Good afternoon, and welcome back to The Argyle Angle.
A Louis Appéré own goal, a Bim Pepple penalty and another from Xavier Amaechi clinched victory for the Pilgrims. The win was the perfect tonic after back-to-back defeats and takes Argyle back up to fourth in the table.
🏆 LEAGUE ONE (SAT 24 OCT 2026)
🟠 Cambridge United 2
Kaikai 57
Lavery 86
🟢 Plymouth Argyle 3
Appéré OG 41
Amaechi 50
Pepple 74
Cleverley changes it up
After those back-to-back defeats to Huddersfield and Stevenage, all eyes were on what Argyle chief Tom Cleverley was going to do for Saturday’s visit to Cambridge. The answer was a switch of system to a back three, with Argyle lining up in a 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1 if you prefer).
Wes Harding and Julio Pleguezuelo joined Alex Mitchell to form the back three, with Jack MacKenzie and Matty Sorinola returning to the line-up as wing-backs either side of Harvey White and Tyreeq Bakinson. Pepple led the line on his own, with Will Evans dropping slightly deeper and towards the left while Amaechi fulfilled that role on the right side.
It may only be one game, but this appeared to suit Argyle much better, and the result speaks for itself. Harding looked happier in a slightly more central role and MacKenzie performed well as a wing-back. Giving Amaechi the license to cut in from the right suits him down to the ground, and Evans put in his best shift in a green shirt to date.
Evans’ best game in green?
Let’s talk more about Evans, because it’s been a mixed start to life at Argyle for the 29-year-old summer signing from Mansfield. He’s chipped in with three goals as part of a two-man attack, normally alongside Pepple, but he’s been burdened by the comparison to last season’s top scorer Lorent Tolaj, who, in terms of personnel, he effectively replaced in the summer.
He’s not an out-and-out striker though, and he was one of the biggest beneficiaries of Cleverley’s shift in system yesterday. Getting him to drop deeper and wider allows him to put himself about a bit more and link the midfield to the attack, and being a little further from goal also takes some of the pressure to score goals off his shoulders.
As you’ll see below, he was the player of the match according to WhoScored’s ratings, and this system might be what’s needed to bring the best out of him.
🌟 Star performers
🥇 Will Evans (7.91)
As mentioned above, it was an excellent afternoon for Argyle’s number nine. He also won the penalty that Pepple put away, and would have opened the scoring had U’s gloveman Jake Eastwood not pulled off an excellent save.
🥈 Harvey White (7.22)
Another solid performance in the heart of midfield, and he was unlucky not to be awarded the Pilgrims’ second goal.
🥉 Xavier Amaechi (7.12)
A good performance on the right of the attacking trio, and he provided the delivery for the first goal before being credited with the second.
MacKenzie makes his mark
It’s been a long time coming, but Saturday’s game may well have been the moment Jack MacKenzie finally announced himself as an Argyle player. The Scottish left-back joined from Aberdeen in the summer of 2025 but his time at Home Park has been blighted by injuries.
MacKenzie returned to the line-up yesterday to make only his eighth start since arriving at Home Park, and a solid display in the new left wing-back role will hopefully provide the launchpad for his Argyle career. As the only specialist left-back in the squad, it’s felt like that left-sided role has been waiting for him while he regained fitness, and now may finally be his chance to nail that spot down.
Amaechi or White?
One of the questions to emerge from yesterday afternoon was whether Argyle’s second goal was scored by Amaechi or White. It has been given to the former, but should White feel a little hard done by?
After setting up the opener, an own goal by Appéré, Amaechi was involved in the build-up for the second, beating two men as he cut in from the right and passed to Bakinson, who laid it off to White.
Argyle’s number seven took aim from the edge of the box and his effort took a touch off Amaechi as it flew past Eastwood. That touch appears to be why Amaechi has been given the goal, but with White’s strike seemingly set to hit the target even if it hadn’t struck his team-mate, White may feel like he can lay claim to that one.
Top of the away table
While Argyle’s home form hasn’t been anything to write about since Cleverley took over, the away form is a completely different story. Since the start of last season, the Pilgrims have taken 43 points from 29 home league games — an average of 1.48 points per game that is only good enough for 14th in the division.
Compare that to the away form however, and the difference is stark in that the numbers are so similar. In the same timeframe, Argyle have collected 42 points from 30 away league games under Cleverley. That tally has not been bettered by any other team in that period, with Stockport and Lincoln (now in the Championship) seven points behind the Pilgrims.
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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Angle