On a day where red roses and blue violets are lauded, the Greens met the Tangerines. According to Tom Cleverley, Argyle passed their test with flying colours.
Argyle scored the first goal in the game, for the eight game in a row, when Alex Mitchell scored his first for the club. More crucially, and something not always having been achieved in recent times, the Pilgrims scored the game’s second goal too. And the third, straight after.
Bim Pepple and Malachi Boateng both scored in first-half stoppage time, and then Caleb Watts made it four in the second half, rounding off essentially a perfect away performance.
“I thought we were outstanding today,” Cleverley told Argyle TV after the game. “I thought we delivered in every phase of football - in possession, out of possession, the basics and the set plays. A really pleasing day.
“Today was a strong test passed, with flying colours.”
“We've done a big piece of work on [retaining or expanding leads], a little bit on the training field, but more in meetings, addressing the mindset of being a winning team that not only takes leads, but then goes on to be in control of that and stretch the game further in our favour.
“I thought the players were outstanding today. We've set a high bar today. We keep setting high bars away from home, but not at Home Park. We really want to get this consistency that we're showing on the road back at home.”
Boateng was a player who caught the eye on the day, not only with his third goal of the season, but an terrific all-round display. He was playing in central midfield alongside Herbie Kane, making his first start for the Greens, and he too was an eyecatcher, even among a squad chock-full of strong performances.
“Herbie's one of those midfield players who always seems like he's got time on the ball,” said Cleverley. “He's got fantastic technique. A lot of his set plays or recycling the ball at the edge of the box led to our goals today.
“He’s got a really good balance of doing the basics well, but making us tick it with the ball. As far as full debuts go, it was as close to perfect as you can get.
“Malachi Boateng was outstanding today - and it's not often I single out for praise as strong as that. Maybe I do gravitate to the midfielders a little bit more, but he was absolutely outstanding today. He knows why, and he knows that delivering the basics to a world-class level is important at whatever level of football you play. Today, Malachi delivered them perfectly.”
You can see the full, post-match interview with Tom Cleverley now, by going to Argyle TV.
