Argyle Under-18s Head Coach Jamie Lowry believes Monday night’s Premier League Cup fixture against AFC Bournemouth Under-21s will provide another valuable opportunity for his players to gain experience against strong opposition.
The Pilgrims travel to Wimborne Town’s Wyatt Homes Stadium for a 7pm kick-off, having primarily fielded an under-18s squad, bolstered by some senior additions, in their previous fixtures against Leicester City and Cardiff City.
The competition offers a different challenge to their regular EFL Youth Alliance League schedule, with Lowry keen to see his players test themselves against a top-level academy.
He said: “It’s a game where we talk a lot about bridging the gap between the under-18s and the first team.
“Giving the boys extra experience, particularly those who aren’t quite around the first team yet, against a really strong category one Bournemouth side should be a real good test for us.
“It’s important that the games programme is varied for our younger players. We played Swindon on Friday in a different type of game, and on Monday we get another challenge that the boys will have opportunities to learn and develop from.”
Bournemouth lost their opening PL Cup game 4-1 to Cardiff, before bouncing back to beat Leicester 1-0. The Cherries have also enjoyed an encouraging start to their debut Premier League 2 campaign, with wins over Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Chelsea leaving them sixth in the table, after four matches.
Argyle were narrowly defeated by Leicester and Cardiff in their opening PL Cup games, but the Greens’ Under-18s side have won all eight of their YAL matches so far, having scored 33 goals.
Lowry believes Bournemouth’s style of play will lead to an interesting tactical battle when the two sides meet this evening.
He said: “It will be a different game to the usual under-18 matches. Bournemouth are a possession-based side, and obviously we will try to keep the ball as much as we can, but at the same time we want to be effective and hurt them going forwards.
“It will be a good challenge for us out of possession to make sure our shape is right and that we do our jobs. Hopefully when we regain possession, we can hurt them in transition and utilise our speed going forwards.”
This competition also gives Argyle’s young players the opportunity to showcase their ability in front of some of the first-team staff. Seb Campbell and Jared Rendle are among those to have been involved with the senior side in recent weeks, highlighting the pathway available to academy players at the club.
With a minimum of three more PL Cup fixtures to come after the Bournemouth game, Lowry hopes his squad can continue to make the most of these opportunities.
He said: “It’s difficult for the first-team staff to watch every single game of ours, so when they do get to, it’s a chance for our lads to impress.
“It might be a little moment or small details that they notice whether it’s working hard out of possession or doing something on the ball. It’s always a chance for them to shine and show just how good they can be.”