Ryan Lowe happy to be proved wrong as Plymouth strike late on to beat Rochdale
![Rochdale v Plymouth Argyle – Emirates FA Cup – Second Round – Crown Oil Arena](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oEXJxN8GCMjVkAwS4xtcZD-1200-80.jpg)
Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe was happy to see Luke Jephcott prove a point at his expense after coming off the bench to net an 86th-minute winner in the 2-1 FA cup second-round victory against Rochdale at Spotland.
The Pilgrims were under the cosh after Aaron Morley had cancelled out Jordan Garrick’s first-half opener but Jephcott came off the bench late on to score with virtually his first touch.
“That’s the magic of the FA Cup, we get a goalscorer who comes on the pitch off the bench and is in the right place at the right time,” said Lowe.
“I took him off last week as I wasn’t quite happy with one of his performances, but he’s been excellent all week in training and he’s come on and done the business and he’s proved a point to me, which I like. When you get taken off the pitch and then you don’t get picked you have to show the manager your enthusiasm to go again.
“We haven’t played as well as we normally would, we’ve played a lot better in games and lost. So we weren’t great but we’ve managed to win an FA Cup tie. Credit to Rochdale, they are a good footballing side and they pushed us further than we expected.
“Luke has said he’d like Liverpool in the next round and I think that’s because he knows I want Liverpool and he probably thinks I’ll pick him for that! It is a squad game though and whoever we get in the next round, we’ll relish it.”
Garrick had headed Plymouth into an 18th-minute lead when he met Ryan Broom’s cross and guided a finish inside Jay Lynch’s near post.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Morley brought Dale level after 55 minutes, curling home a stunning finish from 25 yards.
James Wilson and Danny Mayor both hit the woodwork for Plymouth, but Dale had chances of their own and were on top in the closing stages.
That was until Jephcott struck after 86 minutes, making the most of Jake Beesley’s mis-control in attempting to clear a corner and rifling into the roof of the net from close range.
Rochdale boss Robbie Stockdale was disappointed to concede a late goal.
He said: “That was a tough one to take. When we analyse the game, I didn’t think in the first half we were at our best, I’d have liked us to have done better though I didn’t think we were particularly poor – we just lacked our normal composure.
“In the second half I thought we were excellent, we were very good.
“I know Plymouth hit the post a couple of times but in general play, I thought we were the stronger team.
“I was thinking we were going to win it late on with momentum building, so to lose it feels very disappointing.”
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 5: Arne Slot Manager of Liverpool congratulates Mohamed Salah of Liverpool after the 4-0 victory during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Anfield on November 5, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q3ie7X2vDDiU7X6C9HVRK7-840-80.jpg)
‘The pure simplicity of the way Slot has managed the squad is probably the biggest thing I could say about him. It’s not broken, so let’s get on with it’: Liverpool legend full of admiration for Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield
![CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 02: Wales captain Ryan Giggs shakes the hand of manager John Toshack after being substituted on his last International appearance for his country during the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifying Match between Wales and Czech Republic at the Millennium Stadium on June 2, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by (Stu Forster/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ooQ9oNmgvfUUG8TBUhn6BK-840-80.jpg)
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack