Lowe feels mixed emotions as late lapses are costly to Argyle
RYAN Lowe had mixed emotions after seeing Plymouth Argyle throw away a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Lowe was ‘disappointed’ that the Pilgrims conceded two late goals when it seemed as though they were about to pick up three League One points.
However, he was ‘pleased and proud’ of the commitment his side showed against their promotionchasing opponents.
Argyle made a confident start against Portsmouth but came under increasing pressure during the first half.
Portsmouth had 11 corners before the break but could not capitalise on any of them and ‘keeper Mike Cooper also made one terrific save from Marcus Harness.
Having survived that onslaught, the Pilgrims became much more of an attacking force in the second period.
When striker Luke Jephcott netted his second goal of the game in the 81st minute it looked like they were home and dry.
However, a defensive error from Argyle defender Kell Watts opened the door for Portsmouth to stage a late fightback.
Watts tried to let the ball run out of play for a goal kick in the 86th minute, but Ronan Curtis not only touched it past him the substitute slotted past Cooper from a narrow angle.
Then, only moments later, a cross from Harness was headed powerfully into the net by defender James Bolton to leave Argyle with only a point to show for their endeavour.
“Disappointed but also pleased,” was the way that Lowe summed up his emotions after the final whistle in an interview with Plymouth Live.
“Where we are now, as a team and as a squad and where we are trying to build to and where we are trying to get to, we are going in the right direction.
“There are a lot of people that probably wouldn’t have given us a chance coming to Fratton Park, and playing the way we did.
“We soaked up a lot of pressure, we won every header. They (Portsmouth) had five or six corners on the bounce early on, we dealt with every single one.
“I felt we didn’t get a lot of help in the first half in terms of things not going our way. Second half was a lot better.
“To be 2-0 up you are thinking ‘Okay, yeah three points’ but Portsmouth are a good well-drilled team and we always knew they were going to have a moment.
“Their moment came from our mistake. If that mistake doesn’t happen then we probably see the game out.
“So, of course I’m disappointed because we should have won. It’s two points dropped. But I’m also pleased the way the lads were and how they reacted to coming to Fratton Park and putting on a show the way they did, being 2-0 up.”
Argyle would have clinched a third consecutive away league win had they held on against Portsmouth.
They had beaten Sunderland 2-1 and Swindon Town 2-0 in their previous two trips on the road, before travelling to take on Portsmouth.
Lowe said: “The lads are disappointed, and rightly so because they know how hard they have worked. The gameplan was nearly down to a tee, but we are a learning group.
“If you look at their players and their squad’s appearances compared to ours, we are a young group.
“Whether that helps you or is a disadvantage, we have got to learn the hard way.
“We have got to learn when you make mistakes, the way we have made mistakes today, that you can’t keep doing that.”
He added: “They (Portsmouth) are the heights we want to get to. They are fourth or fifth in the league and they are going for promotion, and rightly so.
Watts has had an excellent season on loan from Newcastle United but what Lowe described as ‘an error of judgement’ proved costly for Argyle on this occasion.
Lowe said: “I’m not going to give him a hard time over it. He knows, he has held his hand up in there (the away dressing room).
“He’s a good kid, and he won every header, dealing with (John) Marquis and (Ellis) Harrison who are two fantastic forwards, along with the rest of the back lads.
“Kell is forever learning. He knows he has made an error of judgement, but I’m never going to criticise one individual.
“I’m not going to criticise any of my players out in the open. They are a fantastic group to work with.
“Yeah, it’s two points dropped but it’s also a point gained.”
Portsmouth’s equaliser came after Bolton and his fellow centre-back Sean Raggett stayed up the pitch after some attacking play.
Bolton just beat Raggett to the cross from Harness as Argyle failed to pick up either of them inside the penalty area.
Lowe said: “We have looked at it back and the two centre-halves have stayed up from a passage of play of theirs.
“Are we bright enough to see that? Do I then have two forwards to come and mark those two centre-halves?
“No, that’s how it works, but what you have got to do, you have got to be solid and resolute, which we were for large parts.
“Then a ball has come in the box, which we would have liked to stop the cross, and he has got across the front.
“Yeah, they are hard to take, and we are disappointed but we are building in the right direction and these lads have been fantastic.”
He added: “We will look at it back, we will see where we can do better. Every goal you concede is a learning curve and those lads will make sure they learn from it.”
With Argyle 2-0 up in the 84th minute, Lowe replaced two-goal Jephcott with debutant Sam Woods, the onloan Crystal Palace defender.
Woods went into a midfield holding role as the Pilgrims tried to see out of the match but they were unable to do so.
When asked about the substitution of Jephcott, and whether he wished he had left the striker on for the closing stages, Lowe replied: “I don’t look back at changes. We done what we done.
“We brought Sam on to protect us a little bit, but you can’t legislate for a mistake and the ball not going out, and then not stopping a cross.
“It’s nothing to do with that. What they (Portsmouth) were doing and how they were doing it, pumping balls in the box, we dealt with them.
“We just didn’t deal with one that was ready to go out.”
He added: “It’s a team game, a team effort. Yeah, there were one or two individual errors but they are not going to get the blame for it.
“We are a team - we win together, we lose together, we draw together. The lads were fantastic.”