Argyle v Stevenage matchday thread

Good result. We needed that to consolidate the league position. Well done Argyle. Can go into Wednesday looking at it as a bonus game and not a distraction.

beesrus wrote:

Excellent result for Adams. He must be pleased as punch tonight.
Only 8000 at the game. Very poor, but then maybe some fans have spent far too much time in Central Park this week queueing up. And then there is the cost of two trips and two tickets in one week.

There maybe something in what you say, also a sign of the time perhaps, I see only 4 teams in leagues 1 and 2 had larger crowds the ours and 2 of those were derby games

No reason then, next season, to not have one of the highest player budgets in L1.........

PatDunne wrote:

No reason then, next season, to not have one of the highest player budgets in L1.........

Not bad goals from either side.

Goodwillie seemed very cool with his goal. Bit like King TT and passed it into the net. Goodwillie will come good.

It’s a New Year, the first home game of 2017 and with it the return of my match reviews that I abandoned in a pique of creative frustration around about the end of 2015 and have been at best sporadic ever since. One of my plans for 2017 is to get back into writing and blogging again so…here we are. A little later than first planned due to a busy weekend, but not as late as my pieces were famously mocked for being back in the day. If you don't like rambly essays, look away now.

I couldn’t have really chosen a much more enjoyable game to start again on if I had tried. An excellent attacking performance from Argyle in which some unexpected players came to the forefront and we showed that, whilst it does not occur in every home match, the idea that we are incapable of winning whilst also playing scintillating football that is exciting to watch is false. We scored four goals and had plenty of chances to make a lot more. Our defending was not perfect, with Stevenage having two goals and some more chances, it could hardly be perfect but it was better than the scoreline and post-match statistics may suggest.

Argyle went 1-0 down in the early stages to a goal from, once again, a set piece. Like for the Barnet game, a defender (this time Songo’o) lost his man and poor command of his 6-yard box by McCormick allowed the goal to find its way into the net. Like in the Wycombe game however, Argyle did not let up and we had good chances via a shot from Graham Carey that was very well saved by the keeper, a header across the face of goal that Ben Purrington should have done better with and Slew firing over unmarked in the penalty box. We were knocking on the door and goals seemed inevitable.

They eventually came twice in quick succession. Slew scored having lost his marker near the edge of the 6 yard box and turned the ball in when the man on the line should probably have done a bit better. Again, another parallel with the Wycombe game. This continued when Jake Jervis fired home to give Argyle a deserved lead shortly before half-time.

Then, luck (which some people claim to be the reason for our lofty league position turned against Argyle). Stevenage were wrongly awarded a free-kick when Sonny Bradley won the ball in a crunching challenge and then it took a wicked deflection which wrongfooted Luke McCormick and levelled it up for half-time. A 2-2 scoreline which was less than our performance merited.

I tweeted at half-time that if we carried on playing the way we had then we’d win. That’s exactly what we did and that’s exactly what we did. Carey’s excellent shot deflected off Garita and into the net. Carey’s goal surely by the letter of the law as the shot was goalbound anyway, but who cares.

We continued by and large to play well in spite of leading and didn’t decide to sit back. Jervis and Smith both missed glaring opportunities (with a fantastic cross by Purrington for the former) and Argyle continued to dominate territory and apply pressure to the Stevenage defence. We were the better side and worth of our lead.

That’s not to say that the visitors didn’t have any chances. They had a goalline scramble in the first half where the ball NEARLY went in about 3 times even though it didn’t quite cross the line. Midway through the second half, a fine long shot saved by McCormick fell nicely to their forward for a follow-up which he fortunately blazed over the bar. But by and large, our serious chances outweighed theirs and they were mostly restricted to speculative efforts.

This changed however during the brief ten minute period where Adams subbed on Goodwillie for Garita and we hoofed long-balls up to out 5 foot 7 striker. I obviously like Adams and, in the right circumstances, I like Goodwillie but as a target man is most certainly not one of them, During this period, every single long-ball up the field came right back to us due to not having a big man up front. It was during this spell that we looked very vulnerable and serious like conceding. Stevenage’s best chance of the game also fell here with a genuinely superb one vs one save by McCormick keeping us in it.

