Strange game at Home Park last night.
On paper the hosts had little to play for and there was a suspicion Charlton might get another routine away win. I was surprised to see Inniss rested and Famewo brought back in. Not because I think it necessarily weakened us but because of the record we have when Inniss plays and the fact that this was a game we needed to win. Play-off rivals, Portsmouth, Blackpool and Oxford, were all away at Swindon, Rochdale and Wimbledon respectively and I was worried that a defeat at Plymouth could leave us eight points adrift of sixth.
After twenty minutes last night I couldn't see us winning. Plymouth had been pressing from the first whistle. They had forced seven corners and might well have been one up. By contrast, we couldn't get a ball to stick upfield and playing Stockley as a loan striker, albeit with wing-forwards in Millar and Jayesimi, didn't look nearly strong enough. After twenty minutes, we began to get forward more as a team and Forster-Caskey, Watson and Gilbey physically moved up. The result brought our first goal, when Forster-Caskey arrived in the box on 26 minutes ad Liam Millar cut into the box from the left goal-line and fired straight at Cooper who could only block the shot. It bounced up and out to Forster-Caskey who still had a lot to do but whose instinctive header went in off a Plymouth hand on the goal-line. suddenly we looked at home and as the first-half wore on I thought a goal before the break might kill it for us.
Plymouth were not helped by the loss of Aimson to injury but that second goal when it arrived was top quality an nigh on unstoppable. We worked it down the right flank and Forster-Caskey played a ball through for Matthews to chase and he put in a perfect first-time cross which drew a blur of shirts but, most importantly, the blonde comet who had seen the cross and made his move. Stockley's header was crashing thunderbolt that an oak door couldn't have stopped. Two nil and we were cruising.
Conditioned as we are, I expected us to slow the game after the break and keep it tight until 70 minutes, maybe bring on two fresh payers and see it out. Under Bowyer we may have shipped a goal and endured ten fingernail biting final minutes. Instead, we looked briefed to counter-attack and we did it at will. Within two minutes of the restart it was 3-0. Liam Millar free-wheeled into the box once again but his cross-cum-shot was blocked by Watts who got in an almighty mess and who somehow deflected it past his keeper.
Two minutes later we broke again. Millar found Stockley with across to the right outside the box and Stockley clipped a lovely ball over the covering defenders into the path of Gilbey who had time to lean to his left and stroke the ball across Cooper and in for 0-4.
Millar got a well deserved goal seven minutes later and it was beginning to look embarrassing for the hosts. We continued to dominate as Plymouth wilted. Adkins used all of his substitutions to rest legs and get others involved and it was Chuks Aneke who netted the sixth after we carved them open again. He should really have got a seventh as well when he had a clear shot at goal but he hit the post. As it was, it was our best away win (or home win?) since the 6-0 win at Barnsley at the end of the 2012-13 season.
The really good news. however, was that our three closest rivals all lost and, almost incomprehensibly, we finished the night a point clear of Oxford United in sixth place with two games in hand. Ordinarily, with four home games from the five remaining, we should be home and dry, although two of those games are against Peterborough and Lincoln, and our home form has been relatively poor.
However, there is now the Adkins factor to consider. We are officially on a new-manager bounce and are unbeaten in ten. I think we need another ten points to see off Pompey and Oxford. Posh were beaten at home by the Gills last night and they may still feel a tad complacent in second place with their five point cushion on the Makems. What does look sure, is that a win on Saturday might give us a clear line of sight to promotion with Crewe and Accrington to follow. It would be great to sew this up without having to go to Hull looking for anything.
Whatever happens, it's been a remarkable turnaround and not one I think we looked like sustaining under Bowyer. I love the fact that he had quickly settled on his team and that he is entrusting them to put in the performances and get the results. I have been unimpressed with Alex Gilbey since he joined us. He has had injuries but was very disappointing when he came back into the side under Bowyer when his work-rate far from acceptable. However, he is growing in the last few games under Adkins and, crucially, has found the net a couple of times.
When you finish the season it is often better to slide into the play-offs on the back of a top form and we look like we may just be doing that. Bring on Peterborough.
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