Kenny Cooper set to start at Plymouth?

If I were a wagering man, I’d say that Kenny Cooper is about to get his first bite off the first-team apple at Plymouth Argyle.

The big American forward played 22 minutes over the weekend in his debut for the Pilgrims. Then on Tuesday, he was a halftime sub as Plymouth fell to similarly relegation-threatened Reading.

For Paul Mariner’s side, that was the meat in the sandwich of an important three-game stretch. The trio of matches, happening over just eight days, is against fellow league strugglers. Well, his club has lost the first two, which makes three losses in a row overall. So I don’t believe the fiery Mariner will be in much mood to keep running the same bunch of 11 out there.

He was complimentary of his team after the break in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Reading (on a controversial stoppage-time penalty kick). Cooper was one of the changes at the interval, so that bodes well. Now we’ll see what happens when the team arrives at Barnsley this weekend, but I’m thinking Cooper will be in the first 11.