Argyle Under-18s can secure their place in the Professional Development League (PDL) Cup quarter-finals with a win over Swindon Town on Saturday.
Only the group winners progress to the next stage, adding extra significance to the Greens’ final group game.
The Young Pilgrims currently lead the group on four points, with Swindon and Bristol City both on three, and Cardiff City in fourth on one point. Argyle have already earned a draw against Cardiff and a win away to Bristol City, leaving qualification in their own hands against Swindon.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry understands the significance of Saturday’s fixture.
He said: “It would be the icing on the cake to top the group and qualify, and that would show that we’ve had a really good PDL Cup campaign.
“It’s a very difficult task to go through to the quarter-finals as only one team per group can, so, in a group with three other really good, strong sides that would be an impressive feat for us.
“We have never qualified from the group stage of the PDL Cup before. The lads set themselves that target at the start of the season so I’m sure they will be ready to go and perform.”
Argyle come into the match against Swindon after progressing to the second round of the FA Youth Cup with a 6-0 win against Mangotsfield United at Home Park.
Seb Campbell opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a superb strike, before a dominant second-half display saw the Young Pilgrims put the game beyond their opponents. Frankie Maund found the back of the net four times after the break, with Campbell wrapping up the scoring for the evening.
Lowry is keen for his players to maintain those second-half standards as attention turns to another cup competition.
He said: “There can’t be any slacking. That’s all part of the boys’ mindset and mentality, but also their development.
“It may be a challenge to come from a big FA Youth Cup game under the lights at Home Park and go back to match that is played in a more lowkey environment. So, the lads will have to make sure that they are ready and stimulated for the game and we will prepare as we usually do.
“On the positive side, this is a game that we need to win, so there should be enough stimulus for the players.”
Unlike previous PDL Cup opponents Bristol City and Cardiff, Swindon compete in the same league as Argyle, with the two sides having already played almost a month ago. The Young Pilgrims battled back to win 4-1 on that occasion, thanks to Maund’s brace, Sandhu’s composed finish and a Swindon own goal.
Despite the previous scoreline, Lowry believes the Robins will provide a tough test for his side.
“Swindon are a really good footballing side,” he said. “We went up there and found it really difficult for the opening 45 minutes to an hour. Gradually as the game went on, we grew into it and scored a few goals, but they are a good team who have a clear way of playing.
“We will have to make sure that we do our basics well, both in and out of possession. I know that we don’t keep as many clean sheets as I would like but our foundations are built on being hard to play against from the beginning, because we know we always have the ability to score goals.
“It will be a challenging game, and one that they will be up for too as they also have a chance of qualifying.”
Argyle will be boosted by Joe Mwaro’s comeback, who has missed the past couple of months with a knee injury. First-team Head Coach Tom Cleverley confirmed in his pre-Alvechurch press conference that the young defender would make a return to action for the Under-18s this weekend.
Lowry said: “The plan is to continue Joe’s comeback into the first-team programme by playing some minutes with us against Swindon. He will get a bit of game time to get any rust out of his system and to build up his fitness, before probably joining back up with the first team later in the week.”