Plymouth Argyle has certainly enjoyed an excellent start to the season, using the attack-minded philosophy of manager Ryan Lowe to score goals at will.
Although the Pilgrims finished the 2020/21 season 18th in the Sky Bet League One table, the club seem to be heading in an upward trajectory for the current season under Lowe.
Since the arrival of Lowe to Home Park in June 2019, the club has scored 145 goals, including 65 in his inaugural season which helped the Pilgrims earn promotion from League Two in the process.
Last season, the Pilgrims scored 63 goals in League One play, while they have currently scored 17 in eight league matches on the 2021/22 campaign. In fact, the only shutout in league play against the Pilgrims this season was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rotherham on the opening day of the campaign.
With his aggressive style of play, Lowe and his staff have a cumulative record of four wins, seven losses and four draws in the club’s last 15 League One matches dating back to last season. Conversely, this season, the Pilgrims have produced a record of four wins, three draws and one loss in eight league matches. Plymouth Argyle currently enjoy a fourth-place seat in the league table with 15 points, tied with MK Dons for points and goal difference, but sitting behind the Dons in alphabetical order. They are also just a point behind league-leaders Wigan and Sunderland (16 points), although both clubs currently have a game in-hand.
On what was considered a difficult stretch of games to open the month of September, with a home match against Sheffield Wednesday, and trips to at AFC Wimbledon and Portsmouth, the Pilgrims took seven points from the trio of games, having scored seven goals and conceding two in the process.
Forward Ryan Hardie has led the charge for the Pilgrims scoring attack, bagging eight goals in 10 matches played thus far. Last season, Hardie registered just six goals altogether. He is currently tied atop the League One stats leaders alongside Cole Stockton (Morecambe) with both players having posted six goals apiece in league play. He also sits tied atop the League One leaders with James Henry (Oxford United) and Michael Smith (Rotherham) with 13 shots on target to-date. Just behind Hardie is last season’s leading-scorer for the Pilgrims – Luke Jephcott, with four goals scored on the season. Last year, Jephcott slotted away 18 goals for the squad.
When Doncaster and Plymouth Argyle met a season ago, it was the home team claiming all three points in the two meetings, both coming by 2-1 score lines.