Good afternoon, and welcome back to The Argyle Angle.
Argyle are through to the FA Cup second round after eventually overcoming seventh-tier Alvechurch in front of just over 10,000 fans inside Home Park. A Will Evans brace, a first goal in green for Michael Baidoo and a fourth from Ronan Curtis sealed the Pilgrims’ progression to the second round at the start of next month.
🏆 FA CUP (SAT 7 NOV 2026)
🟢 Plymouth Argyle 4
Evans 50, 69
Baidoo 78
Curtis 80
🟡 Alvechurch 0
Job done, we’re in the hat
For the first time since 2021, Argyle emerged victorious in the FA Cup first round. Back then it was a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in a replay — a brace for Jordan Garrick and one for Ryan Hardie, but you already knew that — that kickstarted a run to the fourth round that ended with an extra-time defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Since then, Argyle have lost to Grimsby Town and Wycombe Wanderers in their two other appearances in the first round, but yesterday’s victory over Southern League Premier Central outfit Alvechurch ensured that it wouldn’t become three defeats on the bounce.
It means that for the first time in five years, Argyle will be in the draw for the second round, which takes place about two miles up the road at Bolitho Park tomorrow night, when Plymouth Parkway make their first round debut at home to Berkhamsted. Could a first-ever Plymouth derby be on the cards in round two?
Baidoo is back
That wasn’t the only first of the weekend. For the first time since a defeat to Leeds United on the final day of a 2024/25 campaign that ended with relegation from the Championship, Michael Baidoo made a competitive appearance in an Argyle shirt — and he marked it with his first goal for the club.
Rising from the bench to replace Xavier Amaechi on the hour, Baidoo found space in the box to steer a low cross from Jared Rendle into the far corner before doing what many Argyle fans thought they’d never see — wheeling away to celebrate a goal.
It’s been quite the journey for Baidoo since his arrival for a then-record fee in January 2025. A disappointing first four months in the Championship preceded a year on loan in Qatar, and then the prospect of a redemption was cruelly taken away by a hamstring injury at the end of pre-season. But now he’s back, and hopefully this was his first step towards repaying that transfer fee.
Star performer: Will Evans
With the regular stats unavailable for Saturday’s game, this week’s star performer is Argyle’s chosen player of the match, and it was a fine afternoon for the Pilgrims’ number nine, who scored his first two goals at Home Park.
The first a few minutes into the second half was the crucial one that finally broke the visitors’ resistance, with Evans nicking the ball off defender Jessy Bavanganga inside the box and steering it past goalkeeper Redman Evans from a tight angle.
That goal relieved the tension inside Home Park, and his second goal nearly 20 minutes later made sure of the victory. He met Curtis’ delivery at the near post and got enough on it to bundle it over the line. It wasn’t a beautiful goal, but they all count the same.
Should the first half be a concern?
First of all, let’s preface this by saying a match is 90 minutes, not 45 minutes. Over the full 90, Argyle did what they needed to do, scored four goals and got the job done. However, the first 45 minutes was rather forgettable.
It wasn’t for the want of trying, Argyle did have six shots in the first half. But besides an Evans header from an excellent Oliver Irow cross, these didn’t trouble Redman Evans in the Church goal, and there’s an argument that Argyle should be doing much better than that against a semi-professional team some four divisions below them.
Things did improve in the second half, presumably after some strong words from Tom Cleverley, with the Pilgrims converting four of nine shots on goal as the part-time visitors tired, but a stronger first-half showing would have made the afternoon a bit more comfortable.
A busy day for Rendle
It was a good day for 17-year-old left-back Jared Rendle, who crowned his fourth senior appearance for the Pilgrims with an assist for Baidoo’s goal. The teenager came off the bench in the 71st minute to replace Alex Mitchell, and provided the low cross for Baidoo to sweep home Argyle’s third goal seven minutes later.
That alone would been a decent shift for one of Argyle’s brightest academy products, but this was Rendle’s second match of the day, having played the first 45 minutes of the under-18s’ 2-1 victory over Swindon Town in the Professional Development League Cup.
That victory for the young Pilgrims secured their place in the PDL Cup quarter-finals for the first time. Factor in the FA Youth Cup and the senior side’s EFL Trophy campaign as well, and Rendle will have plenty of opportunities to impress in the coming weeks.
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Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Angle