Luckily, Adams rectified this error (and hopefully wont make it again) by subbing on Blissett for Slew and moving Goodwillie out wide. From thereon, we not only looked a lot more secure but got our 4th goal that sealed the win with Goodwillie finally getting his opening goal for Argyle: a finish that was actually far cooler and more composed than it looked at first sight.

Barring that awful ten-minute spell between minutes 78 and 88 however, I never felt we were in any serious danger of not winning the game. Probably the best attacking performance of the season and one that showed we can mix up our play.
Threlkeld and Purrington both demonstrated why they should be preferred to Miller and Sawyer respectively when all our options are fit with good overlapping performances that provided width going forward. Threlkeld showed positional weaknesses at times however with a slightly dodgy first half performance where his decision-making wasn’t its best.

Bradley was as imperious as ever, letting hardly anything past him and distributing the ball very well from defence. He was well complimented by Songo’o who seems to have gone from Argyle’s Mr Liability to Mr Reliable in the short matter of a few weeks.

My biggest praise however goes to the central midfield duo of David Fox and Connor Smith. Fox was as reliable as ever in both his defensive duties (blocks, bodychecking, crunching tackles) and his clever use of the ball when Argyle go forward.

Smith was a revelation and showed a perfect distillation of all the positive potential we’ve seen from him so far which hasn’t quite yet produced very many 90 minute performances. This one joins Mansfield home and Barnet home (which we were very unlucky to lose) as examples of good box-to-box performances from Smith. Stylistically(though of course he isn’t as good), he reminds me of another Irish midfielder who used to play for Argyle and he’s now on the verge of leaving Barnsley for a 7 figure fee. Smith’s movement away from the conventional areas of central midfield demonstrates an understanding of the game above League Two and he shares Hourihane’s extremely high energy levels and his ability to dart around the midfield pickpocketing the ball from various opponents before driving forward. Let’s hope he now gains consistency. Man of the match and it’s a real shame he isn’t fit for Wednesday.

The three behind the striker also deserve to be commended. Slew had a pretty poor first half hour but he improved after that and got a goal. There’s a huge contrast between he and the Slew was saw at the start of the season, massive. Carey was also far more like his best form today, creating chances and driving at their defence. He wasn’t quite at his most blistering form but it was certainly much more like it after the little blip he had in late 2016. His chance creation and movement were much more like the Carey we know and love.

Big credit too to Jake Jervis. He’s a player who many of us thought was a lame duck after his dire end to the 2015/16 season but he put in another excellent ‘bits and pieces’ performance to tie in with his generally improved season. If he isn’t scoring goals, he’s creating chances or winning the ball back high up the pitch as part of Adams’ pressing game.

Garita had another game which was more good than bad. He may not always be the most intelligent player in his decision making but his mixture of pace, power, technique and workrate make him a valuable asset for a side of our style. It’s good news that he and Tanner (also effective from the bench) are here for the rest of the season.

Roll on Wednesday and the chance to make history.

McCormick-6

Threlkeld-6
Songo’o-7
Bradley-8
Purrington-7

Fox-8
Smith- 8 MOTM

Jervis-8
Carey-8
Slew-6

Garita-7

Tanner-7
Goodwillie-7
Blissett-7

It's Monday night now, Sam.

Lost in the post. Stevenage who ?

Christ on a bike, Sam's trying to use a season's worth of words in one post.

a Welcome return if a bit long.

Sam, see if you can knock one out on a Saturday night in future.

And a match report!

Czarcasm wrote:

Sam, see if you can knock one out on a Saturday night in future.

What do you think stopped me writing the match report?

VillageGreen wrote:

F...ing Hell, Goodwillie scored. Shock and horror


Three points is three points and the win is just the tonic ahead of Wedneday.

And he nearly F#@Ked that up to open goal and he still didnt know where to put it he took so long the guy on the line nearly kept it out