Plymouth Argyle played at a Premier League ground on Tuesday night – but unless you are a real diehard of the Green Army, the occasion might have passed you by, writes Ross Reid. To be fair it passed many people by.

Only 641 paying customers braved the monsoon of the Liberty Stadium to watch Swansea beat the Pilgrims 2-0 in the much-maligned Checkatrade Trophy.

Yes, of course there was a small group of away fans there, as there always will be wherever Argyle play, but this ‘cup’ game won’t live long in the memory.

The English Football League wants this competition to be used as a proving ground for young British talent and many of the clubs participating have played along with the idea.

But attendances throughout the country have been poor – in their hundreds rather than thousands – and it would shock nobody if a different format was suggested for next season.

It hasn’t been successful; indeed it has attracted widespread criticism from supporters’ groups.

For the record, Derek Adams selected a team with a mixture of first team and young players, one of whom was an apprentice called Jordan Bentley, making his Argyle debut at right back.

Unfortunately, he only stayed on the sodden pitch for the first half, after picking up what was generally felt a harsh second yellow card on the stroke of half-time.

It left the Pilgrims to play the second half with only 10 men but, already two down after conceding twice in the opening 20 minutes, they battled well to prevent any further goals.

And the one major bonus from a night to forget in South Wales was the appearance, as a 53rd minute substitute, of central defender Karleigh Osborne. Osborne has been beset by injury problems since signing from Bristol City in the summer but is now on the periphery of the first team having proved his fitness with the club’s Peninsula League team.

His availability gives Adams another option as the club continue to battle at the top of Sky Bet League Two and in the FA Cup, where they will be at home in the second round to Newport or Alfreton Town.