Steven Schumacher hails four ‘excellent goals’ as Plymouth see off Cheltenham

Posted Sunday, January 22, 2023 by PA

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was delighted with his League One table-topping side’s 4-2 home win over Cheltenham.

Argyle led 2-0 thanks to goals from Dan Scarr and Ryan Hardie, while Cheltenham responded through Taylor Perry before half-time.

Callum Wright made it 3-1 before Alfie May again reduced the gap and Sam Cosgrove made it 4-2 and 13 home league wins for the leaders.

Schumacher said: “We would have liked it to have been a little more boring to be honest.

“Our four goals were excellent goals.

“But the two goals that Cheltenham got when – we looked as though we were comfortable in the game – just made it a little bit more nerve-wracking than I would have liked.

“I thought we defended OK. Cheltenham cause you problems, they have got good players.

“I just thought that the two goals they scored when we were in complete control of the game can get your heart rate going a bit more when you don’t need it to.

“You are never going to get perfection.

“Some of the quality that the players have shown today – especially going forward – was outstanding.

“That’s why we are so pleased to have them all here in the squad and playing for our team.

“Going forward today we were a real threat and we had speed on the wings with Tyreik Wright and Bali Mumba.

“They caused Cheltenham problems and we had Finn Azaz getting in pockets of space and putting balls on a plate for Callum Wright and Ryan Hardie to score.

“I’m really pleased. We are in a good position. The five new signings we have made in January have added to what was already a really strong Argyle squad.

“We are top of the league for a reason because we have been playing well.”

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott was proud of his side despite defeat, saying: “There are lots of aspects of the performance that I am really proud about.

“Momentum is such a big thing in a football match and it is learning to manage momentum a little bit.

“They score and there is 20,000 here and they are a up a little bit. We needed just a little bit of know-how and a little bit of nous to settle into the game for five minutes and make sure one doesn’t become two.

“I said at half-time, you then give yourself a mountain to climb. In fairness, by half-time we were halfway back up it and very close to scaling it.

“We have shown that we can attack, create chances, score goals but you can’t expect to come to Plymouth and score five goals.

“We will keep chipping away, we will keep looking to get better and keep trying to find a balance between being really solid and resolute and keep creating the amount of chances we are.

“We will reflect on the performance. There was lots of stuff we did well and one or two things we think we can do better.

“But we need to get ready to pick ourselves up, bounce into work on Monday because we need the same again and slightly better.”