It was a night to remember at Home Park as Plymouth Argyle thrashed Spurs U21s in the Vertu Motors Trophy – but the biggest talking point wasn’t the scoreline, it was Seb Campbell.
It was an unusual sort of night at Home Park as Argyle demolished Spurs under-21s in the Vertu Trophy.
Firstly, it was nice to attend a game without the knot of nerves resting in the stomach that a league match so often presents and to enjoy the football on its own terms. I also watched from Block 9, an unusual vantage point for me. I think, in fact, my first time there.
Seb Campbell Scores
One thing I did have the honour of witnessing was an Argyle record being broken. Not our biggest ever win, no (although we did have hopes of that going 4-0 up before half-time). It was the second half substitute Seb Campbell who came off the bench to slot home our sixth and – at 16 years and 279 days – break the record as Argyle’s youngest ever goalscorer in a competitive fixture.
He was visibly happy if a little dazed at the prospect of scoring on his first outing in green in his post-match interview…hopefully, the first of many.
Looking Back at Argyle’s Youngest Goal Scorers
The question, then: how excited can Argyle fans be about this dynamic central-midfielder? This week, I’ve taken a look at some of the other youngest scorers for the Pilgrims and examined how their career has unfolded since that big breakthrough moment.
With thanks as ever to the wonderful Argyle resource that is Greens on Screen, Where Are They Now?
Darren Bastow – second youngest
Every club has those ‘What Might Have Been’ players, don’t they? Despite my online reputation, my memory isn’t endless and when I attended my first Argyle game Bastow had already departed the club. I remember him having been described in rather wistful terms as a player with sublime talent, if not quite the application to match. Think Ravel Morrison for Manchester United. He played 53 times before leaving in a career riddled with off-field distractions.
Richard Reynolds – third youngest
If I’m too young to have seen Bastow, I’m definitely too young to have seen 77-year-old Reynolds. He did amass a creditable 100 appearances for the greens before moving to Pompey and then overseas. Barring a brief sojourn into management in the Isle of Wight, he’s had no involvement in football during my lifetime.
Matt Lecointe – fourth youngest
Now this one, I do remember pretty well. Lecointe is not dissimilar to Bastow in that he is yet another ‘what might have been’ player. However, it was not discipline that was the issue for him, but injuries.
He broke onto the scene in exciting fashion in 2011, giving some life and soul to a team ravaged and weary following administration and widespread player departures. Despite only being a first-year-apprentice, he scored a pivotal goal in our first away win of the season at Dagenham.
His departure from Argyle was delayed as the club offered him numerous contracts to help him through setback after setback on a recurrent knee injury. In 2015, however, the situation proved unsustainable and Lecointe retired from football for good.
Dan Gosling – fifth youngest
Quite possibly the finest ever product of our academy, Gosling’s achievements were even more impressive than most on this list, given he broke into a successful Championship side.
Riding the crest of Argyle‘s mid-00s optimism, Ian Holloway described Dan Gosling as a 16-year-old who could tackle harder than most of the squad. That however, was far from his only skill.
An exciting and energetic midfielder, he had an eye for the net too with frequent late runs into the penalty area. He left Argyle in the great fire sale of January 2008 and his legacy later had the addition of a sour postscript.
In far gloomier times for Argyle, Gosling was at the heart of a protracted contract dispute with Everton, the upshot of which was that he was allowed to sign for Newcastle on a free transfer.
Argyle missed out on a healthy share of transfer revenue which sent us deeper into the financial mire. Gosling is currently a coach for Watford under-18s.
Caleb Roberts – sixth youngest
The first in this list to still be at the club! Roberts got his goal about a year after his debut, against Charlton in the Papa John’s Trophy (as was).
Four years on from his debut and three from that night, he’s yet to add to his goal tally for Argyle. Don’t get me wrong, as a central midfielder with limited minutes in green, you wouldn’t necessarily expect him to be banging them in left, right and centre.
That said, despite some excellent performances (the Brentford FA Cup game comes particularly to mind) he has yet to either firmly establish himself in the Argyle side or indeed find a suitable loan. You get the sense that his ‘now or never’ season is coming, if not this then certainly next.
Tegan Finn – seventh youngest
Yep, Campbell wasn’t the only player to break into the scoring charts last week. Finn’s debut came around a year ago and wasn’t quite quick enough to get a podium place but his two goals against Spurs were just the tip of the iceberg. He assisted two more with a fine cross for Mathias Ross and a lovely through ball for Owen Oseni, as well as having involvement in Campbell’s aforementioned goal. Finn was spectacular against his peers and no doubt has a bright future ahead of him.
Tyler Harvey – eighth youngest
In what seems to be an increasingly common trend in this list, Harvey was another one of those players who ‘it didn’t quite happen for’. Who could forget his debut against Torquay, bursting onto the scene in swashbuckling fashion?
‘He’s one of our own’ was the chant, ringing around the Devonport End. Many hoped that he’d either become a club legend or be sold, making us some money in the process. Despite interest from Forest and Cardiff, the latter never occurred and the former began to look less likely with each passing year. He eventually left Argyle in 2015 and after a fruitless season in Wrexham, a long and successful association with Truro City began (punctuated by a brief spell at Bath).
He was the National League South’s top scorer last season, taking the Tinners into the fifth tier for the first time. Now 30, Harvey remains in Cornwall.
Written by Sam Down of Argyle Life for the Plymouth Chronicle
