with another clean sheet

Following a fantastic win on the road and the fourth clean sheet this season for Plymouth Argyle, goalkeeper Mike Cooper was delighted with his team’s performance on Saturday afternoon, and so far this season.

The win saw Argyle jump to fourth place in the Sky Bet League One table and means Argyle are now unbeaten in six league games.

Mike said: “To get through the first 15 minutes is quite vital because they were piling the pressure on us.

“In the second half we came out well, started really fast and Ryan [Hardie] took his chance.

“We were really composed and really resolute and saw the game out. To come here, be resolute and grind out a 1-0 is perfect.”

A mixture of fantastic saves from the young stopper and a solid line of defence saw another clean sheet against a team who have netted 15 times so far this season, and Mike was pleased the Greens were able to hold on to it.

He said: “In a weird way, everyone wants to get a touch of the ball early on just to settle yourself into the game, but it was a bit of a different game today.

“They had a few more chances on target that a few other teams haven’t done, so it’s nice to come away with a clean sheet again.

“It shows the work we’ve been putting in on the training ground, everything from pre-season up until now is starting to come through.

“We know that we’re not going to keep clean sheets every game, obviously that’s the aim, so as long as we try to do that, I’m sure we’re going to keep banking them in.”

Mike has admitted that having both the changes of personnel and relaxing of Covid restrictions ahead of the season plays a massive part in the teams’ progress so far in the 2021/22 campaign.

He said: “I think the changes from last season, with Covid, are everyone is in the changing rooms and spending a lot more time together, the quality has gone up which is pretty evident to see on the pitch and it’s a real togetherness.

“I think you can see that as well through our performances but we’re going to keep taking each game in our stride.

“I’m looking forward to [Portsmouth on Tuesday night], the stadium is going to be rocking which is what we’ve missed and what we’re going to love. We know we’re going to travel well as well, our fans are going to be top class again, so it’s another one to look forward to.”