New Writer Herbie Gynn takes a look at our second consecutive league away win at Adams Park.
In another tense game of football, Plymouth Argyle claimed their fourth league away win of the season, pushing them to 10th in the away form table this season. It’s safe to say both teams looked different after their last meeting with each other, which only came at the start of Novembe in the FA Cup. The Wanderers poor run of form was shown in the game. Although having the better first half of the two teams, they struggled to create clear-cut chances, whereas not too long ago they broke us down comfortably and chances came thick and fast.
The only worry was the ease in which Wycombe attacked down our right hand side. Owen Dale was often tracking back and taking charge of the defensive 1 on 1 situations with Wycombe winger Sam Bell. As a more attacking-minded player it seemed Dale’s defensive inexperience meant Bell often got the better of him and regularly put crosses in the box in the first half. Wycombe were unable to convert the crosses into the first goal much to the Argyle fans delight. Not conceding early on is crucial for Argyle more than it ever has been, as we haven’t picked up a single point from a losing position yet this season.
With neither team showing incredible quality, you could tell that this game was to be decided by one moment. That moment came on the hour mark as Brendan Wiredu nudged a ball through the defensive line for Owen Oseni to run onto. Oseni was able to brush round Danish defender Anders Hagelskjær and nick the ball past the Wycombe Goalkeeper. Despite the angle and a defender in his vision, Oseni skewed the ball through the gap and into the net to give Argyle the lead away from home. When Argyle probably could have used the momentum to grab a second, Cleverley elected to drop to a back 5 and get men behind the ball for the last 30 minutes.
With Wycombe not really creating anything clear-cut in that time, I can see why Cleverley decided to start playing defensively and completely nullify the Chairboys chance of scoring. You’d be hard pressed to say it didn’t work but from a fans perspective, it wasn’t a pleasant watch. That said, beggars can’t be choosers, and I think everyone would rather see an edgy win than a draw or loss. Without getting too carried away, it does seem that Cleverley is learning things about the players as his time at the club continues. Granted it’s taken him a long time; things like playing Wiredu in midfield as opposed to playing him in a back 3 has improved the way we play. Having centre backs with ball playing abilities means Argyle are less prone to losing the ball in their own half, which often has the result of creating opportunities for the opposition.
Our backline has improved massively with Julio Pleguezuelo coming back from injury. Consistent passes into our wide areas and midfield meant we were able to create chances from the back and Julio is the heartbeat of that. Even when passes were fizzed into him under pressured he stayed composed and kept possession allowing Argyle to build momentum. After a huge away win against Port Vale, Cleverley was unable to build on that win. Instead, we faced a 3-0 thrashing against Northampton at home. I was certain that the opportunity to build confidence and positivity into the team wouldn’t come again, however Cleverley has been given a carbon copy lifeline to hopefully right the wrongs of the Northampton game