Diamond & The Rough: Plymouth Argyle 1-3 Stockport County

So Sam down over to you.

Yeah, at least last year's opening day defeat to Barnsley had a few green shoots of positivity.

Yeah, yesterday had, and really the past 72 hours really, have had very few green shoots of positivity.

It has to be said.

Hot on the heels that we had yet another injury, meaning that was Freddie Osaka.

I mean, that's now just the six professional players who we had injured for the opening day.

We said last season it was going to be anything between four at least and about 11 at the most at any given time.

That's a good healthy six injuries going into the opening day game.

We then obviously came out and just were by far and away the inferior team of the two from minute one.

Credit to Stockport, who were absolutely fantastic.

Probably the best team probably on the day, even better than Lincoln were.

I'm not saying they're going to do better than Lincoln over a whole season, but probably the best team on the day to come down to Home Park.

Since we got relegated into League One, Stockport was superb.

But it doesn't excuse the Argyle performance.

I've never seen our pressing system just get played through like that.

The winger when the wing is pressed, the striker's pressed, Stockport defenders were so composed on the ball, they played out from the back brilliantly.

Perhaps I might paraphrase a famous quote and say rumours of the death of possession football are vastly exaggerated if yesterday's game is anything to go by.

Stockport played it magnificently.

Yeah, as Gazza said, not always the most positive of chaps, Gazza, but I do agree with him on this occasion.

The high pressure wasn't working and left loads of space behind, which Stockport simply passed through even before the goal.

That was apparent.

That being said, Although they were brilliant at playing for our press, a lot of the goals were to some extent self-inflicted by defensive errors.

Hartridge left far too much space for the first and Ross got a bit too easily beaten as well.

And then it was just a deflection off Sorinola.

took it away from Murphy Cooper and I think Murphy Cooper wasn't actually getting down well to save it if it hadn't have took that deflection but unfortunately the deflection carried it in second goal was even worse from a defensive point of view that was just really an unforced error Alex Mitchell tried to take a touch too many playing quite high in midfield took a very heavy touch and it ran away.