Devon & Exeter Premier

Okehampton Argyle 1

Pinhoe 0

ARGYLE got back to winning ways on Saturday — after four straight defeats they just about came out victors against a spirited Pinhoe.

During their recent poor run, all the teams below Argyle have won their games to close the gap between fifth and sixth place in the league and the bottom three to only three or four points difference, which meant it was vital to win Saturday's game.

Okehampton started the brighter with Daniel Gibbs, in midfield, looking solid in his first start for weeks.

Neil Agnew and Neil Vernon on the flanks were full of running, with Donny Gibbs, Adam Mortimer and Stuart Cann finding them at ease during the first quarter.

Graham Soby, Michael Vernon and the ever-consistent Kevin Gill, were solid in defence and restricted Pinhoe to long range shots which were all wayward.

Argyle took the lead with a strike from Lee Carey from the edge of the box. This for a short period lifted them and they had several more chances but failed to score.

Pinhoe dominated possession for long spells without causing too much discomfort to Argyle, but after they won the ball back they were always looking to play the difficult pass instead of the easy ball, and gave possession back to Pinhoe.

After the break, Pinhoe continued to have the lion's share of the ball, but found it hard to break down the stubborn home defence.

When Argyle did go forward, they lacked imagination and creativity and most of these raids came to nothing. One or two dubious decisions regarding offside infuriated Argyle who began to panic and started to give possession away quicker than before.

Mortimer had the best chance in a rather drab second half, when he blazed the ball over the bar from eight yards, after an excellent pass from Carey.

Paul Yip, who came on as a half time substitute for Cann, showed some neat touches and determined tackles to foil Pinhoe on many occasions.

This was not the best game seen at Simmons Park, but to the players it will come as some light relief after recent weeks of playing well and not getting a result.

Argyle are home again on Saturday, against Bideford in the East Devon Senior Cup third round, kick-off 2pm.