Argyle Under-18s were beaten 5-3 by Exeter City in Thursday morning’s Youth Alliance League Devon derby, despite twice taking the lead.
Marley-Blu Francis put the Young Pilgrims ahead, but goals from George Williams and Jack Bellotti saw Exeter lead 2-1 at half-time. Argyle responded after the break through Emran Boudarga-Wischhoff and Tashall Sandhu to move back in front, only for Williams, Benjamin Lang and Mario-Andre Dache to score for the Grecians and make it 5-3.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry made six changes to the side that secured PDL Cup progression with a win against Swindon Town on Saturday. Joe Mwaro, Jared Rendle, Seb Campbell and Frankie Maund were absent following their first-team involvement in Tuesday night’s Jersey Mike’s Trophy fixture, while Leo McCormick and Joel Tolcher replaced Tom Armytage and Billy Devlin.
McCormick started in goal behind a back four of Dylan Williams, Toby MacLean, Sam Hayman and Corey Browne, with Tolcher and Francis in central midfield. Harry Locke and Sandhu played out wide, leaving James Sharpe and Boudarga-Wischhoff to lead the line.
Argyle made the brighter start and took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with a well-worked goal. Sandhu beat his defender down the left before sending the ball across the box to Sharpe, who quickly moved it on to Francis, allowing the midfielder to find then roof of the net with a clinical first-time finish.
Exeter responded nine minutes later when Williams equalised for Exeter after a defensive mix-up. Bellotti capitalised on a loose pass to thread a pinpoint through ball to his teammate, who made no mistake when left one-on-one with McCormick.
The Argyle keeper was called upon again shortly afterwards, producing an excellent save with his left foot to deny Bellotti from close range.
The Young Pilgrims then missed a good opportunity to regain their advantage with two minutes of the first half remaining. Sharpe slid a pass in behind the Exeter defence to Sandhu, whose ball across the six-yard box found Boudarga-Wischhoff, but the striker scuffed his shot.
That missed opportunity proved costly as Exeter went ahead in first-half stoppage time. Bellotti reacted quickest after McCormick could only parry his save into the attacker’s path.
Straight after the break, the Young Pilgrims should have scored again. Alfie Vosper, who replaced Sharpe at half-time, made a great run down the right flank, before unleashing a powerful shot that was saved by Samuel Down. The rebound fell to Boudarga-Wischhoff, but his follow-up was cleared off the line.
However, the Argyle striker did manage to draw his side level in the 64th minute, when his effort found the back of the net via the post, after he latched onto Sandhu’s cross.
Seven minutes later, Sandhu added to his assist with a stunning goal of his own, to give the Young Pilgrims the lead. The winger effortlessly took the ball past Lang and Joe Newport, before cutting in on his right foot and curling an effort into the top-right corner, despite Down getting a hand to it.
However, yet again Argyle’s advantage was short-lived.
After a cross from the left wing, Bellotti nudged a pass through to Williams, who Argyle believed to be in an offside position, before the striker hit a powerful shot past McCormick to make it 3-3.
Exeter took the lead in the 82nd minute after the ball bobbled out to an unmarked Lang on the edge of the box, allowing the defender to find the back of the net via the post.
Deep into stoppage time, the Grecians put the game beyond Argyle’s reach when former Pilgrim Dache found himself in the right place at the right time to meet McCormick’s parry, after the keeper saved Bellotti’s effort.
The result leaves the Young Pilgrims top of the YAL table with a game in hand on second-placed Exeter.
Speaking after the game, Lowry said: “I’m disappointed and frustrated to be honest. It’s a broken record at the moment because we just keep conceding goals and we don’t do enough to defend properly and put in the hard yards.
”We’ve got two tough under-21s games coming up now [against Leicester City and Cardiff City in the Premier League Cup], which is going to be really challenging. So, it’s imperative that we defend better, put more hard work in and hopefully see a reaction to today’s performance.”
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Argyle: 23 Leo McCormick, 2 Dylan Williams, 3 Corey Browne (12 Jovan Wamani, 80), 4 Joel Tolcher, 5 Sam Hayman (capt), 6 Toby MacLean, 7 Tashall Sandhu, 8 Marley-Blu Francis (14 Billy Devlin, 62), 9 Emran Boudarga-Wischhoff, 10 James Sharpe (16 Alfie Vosper, HT), 11 Harry Locke (15 Toby Rider, 62).
Goals: Francis 16, Boudarga-Wischhoff 64, Sandhu 71
Booked: Sharpe 13, MacLean 61, Tolcher 65
Referee: Amith Vidanage