Pragmatic Pilgrims pay the price for early error
RYAN Lowe thought defeat was harsh on Plymouth Argyle as they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City at the KCOM Stadium.
The Pilgrims’ boss was disappointed to see his side concede ‘a sloppy goal’ as early as the 10th minute when Hakeeb Adelakun finished off a cross from Keane LewisPotter. However, Lowe was pleased with the way Argyle stuck to their task, and put Hull under pressure at times in the second half.
They could not turn their dominance late in the match into any goals, though, as the Grant McCann’s Tigers showed why they have yet to concede after four games in League One this season.
Lowe said: “I thought the performance of our lads was very, very good. I’m disappointed obviously not to get a goal and take a point at least.
“I thought we were quite dominant in spells. We had a lot of penalty box entries and we had seven blocks - and a lot of them potentially could have been going in.
“Listen, I said it was going to be a big test for our lads and they certainly passed it in terms of footballing wise.
“Obviously, both boxes is where you win games and lose games, and unfortunate enough today we have conceded a sloppy goal in the first 10 minutes.
“It wasn’t for the lack of trying. The lads kept plugging away and I thought we deserved something out of the game.”
There was a new side to the management style of Lowe as Argyle were more cautious than usual.
During his first season as manager he sent the Pilgrims out to attack the League Two opposition, home or away, and score as many goals as possible.
Now, early into his second campaign and with Argyle playing at a higher level, Lowe has shown he is prepared to be more pragmatic.
That is not to say he does not want his team to score goals and win matches, especially at Home Park, but when they are on their travels it might take a different tactical approach.
Hull were a threat every time they attacked in the opening half-anhour but, gradually, the visitors worked their way into the game.
Argyle were unquestionably the better side in the second half, with substitute George Cooper making a big difference, but some resolute defending from Hull frustrated
Argyle.
Lowe explained how he had adjusted his approach for the visit to the rain-soaked KCOM Stadium.
He said: “You have got to respect the levels. I can’t come to Hull City and just go all gung-ho because I would have been four or five-nil down at half-time.
“They respect us, we respect them. You have got to make sure you do your game management, and that’s what we did.
“We had a game plan, the game management from me and my staff which we put together. In footballing terms it worked, in goals scored and goals conceded it didn’t, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying.
“We can’t come to these type of clubs and just be expansive like we are at home. We have to make sure we respect the levels and we respect the opposition.”