Carey is confident Argyle can push on
Encouraging performance in defeat to Sunderland prompts renewed optimism at Home Park
Graham Carey believes it is finally starting to come together for Plymouth Argyle.
The Pilgrims could not clinch a third consecutive League One win as they were beaten 2-0 by Sunderland at Home Park last Saturday.
However, Carey thought there were plenty of positives to come out of the match for Argyle, who gave their highly rated opponents a good run for their money.
It has been a struggle for the Pilgrims this season, after the squad was transformed over the summer following some key departures and ten new signings. However, there have been some encouraging signs for Argyle recently, with victories over Gillingham and Scunthorpe United before a strong performance against Sunderland.
Carey said: “It was always going to take time, with a new team, but I think you can see now the confidence is growing. We are a lot better in possession and we are moving the ball quicker.
“Even off the ball, our pressing higher up the pitch is a lot better. It’s coming together.
“It was just frustrating on Saturday, when it was 1-0 – we couldn’t nick the goal.
“I think if we had scored a goal we would have went on and won it. As long as we play well, I think the results will come. It was just one of those days where we couldn’t score,” the midfielder added.
Sunderland beat Argyle with two second-half goals from Republic of Ireland international Aiden McGeady, the second of which came from the penalty spot. However, the Pilgrims responded well to falling behind in the 53rd minute and created some excellent chances.
Sunderland goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin made a couple of superb saves, while Argyle striker Freddie Ladapo had a header cleared off the line.
Carey said: “It shows how far we have come in the last few weeks that we were very disappointed with the result. There were some positives from the game.
“Budget-wise, we are not even close to them [Sunderland]. They have got some big players, but I thought we dealt with them pretty well.
“There were a lot of positives to build on and it was another step forward in the way we have been playing with the ball, but we still need to cut out a few mistakes.”
The closest Argyle came to equalising was from a Carey free-kick, which seemed destined to find the far corner of the net only for McLaughlin to tip it wide.
Carey revealed: “To be fair, I thought it was past him when he got a touch. It was a great save. When we were 1-0 down, I thought we were the only team that was going to score. We had a lot of opportunities in their box. It just wasn’t our day.”
The Irishman continued: “When we are attacking we are getting a lot more bodies forward. I think our pressing was great, first half as well.
“There are not many times we’ve lost and we’ve got applauded off the pitch from the fans, which was great.
“We were disappointed with the result but there are a lot of things we can build on. I think our desire, work-rate, pressing and our game management was quite good as well.
“We just switched off for two incidents and their quality showed and they punished us.”
Argyle will now take a break from league action until November 17, when they are away to Luton Town.
Next up for them is an FA Cup first-round tie against League Two side Stevenage at Home Park on Saturday.
Carey said: “We will just take next week as it is. It’s a cup game and we want to win it. We want to get in the next round and then we will focus on the league after that, but the most important game is the next one.”