Cooper, Grant, Galloway, Scarr, Wilson, Edwards, Broom, Houghton, Camara, Hardie, Jephcott. Subs Burton, Gillesphey, Randell, Law, Craske, Tomlinson, Shirley. No Ennis or Mayor....and five youngsters on the bench....nearly threadbare.
1-0...F/T First win of the season.....the stats suggested that Argyle started slow....but got back into the game mid first half.....and dominated the stats in the second half. Had to wait until the 88th minute before Jephcott scored his first of the season. Lowe used no subs until the 90+3 minutes....bringing Randell on for Camara....the stats suggested that Camara was everywhere and he had his share of shots....good to have a clean sheet. We do need a stronger bench....Lowe brought no one on until injury time...and that I assume was to help run the clock down. Attendance...10864.......Away...273.
Jephcott scored a bit of a peach whether typical or not and it was worth the wait. We have a number of injuries so the bench is bound to be a bit light weight. We were on top and playing quite well so there was no need to sub anyone. For the first 10 minutes of the game neither side looked any good and it took a bit of time to settle down. Gillingham got a number of throw ins and they do have a long throw man. They also have a couple of beast like forwards and they were difficult to handle at the outset. However, after the initial period we were handling them well and we came more into the game. Gillingham are a poor side in my opinion. Not trying to wind anyone up with that it is just how they came across. They wasted time from almost the start of the game and their Keeper should have been booked long before he ever got spoken to. Breakspear was of course Breakspear. He was poor. Probably one of the worst games by a Ref I have seen for quite a while. He let a load go when he seemed sure to give a decision. We should have had at least 2 penalties . One was so nailed on it was astounding when not given and the foul was more in line with a Rugby game than football. I hope that is the last we see of him this season at least. After watching Gillingham waste loads and loads of time they added the usual 1 minute in the first half. Second half and it was pretty much one way traffic. We had so much of the play and the only thing missing was the goal. The time wasting just continued and why not considering the Ref did nothing to stop it. Camara was MOM for me and watching him nick the ball time and time again was mesmerising. How he does it must be magic because it isn't normal. He was everywhere. Also worth a mention was our No.6 who won pretty much everything in the air even against Goliath and mate. Our defence IS much better than last term. Anyway just when you were thinking this was going to be a 0 - 0 up pops Jephcott with a peach. Suddenly Gillingham wanted us to take throw ins and kick in seconds when they had taken minutes previously. It did amuse me when out lads let the ball bounce off them before picking it up or placing it. They avoided the ball very well when we got a throw and it was really pissing off the Gillingham players. Well they started it so tough luck. It would have been a complete travesty if we had not won this. Last season we would have lost it I'm sure. Despite it looking like a struggle it was a well won 3 points against a negative side.
I've watched this this afternoon in preference to live Premier League. I'm not disappointed. Clearly the ArgyleTV people are still getting used to the toys at their disposal but it was a really good presentation. Good video quality, 2 man commentary, replays in game, most of them well done, half time coverage included a run down of scores and interviews with and video of of the Ladies team. After the game we stayed to see the lap by the players and manager welcoming the fans back followed by a 5 minute highlights package, with fresh commentary. I can't really add much to Sensible's report. The first half was more even than I imagined. We played the football but Gillingham are very direct to strong forwards and I'm pretty certain we'd have conceded at least one and probably more last year to a torrent of long balls, crosses and long throws. This defence may not pass the ball quite as well but they play as a unit and don't flinch from the rough stuff. They can pass the ball around when not under pressure and aren't ashamed to hoof it when they are. Right at the end, at 1-0 up, Gillingham nearly got in behind but Scarr merely took the man out, got booked and trouserred the 3 points. Not pretty, not stylish but when the going gets tough.... In the second, somebody found the afterburner switch and Argyle roasted Gillingham for 43 minutes until Jephcott scored a most un-Jephcott-like goal, He looks like a man revitalised. I'm going to go for Broom as Man of the Match, narrowly ahead of Camara. He was everywhere, running, passing, shooting. I think he's not quite match sharp: he should have taken a shot on first time when put right through into the 6 yard box rather than taking a touch and there were a few other similar hesitancies but over all, he might just keep Mayor out of the team.
