Cleverley is pleased but will not get carried away

TOM Cleverley called on his Plymouth Argyle players to be confident but not complacent after their second half demolition of Torquay United in a 6-0 preseason victory at Plainmoor.

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

The Pilgrims only led by a single Xavier Amaechi goal at halftime, but they ran riot in the second period. Amaechi put them 2-0 up with a superb strike cutting in from the right and captain Joe Edwards went on to get two more goals while Bim Pepple and Bali Mumba were also on target.

Cleverley went into the penultimate preseason match with a strong starting lineup and then made seven substitutions before play restarted after Edwards had given Argyle a 4-0 advantage in the 68th minute. A further two changes followed in the closing stages as teenagers Joe Hatch and Joe Mwaro, a first-year apprentice, came off the bench in the closing stages.

“Like any game you have to do the basics well first and I thought we were excellent at that,” said Cleverley as he assessed the comprehensive win. “The duels, the second balls, the running. It certainly gave us a foothold in the second half. I don’t think we lost a second ball until about 15 minutes in.

“After seeing a sticky, end-to-end first 10 minutes we really took control of the game. We showed more clinical finishing in the second half than we did the first but, all in all, a pleasing run-out for our lads. I was really pleased with the impact of the subs. Just when we went a little bit flat, they brought an injection and saw the game out really well for us.”

Cleverley continued: “I think tonight was the evening where it clicked. We should take confidence but not be complacent by it.