Argyle Under-18s’ home form has been a highlight of this season’s campaign, with many of their victories coming at Millennium Fields.
There is the chance to continue this during the run-in, with the Greens sitting in the unusual position of having the majority of their games at home.
Fewer travel days and better preparation will be at the forefront of all planning for Head Coach Jamie Lowry and his staff, starting this weekend against a struggling Swindon Town side.
A 1-0 victory against Portsmouth in Argyle’s last outing, with Emran Wischhoff’s first-half finish being the decisive goal, leaves Lowry and company in good standing.
“I'm really pleased with Saturday,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “We were very good in possession, controlled the game and created some really nice chances. In the second half, they became a bit more aggressive on the press, which enabled us to try to destroy a little bit more, though at the same time, we weren’t brave enough to get on the ball and get in control.
“Portsmouth were probably better than us in the second half but, overall, I’m really pleased with seeing the game out in the second half, keeping a clean sheet and showing real resilience and determination not to concede, and to defend the box really well when they needed to.
“Another pleasing thing for the lads was about building those relationships with who they’re going to play with next season. We changed the style we played a little bit, as well as our first-year-scholar-heavy line-up.
“We tried to give Jared [Rendle] and Tash [Sandhu], on the wings, a little bit of freedom to run around, get on the ball and go and find spaces. Billy [Devlin] and Joel [Tolcher] played a bit closer to the defenders and as two sixes rather than two eights in midfield, so there was a new style and way of playing mixed in there.
“Training has been good. We had a nice, relaxed Monday and looked after the boys out on loan, as well. They've had some midweek games, so we’re being mindful about their load and making sure they recover properly, but are also involved with us.
“We’ve been building a lot throughout the week and working on the little bits I think we need to focus on and improve on. It’s been another pleasing week on that front.
“I think we've got six of the last eight games at home, so that stands us in good stead with our previous home form and having that best preparation.
“On Saturday, we left at 6.15am and the boys had to get up before 5am, so it does make it really difficult in terms of preparing for those games. We’re looking forward to getting back, playing at home and trying to build on what we produced on Saturday at Portsmouth.”
