Cleverley made a switch for the second half to a 4-2-3-1 formation and the Pilgrims’ players took that on board as they went on to win 3-0
Goal celebrations for Lorent Tolaj of Plymouth Argyle during the Sky Bet EFL League One match between Barnsley and Plymouth Argyle at Oakwell Stadium on 6 April 2026 in Barnsley, England (Photo by Steve Taylor/PPAUK)
Tom Cleverley was delighted with the way Plymouth Argyle bounced back from their 2-1 Good Friday defeat by Bolton Wanderers at Home Park with a convincing 3-0 Easter Monday victory over Barnsley at Oakwell.
Cleverley thought the key moment of the match was when Lorent Tolaj scored to put the Pilgrims two goals ahead in the 57th minute, at a time when Barnsley were causing them problems at the other end of the pitch.
Argyle, who opened the scoring through Owen Oseni in the 16th minute, switched from a 4-4-2 set-up to 4-2-3-1 at the start of the second half to try to prevent Barnsley finding space behind their central midfielders.
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Cleverley thought that tactical change worked out well for the Pilgrims, who wrapped up the win with an 80th minute penalty from Oseni for his 10th goal of the season after he was brought down by goalkeeper Owen Goodman.
Argyle are up to seventh position in the league table, two points outside the top six, going into the Devon derby against Exeter City at Home Park this Saturday.
Cleverley said about the victory over Barnsley: “I thought the first goal was an outstanding transition. We felt in control even when they had the ball for the first 20 minutes.
“Then that changed a little bit and they had the ball and were causing us problems and we didn’t feel as in control, and 10 minutes after half-time the same.
“Credit to Barnsley they are a good football team when they are clicking and caused us more problems than I have seen a lot of teams do recently, and the second goal was key to it.
“A slight change in the system second half, the players took that on board well, and in the end what looked like was going to be a difficult 1-0 turned into quite a comfortable 3-0.”
Cleverley continued: “We like to be aggressive with our midfield, we like to jump with our midfield and they were exploiting the spaces behind that.
“So we went 4-2-3-1, not 4-4-2, and left our sixes in where they (Barnsley) were exploiting space. It always helps to do that when you are 1-0 up because you don’t need to get as much pressure on the ball high up.
“The impact of the substitutes was outstanding. Young Caleb Roberts coming on in midfield, Caleb Watts bringing energy and quality, the same with Xav (Amaechi) and Brendan (Galloway).”
Ronan Curtis of Plymouth Argyle wins a header during the Sky Bet EFL League One match between Barnsley and Plymouth Argyle at Oakwell Stadium on 6 April 2026 in Barnsley, England (Photo by Steve Taylor/PPAUK)
With Oseni getting to 10 goals for the season, Argyle now have three strikers who have done that this term, with Tolaj now on 18 and Bim Pepple on 15.
Pepple missed the Easter Monday due to a minor calf issue and should be fit for the visit of Exeter to the Theatre of Greens, but Oseni and Tolaj proved a real menace for Barnsley.
Cleverley said: “I’m blessed in that area of the pitch at the minute. I think that’s all three of them in double figures this season now.
“There is a lot of people that should be proud about that, first all of the players themselves but also the staff and the hard work that has gone into three players who had pretty much zero experience at this level as of the start of this season.”
Oseni was pushed to the front by his Argyle team-mates as they celebrated after the final whistle in front of the 1,200-strong travelling Green Army.
Cleverley said: “I thought Owen Oseni was outstanding today. We always like to reward the player. You have always got to be respectful when you are on someone else’s turf, at someone else’s home, that it doesn’t look like a celebration parade.
“But you have also got to respect how far our supporters travel. Friday, my fire certainly started burning when I saw Bolton doing it on our pitch.
“So you don’t want to be disrespectful but let our guys enjoy this moment with our supporters who travel so far.”
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