Lowe is angry as Argyle are faulty at both ends
MANAGER Ryan Lowe was left fuming as Plymouth Argyle’s defensive shortcomings were all too obvious again in the 1-0 defeat at Port Vale on Saturday.
The Pilgrims switched off when Vale were awarded a 76th-minute free-kick and that allowed Ritchie Bennett to get in a cross deep to the far post. That was where it was met by Vale defender Nathan Smith, who headed the ball into the net past goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
It meant Argyle slipped to a third successive away defeat and, after eight games of the League Two campaign, they are mid-table in 11th place. That is nowhere near the expectations for the Pilgrims this season, even allowing for the change of manager and many new players this summer.
Lowe complained: “You can’t just get done on a quick free-kick and then lose your man from the cross. It’s just not good enough – it’s not acceptable, neither.
“I thought, first half, we were very good. We just need to score when we’re on top. Then, second half, we looked a little bit – laboured is the word I’m probably looking for, and they [his players] just didn’t do what we asked them to do and they go about it the wrong way.”
Lowe was particularly frustrated about one incident not long before Vale grabbed their goal. Midfielder Danny Mayor did very well to trick his way past Vale right-back James Gibbons and put in a low cross across the face of goal. Much to the annoyance of Lowe, a prolific scorer in his playing days, none of Mayor’s team-mates got on the end of it.
“My two strikers should be in the box,” Lowe added. “I’ve got frustrated with it because it’s a tap-in.
“Do you want to score goals? The best goals you will score are tap-ins, so I’m disappointed in that.”
Lowe then returned his thoughts to the way that Argyle conceded the decisive goal. He continued: “The
man [Bennett] takes a swing, hooks it in and we lose our man. It’s not good enough, not acceptable, but, listen, I’m responsible for it.
“I pick the lads, I pick the team, I will take the criticism, but we will make sure we get it right.
“People will start coming out of the team if they are not doing their jobs, and that’s as simple as that.”
Argyle had the better of the play in the first half, but their shooting from promising positions was too wayward. They had spells in the second period when they put Vale under some pressure, but again there was no end-product.
Lowe said: “We were OK, first half. We got in some good areas, but, second half, do you want to go and score a goal?
“If you don’t want to score a goal, I will put someone else in, and that’s just the way it has got to be. They [Vale] have come away with a goal and three points, and we’ve come away with nothing.”
Lowe explained that a knee injury was the reason why right wing-back Joe Riley was ruled out on Saturday.
Riley did not even make the trip to the Potteries with the rest of the squad. However, Lowe revealed that the 27-year-old is likely to return to training today and should be available for selection for the away game at Crawley Town tomorrow.
Skipper Joe Edwards lined up at right wing-back in Staffordshire, with Antoni Sarcevic recalled to the starting line-up after suspension and playing in central midfield.
Lowe said: “Joe has had a bang on his knee, so we’ve rested him. The swelling has gone down a lot now. We had a scan on it and it’s all good news, but it was his knee he had an operation on years ago.
“It was a precaution so he hasn’t travelled but he will probably be all right for [training on] Monday.”
Sarcevic played in an attacking midfield role alongside Mayor as he made first league appearance in three weeks. Jose Baxter took up Edwards’ midfield holding role.
Lowe added: “I don’t want to single anyone out, but I was pleased with Sarce [Sarcevic]. He has done a lot of good things in the game, along with a lot of other players, but you just need to be a little bit more ruthless in the top half of the pitch – both boxes, really – and at the moment we’re not.
“We will address it, we will make sure we get it right. I pick the team and I’ve got to make sure I pick the right team.”