Plymouth fight from behind to win
Pompey Academy’s unbeaten league opening came to an end with a last-gasp home defeat to Plymouth.
They were poor before the break, but came out stronger for the second half and forged ahead through a fine Brandon Joseph-Buadi (above) finish.
But the visitors took advantage of an unfortunate slip from Dory Yates, which allowed Alex Battle to fire them level.
Pompey then took total control, with Adam May, Liam Sayers and Joseph-Buadi all going close to restoring their lead.
It was Plymouth who were celebrating all three points, however, when Jason Vincent headed home from a corner at the death.
Academy coach Mikey Harris said: “Our opponents had the better of the first half and we looked out of sorts.
“But we were much better in the second and Brandon scored with the outside of his boot after a quick break down the right.
“The move was actually started by our goalkeeper Jack Collins. He stepped up from our under-16s because Alex Bass was on the bench for the first team and Nick Hall was out injured and did a good job.
“But we conceded an unfortunate goal soon after. Kyle McDowell took a throw, but Dory slipped and their lad went through one-on-one. It was nobody’s fault – it’s just one of those things.
“Then we changed our shape and it seemed to pay dividends because we started to create plenty of chances.
“But Plymouth went down the other end to win a late corner and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain lost his man, who scored at the far post.
“Fair play to Christian because he held his hands up and admitted the mistake – that’s all part of the learning experience.
“It’s also a massive wake-up call for the side. There’s a chance our good start might have made them slightly complacent because our performance wasn’t quite right.
“The boys will have to learn from that and I’ve no doubt that they’ll take everything we say on board and come back stronger.”
Pompey: Collins; Davies, Saidy, Yates, McDowell; Oxlade-Chamberlain, May; Joseph-Buadi (Bradbury 76), Scutt (Bedford 56), Haitham (Widdrington 62); Sayers