Lowe thrilled as Argyle stay top with a win in heavy rain
created they would have had the game won by half-time.
Instead, they allowed Bolton to stay in the contest and there were some anxious moments for the Pilgrims in the second half.
However, as the deluge of rain only intensified in the closing stages and started to flood parts of the pitch, Argyle came up with a third goal in the fourth minute of added on time through midfielder Ryan Broom.
Lowe said: “It was a cracking performance first half especially. I thought we were well worthy of two goals.
“I would have liked one more at least. We had some fantastic chances and I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get three before half-time.
“In the second half we probably could have had another one or two but, fair play to Bolton, they had nothing to lose and they got at us.
“They had a go. They caused us a little bit of a problem with the interchange and the movement. They were running everywhere and not just in certain ways.
“They dropped into a false nine, they had midfielders playing high and wide, but I thought our defenders were fantastic. We went long a little bit because we couldn’t get out of the press.
“That’s fine. I thought we could have looked after the ball a little bit better at the top end of the pitch when we were going long.
“I have said to the defenders ‘We haven’t got 6ft 3, 6ft 4 centre-forwards who can just soak it in. We have got to guide those balls in.’
“But I thought, all round, they were fantastic. They took it off their own back to see the game through the way they did.
“I’m really pleased with that because it shows we have got leadership qualities on the pitch, but first half very good and well worthy of the two goals.”
Lowe admitted his one regret was that midfield playmaker Danny Mayor did not get their final goal - one of the most comical ever seen in the club’s history.
Instead, it was Ryan Broom who wrapped up the Pilgrims’ win after Mayor was denied his first goal since February by a rain-soaked pitch.
Mayor, who was on as a second half substitute, seemed certain to score deep into stoppage time when, in torrential rain and with puddles fast appearing all over the pitch, he had the goal at his mercy.
The 31-year-old midfielder, recently recovered from a thigh injury, pounced on the ball as it stuck in some water between two Bolton players and then played it past Bolton goalkeeper Joel Dixon as he came charging far out of his penalty area.
Mayor, faced by a packed Devonport End behind the goal, tried to keep pushing the ball forward but it got held up by another pool of water and he over-ran it.
Argyle’s 10-goal top scorer Ryan Hardie was following up but he too struggled to get the ball moving forward and was challenged by defender George Johnston before he could slot home.
Eventually, Broom took over and crashed the ball high into the net, before celebrating with a head-long dive across the drenched pitch, joined by his team-mates.
Mayor has only netted three times in 94 games for Argyle and not since the 4-3 home league win against Lincoln City on February 27 so was disappointed for him not to score on this occasion.
Lowe said: “I was hoping Danny would score. He’s in good spirits to be fair, but it would have been nice for him to get a goal - at that end as well.
“When he misses it, then Ryan takes over and you think he can get another goal in the charts, and then he misses it.
“Then you are thinking ‘Okay, who’s next?’ and Broomy pops up. Look, the pitch late on was a little bit of a problem for both teams but I thought we were in the ascendancy and just kept trying to go and go.
“If Danny had got that third it would have been good for him but it doesn’t matter who scores. We have got it and we have won 3-0.”
Lowe praised the work of Argyle grounds manager Chris Ralph and his staff for ensuring the game went ahead in the first place after heavy rain for a couple of days.
The deluge really intensified from three hours before kick-off and it did not relent much during the game, leading to puddles eventually popping up everywhere in the closing stages.
Lowe said: “Fair play to Ralphy and all his staff, they did a magnificent job (on Monday). When we left there was a little bit of water on the sides and they verti-drained it and got it right.
“When I came in today, I was here about half-five, the pitch was looking immaculate. Even the ref (Keith Stroud) thought it was fantastic, and it was, it played really well.”
Lowe was confident that even had Stroud decided to halt play because of the surface water it would soon have been cleared by equipment on a tractor that the Argyle groundstaff could have called upon.
He added: “That’s why we have invested in a good pitch and invested in good groundsmen because they are really top drawer.
“It’s the same with training pitches, they are immaculate. I don’t know how long they are going to work tonight. I think they should just leave it until tomorrow and get in.
“I always say there is a team behind the team. The groundstaff are a team, they deserve the three points as well tonight.
“They will go home happy that they have given us a pitch to play on for 85 minutes. Alright, the last five, six, seven minutes was a little bit (difficult), but it was still playable, and credit to them for that.”
The Pilgrims are back in action again on Saturday when they make the long trek north to Morecambe for a League One encounter.