Argyle Under-18s pulled off a dramatic fightback to claim victory against Milton Keynes Dons at Millennium Fields.
A Frankie Maund brace and a Jared Rendle volley, in the space of six minutes, handed the Greens victory after falling behind by two goals early in the second half.
The visitors took the lead in the ninth minute through Ben Nash, who slotted home into the bottom left corner of the goal after Argyle failed to clear the ball away.
For the remainder of the first half, both sides had chances in front of goal but were unable to find the back of the net. The best for Argyle came from a Kian Burch strike, but the effort was fired over the bar and out of play.
Eight minutes into the second half, MK Dons had their second. Laike Favier pushed the ball over the line with his body at the back post, after tidy play down the left flank ended with a clipped ball across goal.
Soon enough, Head Coach Jamie Lowry turned to his bench, bringing on Maund, and the game changed for Argyle. The first for the number 15 came minutes after he came on, heading home a Seb Campbell cross after a quick throw-in, with the second following soon after.
Maund picked up the ball, drove towards the box, and fired home across the keeper and off the far post into the goal.
Argyle continued to apply pressure and soon found the winning goal. A long throw-in from Jovan Wamani picked out Rendle perfectly, allowing the winger to swivel and volley home first-time.
The Greens held out for the remainder of the game, picking up an important three points and their first home win of the season, much to the delight of Lowry.
He said: “I’m really pleased overall with the boys’ character and personality to come from behind and win. We spoke a lot about the mentality in games and our mindsets when we do go behind to not give up and come back fighting, so I was really pleased that the boys did that.
“In terms of the game, we had three really good chances to be in the game, and then to concede twice and be 2-0 down was disappointing. However, that character to come back was really good, and that's the biggest takeaway, really. Hopefully, the boys can build from that and learn from it, so I’m really pleased and proud of them.”
