Argyle 1 Newport County 0: Match report

A SUPER strike from Graham Carey was the slender difference on the score-sheet between Argyle and Newport, but the gulf in quality was vast.

The Pilgrims completely bossed proceedings from the outset, and had numerous chances to open the scoring before Carey did so as half-time approached.

The second half followed a similar pattern, and though a late County rally threatened to spoilt the afternoon, the Pilgrims held on for their fourth win, and third clean sheet, in the opening five games.

Boss Derek Adams made two changes from the side that performed so well in defeating Northampton 2-0 last weekend. Reuben Reid failed to recover from the injury that saw him hobble off early at Sixfields, enabling Ryan Brunt to make his first league start for the Pilgrims this season.

Gregg Wylde also suffered a knock at Northampton but was fit enough for a place on the bench, with Craig Tanner handed the opportunity to provide support to Brunt and in-form forward Jake Jervis.

Goalkeeper James Bittner is struggling with a back problem, allowing young Cory Harvey to join his brother Tyler on the bench. Louis Rooney was also included among the replacements, bumping Josh Simpson out of the match-day squad.

Newport manager Terry Butcher also made two changes, as his team of Exiles set out to gain their first victory of the season following a demoralising 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient seven days ago. Lenell John-Lewis and Aaron Hayden were the duo preferred to Zak Ansah and Regan Poole.

Carl McHugh placed pressure on his role as midfield anchor within 40 seconds of kick-off, earning a deserved yellow card from referee Andy Davies after a poorly-timed challenge on Yan Klukowski.

Argyle then settled into their rhythm with some neat passing across the engine room creating space for Gary Sawyer to surge forward from left-back and skip into the box before unleashing a powerful drive that was well held by Newport custodian Joe day.

Moments later, Sawyer turned provider with a delicious cross for fellow full-back Kelvin Mellor, who was bursting into the box from deep but the eventual diving header was a long way over the crossbar.

The Newport strategy in the early stages was clearly based on containment but Argyle weaved a way past the defensive line with a clever dummy from Hiram Boateng opening space for Carey to rifle in a low shot from 20 yards, but Day was again up to the challenge.

The Pilgrims looked like a team bubbling with confidence in the first 20 minutes and a fabulous passing move ended with a sublime ball over the from Peter Hartley picking out Jake Jervis, who instantly laid off to Carey for another shot that was straight down the throat of a grateful Day.

For all the Argyle dominance, the best save of the opening third was produced by Luke McCormick, diving low to his left to block a vicious strike from Lenell John-Lewis after an excellent touch by the former Grimsby forward briefly caught out Curtis Nelson.

The excellent Mellor was the catalyst for a swift Green response, cutting inside Scott Barrow before feeding a pass to Brunt, who shaved the far post with a powerful low shot on the turn.

Mark Byrne kept McCormick honest with a decent low effort from distance but the general flow continued to favour Argyle, and Mellor again found room in the box after a reverse pass from Carey. Barrow spotted the run, however, and took any sting out of the eventual shot.

The only thing missing from a dominant home performance was that vital first goal and Boateng was next to have a bash, sauntering through the midfield and firing in a low shot that was again comfortably gobbled up by Day.

The inevitable arrived on 42 minutes and it was a screamer from Carey, smashing a thunderous half-volley into the top corner after neat lay-off from Brunt created space for the talismanic midfielder to notch his fourth goal of the season.

While it looked like a fairly innocuous training ground routine, the County defence was caught sleeping and the finish from Carey was right out of the top drawer. Nothing more than Argyle warranted for a terrific first-half display.