Leicester City (H) | Dewsnip and Nancekivell's Reaction
On one of the all-time great Home Park nights, Argyle’s players, staff and supporters were beautifully in sync as the Greens beat top-of-the-league Leicester City 1-0.
Mustapha Bundu scored after 21 minutes to give Argyle a lead they never relinquished, not matter the pressure that they were put under by the Foxes.
Leicester, naturally, had plenty of pressure, but in truth Argyle limited the chances, and when they did come, there was always a block, a clearance, a header or a save that repelled the leaders.
The men in green – on the field - were immense. Every person in the crowd…well, are there any words? The Green Army produced one of their greatest ever vocal performances to provide the music to the players’ lyrics.
“They were incredible,” said Director of Football Neil Dewsnip. “Absolutely incredible from the first minute to the last.
“They sang non-stop. The players would know that, recognise that. When one or two of the lads were getting tired, they would run just a bit further. It was a massive contribution. We thank them.”
“It was reminiscent of last season,” added first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell. “The place was rocking from the first minute. The players responded to that by giving everything they've got. The supporters give everything they've got and we've come away with three points. It doesn't get much better tonight, does it?”
Indeed it does not.
The platform for the win was essentially laid by Bundu’s goal, which gave his team-mates something to protect for the remaining 70+ minutes of the game.
Leicester had dominated the ball to that point, but visibly seemed shaken by Argyle’s goal. Although the visitors continued to probe for an equaliser, their guile was not a match for Argyle. A green wall formed, and was never penetrated.
“The longer that you can hold on to that lead gives you more and more and more hope, more and more determination to keep going, so it was vital for us,” said Dewsnip.
“We knew that we would need all the squad, not just 11. Quite a few of them have been involved, if not all of them, I guess. We're delighted, not just for 11 players who've been out there at the end, but for everyone who's contributed in the last three games.”
Nancekivell, his green-and-white blood almost visible through his skin as he spoke, followed up: “It’s what Plymouth Argyle is all about. We thrive on that. That's what we've got in our favour. We've got that in abundance. We've got that in the terraces. We've got that in the boardroom. We've got that everywhere in the football club - spirit and belief.
“And the players have got that in abundance too. As long as we all show that passion and that spirit, we'll be fine.”
Argyle are not there yet. There are three games to go – four for all the other teams battling for survival – and until safety is arithmetically assured, there will be no let up. Nancekivell sounded a warning to sign off.
“We're not there yet,” he said. “We've still got a lot of work to do. We've got three big games coming up, and that just gives us an extra belief, a little bit more zest and a bit more confidence to go into the next three.
“We've real belief that we can get this job done, repay the supporters and everybody who's backed us all the way.”
“We can not relax,” said Dewsnip. “As Nance said, we're not over the line yet. We need to enjoy tonight because it's important to enjoy the highs, but we need to be ready to get back to work on Monday. We've got a game, I think, against Stoke City next week.”
