Argyle boss forgives players for conceding trio of late goals
RYAN Lowe was not too hard on his Plymouth Argyle players after they conceded three late goals in the 4-1 Carabao Cup defeat away to Championship side Swansea City.
“We were fantastic for 80 minutes,” said Lowe, speaking at his postmatch press conference after the second round tie at the Swansea. com Stadium.
The Pilgrims were level at 1-1 after a 63rd minute equaliser from 18-year-old striker Rhys Shirley and a penalty shoot-out appeared on the cards.
But Morgan Whittaker restored Swansea’s lead in the 79th minute and then added two more goals in the closing stages to complete a quick-fire hat-trick.
Lowe said: “I thought we pit our wits against a very good Championship team who play the right way. For 80 minutes we were well in it.
“We probably should have come in winners or losers on penalties, but we gave the ball away in a sloppy area and there was an opportunity to end the counter attack, if you like, and we didn’t.
“Then when someone is flying down the wing, they have got a bit of quality in the players they have got, they are always going to punish you, and that’s what happened.”
Swansea went ahead with a 29th minute strike from midfielder Dan Williams, 20, who was making his only his second appearance for the senior side.
The Championship hosts had a large share of the possession throughout the game, but Argyle always carried a threat when they went on the attack.
Lowe said: “We set the game plan out to let them have the possession. We know the way Russ plays, his team’s football is great.
“We couldn’t go chasing because they would have popped it around us. We had to pay that respect to them because that’s the way they are.
“I thought we were well in the game, even in the first half we had some great opportunities on the counter. That was our game plan, to counter them and then score.”
The first of Whittaker’s hat-trick of goals came with a low 20-yard drive past Argyle’s debutant goalkeeper Callum Burton and, arguably, came against the run of play.
Lowe said: “It was a kick in the teeth for us because we were well in the game. I thought it should have been 1-1 and penalties, and it’s a lottery then.
“The last 12 minutes I didn’t really like because there was a few mistakes in there along the way and maybe a few legs there, and a few bad decisions made.
“I can forgive them for the 12 minutes because they have been fantastic. This is where we aspire to be, playing week in week out at these clubs and at this level, and a lot of the players out there were youngsters.
“They have got ambitions to play at the top level as well. Yeah, we have to learn quick, we have to do it properly but I must say our lads are well coached and well-drilled to what they should be doing, hence they performed the way they did.
“So for 80 minutes I thought we were fantastic. The last 12 minutes was not really us but I can certainly forgive them for it.”
Lowe used the cup clash to give some game time to George Cooper as he made his comeback from a long-term knee injury.
Cooper played at left wing-back when he was sent on as a 70th minute substitute for Ryan Law, who had been having a good game for the Pilgrims.
Understandably, it was clear that Cooper has got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to match sharpness.
Lowe said: “He’s miles off it, I must say, he’s nowhere near. We wanted to get him game-time but he has got a long way to go just yet.
Law made his first start of the season for Argyle and although he was caught in possession in the build-up to Swansea’s opening goal he had a very solid game overall.
He even had a chance to get the first goal of the tie in the 11th minute when he made an overlapping run and was picked out by a pass from striker Ryan Hardie.
However, Law did not shoot first time and when he cut inside he was tackled by Swansea defender Joel Latibeaudiere.