Northampton 0 Argyle 2: Match report

THEY say familiarity breeds contempt. Whoever "they" may be, they are not following Plymouth Argyle this season.

A trip away from home and a goal in each half, a formula that worked to good effect at Wimbledon two weeks ago, was adhered to once more, as Graham Carey scored before the break and Jake Jervis after it, giving Argyle a comfortable victory by an identical scoreline as the opening day in south-west London.

The victory had more than a passing resemblance to Tuesday night's 4-1 win over Carlisle, with the Pilgrims nicking a goal from a half in which they were not on top, but dominating after the break to a notable extent, along with some other fleeting similarities.

Derek Adams went with the same starting eleven that began proceedings against Carlisle United in midweek, but in the opposite dugout things were a little different. Northampton boss Chris Wilder, having seen his side win their first two Sky Bet League 2 games and proceed into the second round of the Capital One Cup, had decided to make four changes for Cobblers' trip to Barnet on Tuesday. It backfired, with the Bees running out 2-0 winners, and Wilder decided - although perhaps that had been the plan all along - to revert to the basis of the side that had beaten Exeter the previous Saturday. This mean recalls for Nicky Adams, Marc Richards and Alfie Potter, with Ryan Watson, brought in on loan from Leicester, coming into the side.

As you might expect between two teams on the same amount of points, and only separated in the league by Argyle's marginally healthier goal difference, there was very little between the teams in the opening exchanges. Neither goalkeeper was called upon to take serious action, with McCormick safety gathering Nicky Adams effort at one end not long after Peter Hartley headed over from a Graham Carey corner.

Perhaps the most important act of the first quarter of the game was the fourth official holding aloft a board that included the number nine on it. It indicated that Reuben Reid had a problem - from afar, it looked a hamstring issue - that ruled him out of the game at an early stage. Ryan Brunt took his place leading Argyle's line.

The change, predictably, unsettled Argyle for a while, and the home side settled into a pattern of possession. However, it rarely converted into chances; a 25 yarder from Lawson D'Ath that was close, but that McCormick calmly saw past his post, was the nearest they got. At the other end, Carey beat several Cobblers to dance into the area, but took on one too many one and the chance was gone.

Carey then cast his mind back to Tuesday for inspiration. On that occasion, his hard work and persistence led to two Argyle goals - one for himself and one for Jake Jervis. Four days later, and he repeated the dose to put the Pilgrims in front. As Watson dithered, Carey picked his pocket, took the ball, and headed for goal. He had a fair distance to travel to get to goal, but Northampton had begun to commit men forward and were no position to hold Carey back. The Irishman ran directly towards goal, waited until home goalkeeper Adam Smith had committed himself, and calmly slotted home for his third goal in four league games.

Another repeat of Tuesday night came as the second half began, as once again Derek Adams replaced Gregg Wylde with Josh Simpson, although this time it did not signal a change of shape. Argyle maintained the 4-3-3 they had started with, only with Simpson central and Carey asked to play from the left. It was hardly a surprise that Chris Wilder too looked to his bench to make an alteration. Potter was sacrificed to make way for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was asked to play closer to strike Richards than any of his cohorts had done in the first half.