Relief, exhaustion and, ultimately, joy were among the emotions felt by Tom Cleverley during Argyle’s Devon Derby win on Monday night.
The Pilgrims beat Exeter 2-0 in the opening round of the Carabao Cup, following a dramatic conclusion to the game. The game looked to be heading for penalties before Ethan Sutherland was sent off for City late on and, shortly afterwards, former Grecian Alex Hartridge headed in to give the Greens the lead.
Moments later, Bim Pepple made it 2-0 to give Argyle safe passage through to the second round, where they will meet Coventry City.
After the game, Head Coach Tom Cleverley spoke of the relief in getting over the line and building some critical momentum that his side can carry into Saturday’s Sky Bet League One opener against Stockport County.
“We knew this means everything to our supporters,” Cleverley told Argyle TV. “It means everything to us. It meant a lot, taking momentum into Stockport on Saturday, and that’s why there is a huge sense of relief.
“It was quite an exhausting 95 minutes, I thought we could have been a bit better first half, a bit cleaner, a few nerves were in the air.
“Second half it was wave after wave, and I was really pleased with the belief and patience of the players to keep going and finally make the breakthrough.
“I’ve seen lots of managers talk about [the Carabao Cup first round] as a final pre-season game, or a pre-league game, and not actually pay it as much respect.
“We went as strong as possible for as long as possible. It was blood and thunder, it was high intensity, it was hopefully a taste of what’s to come here at Home Park.
“We have to do all the things we can control to make sure it’s as uncomfortable for Stockport on Saturday as it was in large parts for Exeter tonight.”
The game also provided an opportunity for the Pilgrims’ summer recruits to have their first real taste of a proper Home Park atmosphere.
He said: “First and foremost, they put in a performance like they know what it means to play for this football club.
“I thought we were excellent in the duels, and they were strong in the duels tonight Exeter. I thought we did enough to dominate that aspect.
“I’m really pleased for Harvey [White], Murphy [Cooper], Alex [Hartridge], and Will [Evans] tonight that they’ve experienced a proper Home Park evening.
“When you’re selling the football club to players, you tell them about things like this and how big and passionate the club is.
“There was a bit of ‘told you so’ about me tonight!”
Argyle’s head coach then singled out the impressive performance of derby-day hero Alex Hartridge and industrious striker Will Evans.
“Incredible story isn’t it,” said Cleverley. “He (Alex Hartridge) took some quite close-to-the-bone abuse in the first half, and as a player you only have one option on how to respond and that’s on the field.
“He’s probably been our most consistent player in pre-season, and he took it into tonight.
“His long throw, his defensive work, his bravery - and I didn’t think I’d be saying it - but his goals too.
“I loved Will’s performance and an area of his game I feel we can improve is his finishing, his final action.
“The fans are going to love him because of how passionate he is, he doesn’t leave anything out there, he is quick and direct.
“I loved a lot of aspects of his performance tonight and it’s good to see your strikers connecting.”
With all the late-game pandemonium, supporters could be excused for forgetting that Argyle are now into the second round of the Carabao Cup, and not just the winners of the derby.
Not Cleverley though; he already had his mind on that tie, after Argyle had confirmed their clash at Home Park against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City.
He said: “Premier League opposition is always exciting, they had a brilliant season, and they’ll be riding a big wave. They’ve got one of my ex-England teammates and a fantastic English manager, so I’m looking forward to that one.”
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You can watch Tom Cleverley’s Exeter City reaction on Argyle TV, in full, here.
