Argyle Under-18s picked up a point away from home on Saturday morning, drawing 2-2 with Bristol Rovers.
After falling behind early in the game, to a Lucas Frisby goal, Tashall Sandhu brought the Greens level, with Jared Rendle shifting the advantage in Argyle’s favour just before the break. Rovers equalised, however, late in the second half, through a counter-attacking strike from Tom English.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry spoke positively about his side’s performance on the road, but emphasised the need to continue building upon performances with fixtures limited as the season nears its end.
“We played well and had some really pleasing parts within our performance,” he said. “We passed the ball nicely and played through the thirds really well, but could’ve maybe created some more chances in front of goal and been more ruthless. That might’ve allowed us to get out of sight, when we were on top of the game.
“We conceded two poor goals in transition, on the counter attack, where we might have been able to slow the game down in different ways or make a last-ditch block.
“It could have been a little bit tidier there, but overall, I’m very pleased with the performance. We just need to find a way to have that edge to us to get over the line when we’re in games and kill teams off.”
Much like in recent weeks, Argyle have a chance to bounce back instantly with a quick turnaround on the fixtures front.
Portsmouth are the visiting side to PL2 on Tuesday afternoon, for a behind-closed-doors fixture.
The Greens’ push to top the EFL Youth Alliance League South West table has been halted due to recent results, but a win against Portsmouth will hold their advantage in the standings over their south coast rivals.
Lowry is hoping his side can continue to build on a positive performance and build some momentum as the final weeks of the campaign close in.
Lowry said: “We’re all hoping to continue playing in the way with have, and build upon the nice football we’ve had recently.
“Out of possession, we need to show some more ruthlessness, however, to not concede goals on the counter-attack. When we have got possession, we also need to have that edge to us to go and kill our opponents off to pick up important points at this part of the season.
“Finally, resilience. That’s what we really need. When other teams are on top for 15-20 minutes in games, we need to be resilient, fight through the pressure, not concede and come out on the other side together. I’m hoping that will be seen tomorrow.”
