Argyle Under-18’s Professional Development Cup group stages continue on Saturday, when the Greens face AFC Bournemouth at Millennium Fields.
The Category Two side travels to PL2 for a midday kick-off, with both having suffered defeat in their opening fixture of the competition. Bournemouth lost to Cheltenham Town, while Argyle lost 2-1 to Portsmouth away from home in their first game of the cup, in August.
Despite not picking up three points in the league against Gillingham in their last outing, Head Coach Jamie Lowry was pleased with his side’s performance and thinks the positives from the previous match can push the game in Argyle’s favour.
“Home advantage will be really important for us on the weekend against a difficult side,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “Bournemouth are a very good and technical side. We played against them over the years when they were in our Category Three status, but now they’re Category Two, it could be a difficult challenge, but one the boys are really excited about.
“Against Gillingham, we looked really brave to get on the ball, and it was probably our best performance without winning the game this season. Our in-possession shape was really good, and to bounce back from going two goals down to be drawing at one stage was something I was proud of them for. We’ve spoken a lot this season about building on that comeback mentality, not getting our heads down when we concede, and having quality and end product when we do get on top.
“We’ve definitely made good progress over the last few months. Towards the start of the season, we conceded a couple of goals and would have our heads down. We've definitely grown in our team togetherness and our structure. We need to keep building. It's important that we keep going in the right direction, keep building on good performances and eventually the results will come.”
Lowry is aware of the threat that the Cherries possess and is making sure that his side doesn’t get ahead of themselves when it comes to pre-match preparation.
He said: “We still get footage and are able to watch Bournemouth’s previous games, so we will get a bit of insight into them. We still plan the same way we would do, but it’s slightly different in the quality of side we’re facing. With them having a Category Two status, they’re seen as being a better side, so it's important that we pay them respect, but at the same time, we need to go and show what we’re about.
“They’re a real technical side and always have been. They really sell themselves on being good on the ball and have good rotations, so it's important that we hold good shape and that we're switched on defensively. Hopefully, when we regain the ball, we're able to secure it, play forwards quickly, and hurt them on the counter-attack.”
