Cooper is looking at the bigger picture
MIKE Cooper missed out on equalling a Plymouth Argyle club record when he conceded his first goal in more than 10 hours of football when the Pilgrims lost 1-0 away to Ipswich Town, writes Chris Errington.
The highly-rated 22-year-old had kept six consecutive clean sheets - all in victories prior to the game at Portman Road.
Cooper needed one more to equal the record of seven, set by Luke McCormick in the Pilgrims’ 2003/04 Division Two title-winning season.
However, he was beaten by a close range shot from Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy in the 37th minute as Argyle slipped to defeat without having a shot on target.
Cooper said: “I don’t think we were quite at it going forward, which you have got to be when you come to places like this else, like we have seen, you get punished for it.
“However, if you do look back at the month, 18 points out of 21 and only one goal against is not bad going. We have got lots of positives to take into the final six (games).
“I think if you take in three weeks in a row where we have had Saturday-Tuesdays, the effort that everyone put in (against Ipswich), the endeavour and running, was still top quality despite the amount of miles that have been put in everyone’s legs recently.
“There is no doubt that is going to continue into the final push,” added Cooper, who has 15 clean sheets in 40 league games this season.
Cooper was twice sent up as an extra attacking player for set pieces late on against Ipswich - first for an 89th minute corners and then a free-kick deep into stoppage time, but it did not lead to an Argyle equaliser.
He said: “I got my hopes up when I was going up twice, just hoping for a little knock down, but that wasn’t meant to be.
“The first one, I got waved up a bit earlier than what I thought I would, so I sprinted up. And as soon as we got the free-kick, with not that long to go, I went up straight away.
“It was disappointing to not even register a shot on target as a team, but we have still got a lot of positives to take.”
Argyle remained fourth in the League One table after the defeat by Ipswich and are next in action against fifth-placed Oxford United at Home Park this Saturday.
Cooper said: “We are all buzzing for it, there are six big games to go now but we are in a good position. We are just really looking forward to it.”