Lowe proud of resilient Pilgrims after away win
Argyle boss pays tribute to defensive strength of his side after success at Wimbledon
RYAN Lowe was proud of the way that Plymouth Argyle dug deep to pick maximum points in their 1-0 League One victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Striker Ryan Hardie scored the allimportant goal in the 47th minute, which took his tally for the season to six already and equalled his total for the whole of last term.
Argyle had to do plenty of defending either side of Hardie’s clinical finish, which came after he latched onto a ball over the top from standin skipper James Wilson, but they stuck to their task superbly.
The Pilgrims are now unbeaten in six league games and have moved up to fourth place in the table, only a couple of points behind the top two of Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.
Lowe said: “What pleased me most was the resilience, the desire, the attitude and the commitment of the lads. We did ride our luck for 20 minutes in that game and then probably towards the end, but we were solid and resolute.
“We headed everything, we picked second balls up, we could have countered them a bit better. There is still movement in there for us to do a bit better with the ball in possession, and that’s what I wanted.
“So there is still work to be done although, yeah, we have come here and won against a good Wimbledon team who played some fantastic stuff, but I want better.
“They (Wimbledon) are a good team, you have to respect them, and they threw the kitchen sink at us and we dealt with it, so really pleased.”
Argyle have only conceded four goals in seven league games this season, and two of those came in the first half of the opening day 2-0 defeat at Rotherham United.
That has come after the Pilgrims ended 2020/21 with the third worst defensive record in the EFL and Lowe carried out a complete overhaul of his defence.
Lowe said: “With all due respect to the players we had, we have got better defenders. They defend better and they take instructions on better, and that’s key.
“We knew where we needed to strengthen in the summer and we have done that. We are doing a fantastic job in keeping the ball out of the back of the net.
“They have got their targets and they are reaching them at the moment, and long may that continue,” added the Pilgrims’ boss.
Argyle’s superb start to the season has been based around their defensive solidity - and the goals of inform Hardie, who has netted five times in away games.
Hardie dropped a shoulder and cut onto his right foot to wrongfoot Wimbledon ‘keeper Nik Tzanev and a couple of defenders befoire slotting into the net.
Lowe said: “He has got that calmness in front of goal. I was saying to Ry he made some fantastic runs today, I must say that. Him and Jephs (Luke Jephcott) worked their socks off.
“We have been working with them on different types of runs. That goal is a fantastic run and a fantastic ball, and then for him to have that confidence to chop inside and leave two defenders on their backsides was a great finish.”
Argyle’s second successive away league win, following the 3-0 victory at Shrewsbury Town last month, has left them among the top sides in the division, and the Green Army are already optimistically dreaming of promotion.