Argyle’s 1-1 draw at Wycombe Wanderers was a story of what might have been for Head Coach Tom Cleverley.
His side were the better team in the first half at Adams Park, with Will Evans’ first goal for the Greens giving them a 1-0 lead at the break. However, Argyle were left rueing an offside decision, in first-half injury time, as Evans went through and seemingly scored again, only to have his elation curtailed by an official’s flag. Later scrutiny of the decision seemed to suggest that Evans had timed his run perfectly.
In the second period, the home team came on more strongly, and scored via towering defender Connor Taylor’s header from a free-kick.
“I couldn't be prouder of the group, to be honest,” Cleverley told Argyle TV. “The way they fought for the shirt, fought for the badge, left everything out there. You can prepare a team all you want throughout the week, but if they've got a stop button, then it's difficult to get through games like this with a result. I thought their application was outstanding.
“Make no mistake, this is a tough place to come. [Wycombe are] a very, very capable outfit. Last year, we had two really tough challenges here, and another one today.
“In our last 33 games, we've scored in 32 of them. So if we keep a clean sheet, then we've got every chance.
“I thought we were solid. We reduced them to three shots on our goal first half, scored two perfectly good goals ourselves. It is very, very unfortunate that the linesman's given Evo offside for his second goal of the day.
“We just have to keep working, keep dedicating our lives to it and hope that the poor refereeing decisions will even themselves out.
“I thought they put us under good pressure, and they were a threat. They've got dynamic wingers who can receive the ball under pressure, create one-v-one moments and play quality balls in the box. To keep them out of our net from open play today is a big tick.
“The ‘goal’ before half-time is so significant to their mentality. If they come out for the second half 2-0 down, it's a real uphill challenge. They had a little bit of wind behind their sails; they're a good side, they put us under pressure and if you look at the game in a balance, the draw’s a fair result. But when the big moments of a disallowed goal and an absolute stonewall penalty on Bradley Ibrahim in the second half, we feel hard done by.
“[Will Evans] will score goals for this club; I can absolutely say that with conviction. His movement, his work rate, his endeavour, and his quality, will shine through. We've done a lot of work in a short space of time.
“I'm just hurt by that second one because everyone then looks at two in two. The work that he's done on the training pitch with the coaches has really kicked in sooner than we thought.
“[It was a] great finish. A goal worthy of winning any game. Unfortunately, today it wasn't meant to be.”
