‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

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‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

Coach Leon McSweeney praised the way our Under-21s went about their business in Friday’s 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.

2026-08-18T11:30+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

3 Hours 59 Mins Ago

‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

Coach Leon McSweeney praised the way our Under-21s went about their business in Friday’s 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.

Sam Jones

2026-08-18T11:30+01:00

‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

Coach Leon McSweeney praised the way our Under-21s went about their business in Friday’s 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.

Sam Jones

2026-08-18T11:30+01:00

‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

Coach Leon McSweeney praised the way our Under-21s went about their business in Friday’s 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.

Sam Jones

2026-08-18T11:30+01:00

‘A Dominant Performance’ – McSweeney On Plymouth Win

Coach Leon McSweeney praised the way our Under-21s went about their business in Friday’s 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle.

Sam Jones

2026-08-18T11:30+01:00

Our Development Squad put three past Plymouth Argyle in the Premier League Cup
Friday’s 3-1 victory included goals from Hugo de Lisle and Michael Golding
Leon McSweeney expressed his thoughts following that opening-day victory

Beginning the Premier League Cup campaign with victory on home soil, Hugo de Lisle and Michael Golding both scored in the first half to turn the game on its head following Caleb Roberts’ early opener for the Pilgrims, before a Sam Hayman own goal ensured all three group stage points would remain in Seagrave.

“It was a really dominant performance,” McSweeney said, speaking on the display produced at LCFC Training Ground. “We set our stall very early on in how we wanted to approach the game in terms of the attacking intent and could have scored two quick-fire goals in the first 10 minutes.

“Then we switched off and conceded a needless goal, but credit to the boys in how they reacted after that. They just continued to play how they started the game, dominated the ball, kept moving Plymouth around and waited for the openings.

“When they came, thankfully we went in at the break 2-1 up. We should have seen the game off further in the second half, but from a coaching perspective, we just wanted more and let them off the hook with the scoreline. It was such a dominant display that the performance warranted more goals.”

In the midst of a busy start to 26/27, a trip to Sutton United awaits in the National League Cup this Tuesday evening (7pm kick-off), one of four fifth-tier sides we will face in the competition.

Friday night then sees Premier League 2 get up and running as we host Blackburn Rovers in another 7pm kick-off.

“That’s the beauty of it,” the 43-year-old explained. “Pre-season drags on for six weeks and you’re looking forward to that first game of the season. There’s no easing into it. You’re thrust straight into a busy fixture schedule.

“It’s really interesting to face Sutton United in the National League Cup, a different kind of test. Certainly, from a physical point of view, it’s a real test for our boys to see how they cope with that physicality.

“It’s a different way to start the season. We’ve three games in three different competitions. It keeps it fresh and it keeps the approach different. For cup competitions, the approach is often different in how the game pans out.

“If it finishes in a draw there will be a penalty shootout, so it’s a different format, but one we’ll look forward to and embrace. We’ll go down there full of confidence after Friday night’s opening day win. We’ll look to get a positive performance first and foremost.

“If they take the learnings from Friday night and then look to continue to keep building and developing as the games pass by, we can build that consistency which has served us well in recent years.”

Jayden Joseph, one of those who has stepped up from the Under-21s into senior contention, scored our opener at the weekend, while loanee Jake Evans made an instant impact for his adopted club. McSweeney wants to continue that conveyor belt of talent developing into First Team players.

“There’s great opportunities at the Football Club,” he added. “I thought it was a great weekend for the Academy as a whole. Jayden Joseph scored his first goal for the Club away at Notts County.

“It was a goal made in the Academy with [Will] Alves to [Sammy] Braybrooke and then finished by Joseph. Jake Evans scored for Cheltenham on his debut away from here and continues to get closer to that First Team readiness.

“We need to keep doing our thing, keep getting the players ready and pushing them closer to that First Team environment and making sure when that opportunity arises, they are ready to take it.”

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