MANCHESTER CITY YOUTH 5 ARGYLE YOUTH 1

Argyle head of youth coaching Mike Pejic had qualified praise for his protégés' showing in this prestigious friendly against last season's FA Youth Cup winners at Alsager College.

Already operating this season with a reduced squad of 15 apprentices, compared to 18 last year, Pej was without two key players - central defender Ben Gerring, who is in Austria with the first team, and former England Under-16 striker Liam Head, who is sidelined with a knee injury.

So he had to include three 15-year-old schoolboys amongst the substitutes - central defender Sam Sawyer, from Bideford; striker Lewis Coombes, from Plymout; and trialist goalkeeper Raivo Varazinskis, from Latvia - all of whom had a run-out during the second half.

"Overall, it was a good work-out and a great experience for our lads," said Mike. "I was quite pleased with our first 45 minutes and City couldn't have complained if we had gone in level at half-time."

City fielded a very strong squad, packed with international starlets from all over the world, but the Young Pilgrims held their illustrious opponents for the first 21 minutes, and even then, it took some theatrics from a City forward to gain the penalty from which they went ahead.

"Sean (Kinsella) never made contact with the lad who had lost his footing and stumbled over," commented a clearly disappointed Pejic.
The Greens equalised five minutes later when central defender Ashley Hodgkinson's precise pass put in-form striker Joe Mason through. He coolly rounded the City goalkeeper who promptly pulled him down, but Mason sent the resulting spot-kick high into the top of corner of the net.

City enjoyed most of the possession for the remainder of the first half, but Argyle always looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

The Young Pilgrims were caught out, a minute before the break, by a long route-one ball that split their central defenders, allowing a striker to control the ball and finish well.

Pej made a number of changes in the second half, bringing on first-year apprentices and schoolboys throughout the half, but it was the second-year apprentices whose performances upset their coach, as City added further two goals that were assisted by defensive errors,

"The goals we conceded were down to errors by our second year lads, some of whom will have to start looking over their shoulders, as their second half attitude was poor,' added Mike.