Argyle Under-18s ended their EFL Youth Alliance campaign on Saturday morning with a defeat to Swindon Town.
The match, away from home, fell in the favour of the Robins 4-1, with Frankie Maund’s penalty being the only goal for the Greens in Wiltshire.
A youthful Argyle side battled it out with Swindon through the opening stages of the game, but neither side were able to create any clear-cut chances in front of goal. Just before the half-hour mark, though, the opener was found.
Swindon caught Jamie Lowry’s side out on the counter, with Jon Asamoah capitalising on an error at the back before slotting home.
An immediate reaction was seen, however, led by Maund. First, a low save from Charlie Summers denied the Argyle number nine, but the second, an attempt from the spot, found the back of the net, bringing the game level.
The second half went against the Greens. Swindon retook the lead in the 59th minute with a rebound finish, with a third coming from Asamoah just four minutes later.
Seconds before additional time, three became four through Louis Millard, with the full-time whistle coming just after.
Head Coach Lowry said: “It was a really disappointing way to end this season. Even though we started slowly, we grew back into the game, had some chances and created quite a few things in and around the box, but lacked that final touch and cutting edge to take the lead. We conceded a poor goal, but Frankie got us back on track with that penalty.
“In the second half, however, we never really got going. I think they stepped up a little bit, and we couldn’t compete with it and didn’t rise to the challenge, which was disappointing.
“Overall, to finish like that, it’s sad, but it’s time to recharge, and we’ll have an opportunity to take lots of learnings away from this year to go hard into pre-season and kick on next year.”
Argyle: 23 Danny Ley, 2 Dylan Williams (12 Joe Mwaro, 66), 3 Malachi Davy, 4 Joel Tolcher (14 Toby Rider, 73), 5 Sam Hayman (capt), 6 Toby Maclean, 7 Tashall Sandhu, 8 Harry Locke (16 Emran Wischhoff, 73), 9 Frankie Maund, 10 Seb Campbell, 11 Jared Rendle. Substitutes: 1 Tom Armytage (gk), 15 Alfie Vosper.
