Argyle Under-18s return to home action on Saturday morning, facing Cambridge United in the EFL Youth Alliance South.
The Greens suffered a league defeat to Leyton Orient two weeks ago at Millennium Fields and are looking for a return to winning ways on home turf.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry is hoping that continued progress throughout the season can turn into results, and his side can pull through on the weekend against a strong Cambridge side, who sit in second place, unbeaten through eight games.
“It’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “Cambridge are a good footballing side, so it's important that we are good and strong in possession. They score a lot of goals as well, have very attacking wide players and full-backs who want to bomb on and overlap.
“We need to build on the progress we have made over the last few weeks. Between the boxes, we've been good. We've had lots of good play, and our possession has been good, but we're not quite ruthless enough in taking our chances in the final third, and not doing enough defensively in our own box to keep clean sheets.
“We have definitely made progress [since the start of the season]. I keep reiterating to the boys that this is a process of development, growth, and improvement. I was really pleased with the performance on Saturday [against Luton Town]. It was just those small margins. We went ahead, which was fantastic, but we didn't do enough in their box to take our chances, and we created some really good chances.
“In the last few minutes, we didn't defend our box well enough, and Luton got the winner, but performance-wise, it's improving and getting better each week. We just need to sort those small margins out to get across the line and win games.
“No one likes losing games of football and conceding late goals, but the players see the progress. They believe in what we're trying to do, and they're seeing small improvements, which is important as they're still developing and improving. It’s been a good week. We talk every single day about maximising it, whether it’s in the gym or on the training pitch, it's important they maximise every day as a young footballer.”
With Argyle’s FA Youth Cup game being played on Wednesday, 29 October, managing minutes and planning do come into play for Lowry and his staff. However, he says the tie against Mangotsfield United will not affect the focus of his side on Saturday, with each game being approached as its own.
He said: “The only real planning is regarding players that are coming back from injury and being mindful of minutes so they will be able to play in both games. All our focus is on Saturday. Wednesday is not in our minds at the moment, and shouldn't be in the players' minds.
“It's about Saturday, getting the result, and embracing the challenge to go and beat Cambridge. Let us be the first team that beats them in the league and, once that's done, then we'll take care of Wednesday.”
