Argyle Under-18s return to action on Saturday morning, playing their first game in a fortnight, as they travel up the coast to face Portsmouth.
Defeat to Oxford United in the previous outing put a potential dent in a charge for the Southern league title but, with plenty of games to go, and many rearranged fixtures still upcoming, anything can happen for the Greens.
Jamie Lowry’s side have faced Portsmouth once already this season, though the 2-1 PDL Cup defeat in August does not reflect the season Argyle have had since then.
A slow start to the year has been superseded by positive results home and away, which is what Lowry is hoping his side can achieve this weekend against Pompey.
“It is good to be back,” Lowry told Argyle TV. “The boys have had lots of training time, which has been useful to try to get a little bit more done tactically, rather than a constant run of games, where you just recover.
“The lads have been frustrated [with postponements], but it’s because they just want to play games and so do we, as staff. Looking at the positive side of that, we’ve probably been able to do a little bit more work on the training ground, in terms of individual things, rather than it being a run of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday.
“Throughout the season, we've had lots of opportunities and probably had more shots on target compared to our opposition in most of the games, but haven't been clinical enough or clean enough with the assist or final pass, so that's something we've focused on in the last couple of weeks.
“Portsmouth are a well-organised team and are very physical whenever we play against them. We've been around each other in the league as well, so that gives a little bit of an edge to it, and we’re expecting it to be a challenging game. It’ll also be nice to get on a good pitch and have an opportunity to get the ball down, try to pass it well, and bring out what we’ve been working on in training.”
Argyle will head into the weekend with a changed side, but for good reasons. Late into the season, many of the Greens’ second-year scholars head out on work experience loans to help get a better understanding of men’s football and potential future footballing moves.
He said: “We’ve got most second years out on loan, apart from two. It’s a great opportunity for them to have a little flavour of men’s football and they've really enjoyed it. I've been to watch some of their games since they’ve been out, as it’s an important part of their development and to learn a different way.
“If they are successful here, the likelihood that they'll go on loan is there, so it's a great little taste for them to find the level before they get offered a deal, and if they aren't successful here, then it gives them a taste of where they will be looking and to have eyes on them moving forward.”
