Under-18s Report | Argyle 2 Portsmouth 0

Argyle Under-18s ended 2024 on a high on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth in the Youth Alliance League South at Millennium Fields.

Goals from Jared Rendle and Jensen Ireland handed the Greens three points, extending their league unbeaten run to nine games and placing Argyle second in the league, three points behind Gillingham.

The Greens had the ball in the back of Pompey’s net four times during the game, with the first coming just two minutes after kick-off. Ireland slotted the ball home but was ruled to be offside. Four minutes later, Argyle took the lead through Rendle. The winger picked up the ball inside the area, placing his shot into the bottom corner, past Conal McDermott in the visitors’ goal.

Just before the half-time whistle, Ireland ran to the front post on an attacking corner and flicked home a header before wheeling off in celebration, placing Argyle in control of the game before the break.

Lewis Thomas, a first-year scholar, returned to the side and came onto the pitch after the hour-mark, as Lowry turned to his bench for an added spark in the second half.

The Greens’ best chance to add a third came through Seb Campbell in the 72nd minute, but the forward was unable to get over the cross and had to settle with watching his header go over the bar from inside the six-yard box.

A few minutes later, Argyle’s number 8 had the ball in the back of Portsmouth’s net, but he was called off-side and the lead stayed at two goals for the remainder of the game.

The Under-18s will now enter the Christmas break on a high, with their next fixture being an important FA Youth Cup encounter with Lincoln City at Home Park on Wednesday, 8 January at 7pm.

Head Coach Lowry said: “The pitch was soft and cutting up, so it was a different type of game to what we’d ideally want, but that was the same for both teams. We did do well in terms of managing the game and we scored a well-worked goal early on through Jared, but we spoke about half time; we can't always be pretty and nice. That's what it takes to come to be consistent and to win games, sometimes.

“We then spoke at the end of the game about it saying, well done, you won the game and things, but some things were missing from our normal performances. It's a learning curve and they still managed to find a way to win and keep a clean sheet.

“I’m really pleased with where we are in the league at Christmas. It was a slow start leading into finding our feet and we now know what we are, what our strengths are and what we're effective at.

“The boys have got a real hunger to be winners and win every day. Training is competitive. It's all about building that mindset in training, as well, and the boys set themselves to be at the top and that's where they are at the moment. I’m delighted.”

Argyle: 40 Dan Holman, 2 Joe Mwaro, 3 Harry Shield, 4 Billy Devlin, 5 Jensen Ireland, 6 Joel Sullivan (capt) (12 Sam Hayman, 45), 7 Fletcher Poole (15 Lewis Thomas, 62), 8 Seb Campbell, 9 Frankie Maund (16 James Sharpe, 78), 10 Cole Fisher, 11 Jared Rendle (12 Toby Maclean, 86). Substitutes: 23 Jack Flower (gk).