Argyle Women lost 5-0 to league leaders Oxford United Women on Sunday afternoon.
A hat-trick from Sophie Quirk and goals courtesy of Holly Manders and Ruby Sealey were enough to give the U’s a fourth 5-0 win in a row.
Head Coach Matt Green named the same team for the third successive match.
Olivia Giles retained her place in goal, with a back five of Khloe Reed, Aliyat Lambe, Ellie M Bishop, Kiesha Walker and Chloe Ingrouille ahead of her.
Farrah Ambrose and Sienna Gilbert continued their partnership in the centre of midfield, while Shana Dolbel and Kennedy Garside played on the wings leaving Laura Curnock up top.
Before kick-off there was a minute’s applause in memory of former Oxford coach Matt Beard at the MGroup Stadium. The crowd also paid tribute to Beard in the 13th minute in recognition of him winning back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013.
The hosts enjoyed a fast start to the game as Quirk scored inside the opening five minutes. She dribbled past the Argyle defence down the left wing before unleashing a shot into the bottom-right corner.
But the Pilgrims battled hard and defended well to keep Liam Gilbert’s side at bay for the rest of the first half. Giles produced several impressive saves to limit the deficit to one goal.
Her standout stop came in the 45th minute when she denied Manders an almost certain goal. The U’s striker was left with an open goal until Giles rushed across and produced an outstanding save that left the travelling Argyle fans applauding their keeper.
The Greens entered half-time 1-0 down – Oxford’s lowest lead at the break so far this season.
The U’s enjoyed an equally fast start to the second period as they did in the first, as Manders found the back of the net only four minutes into the half – her 14th goal in seven games.
Quirk then struck twice in quick succession to complete her hat-trick and give Oxford a 4-0 lead by the 57th minute. Her second goal came via a dangerous cross from the right wing, which Giles initially parried out, only to find Quirk who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
The third was scored in a similar fashion, after Maisy Barker’s delivery left her teammate with a simple tap in.
After a frustrating first 15 minutes of second half play, Argyle regrouped and defended well for the next half hour.
But there was still time for Oxford to add a fifth.
Sealey fired a powerful shot past Giles to top off the hosts’ scoring for the afternoon from the edge of the box, after impressing from the bench.
Head Coach Green felt Argyle did not get the reward that they deserved, in particular following a battling first half performance.
He said: “I am a little bit frustrated with the scoreline. I think 5-0 does not represent the work rate and the effort that the girls put in again.
“Going into the break at 1-0 down was a fantastic shift from our team. But we came out in the second half and conceded early because we let our standards drop. When you do that against a team like Oxford, they are going to punish you.
“We regrouped and continued to defend really well before conceding again in the last minute, which was very frustrating.
“Despite that, I have got to be proud of the players and the efforts that every single member of the squad has put in against Oxford and Portsmouth. Now we have to focus on Torquay next week.”
Argyle return to Home Park this Sunday in the FA Women’s National League Cup, needing a win against Torquay to guarantee progression to the knockout stage.
That game will be dedicated to former Argyle player and current member of the Torquay squad Roxy Thomas, with all proceeds from tickets to be donated to her cause.
Green recognised the game’s importance both on and off the pitch.
He said: “I think we have to put football in perspective. There are much more important things in life than football. Roxy is a fantastic girl. I have coached her for a number of years. She was in our senior squads before she moved to Torquay.
“Of course, it is a game of football that we want to win. But there is a bigger picture to that fixture and that should not be forgotten.
“So, we will go at the game as we normally do. We will prepare, and try to get those three points and progress to the next stage.”
Tickets for that match are still available and can be purchased here.