Argyle Under-18s will play their first home game of the season on Saturday morning, when they face Stevenage in the EFL Youth Alliance League South.
The Greens picked up their first points in a 3-1 victory away from home against Wycombe Wanderers last weekend, but were defeated by Portsmouth in the Under-18s Professional Development League Cup.
Despite the latter result, Head Coach Jamie Lowry believes confidence will be on display from his side, and further progression in the table can be achieved with a strong performance, following a review of the previous two ties.
“The Wycombe performance is where we want it to be,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “We were comfortable on the ball and looked defensively stronger throughout the team. We went a bit more aggressive on the press to stop them playing forward as easily as well, which worked well. Overall, a really pleasing performance and the boys were delighted after.
“Against Portsmouth, there were just a few little areas that went against us. Result-wise, it was obviously not what we wanted, but performance-wise, it was something that we built on from the Wycombe game. We had a lot of the ball, but didn't create enough as much as we should have in the final third, and then conceded two poor goals, which gave them the game.
“Stevenage recruit big physical players that are strong and powerful, so we've got to be able to deal with that dynamic in the game, which is like last year. For us, it's about building on the performance from Tuesday, the result and the performance from last Saturday, and being confident and brave.
“We need a little more final third product, however. There's no point in having lots of the ball and not creating any chances from it. We need to build on that; take the chances we get and look for a first clean sheet of the season.
“With the last two performances, confidence is better and having that home advantage is really important. In previous years, we've been strong at home knowing that teams have to travel to us - and we know how difficult it is traveling all the time - so it's important that we use that, start playing on the front foot quickly and take the game to Stevenage.”
Members of Jamie Lowry’s squad have impressed throughout pre-season and the early weeks of the campaign and has resulted in first-team call-ups for Joe Mwaro, Seb Campbell and Jack Flower, and training call-ups for many more.
The Under-18s Head Coach is delighted with the opportunity given to the scholars, but also highlights other squad members relishing in the chance to feature in the starting 11 or bench in their absence.
He said: “Those lads who went with the first team, that’s a fantastic experience for them, and that's what it's about. Our role is to give those boys exposure and give them opportunities to go and impress with the first team, but it also gave lads who hadn't had an opportunity to start and get some minutes under their belts. They want to try and earn that starting shirt and keep it, so it was a great opportunity for them as well.”
