Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley believes his players ‘shrank away from the challenge’ after suffering a 2-0 defeat against promotion rivals Huddersfield Town.

The Pilgrims welcomed Martin Drury’s side to Home Park yesterday afternoon looking to maintain their place at the top of League One. Heading into the game on the back of successive league victories, were looking to gain an early advantage against a team that are also likely to be challenging for a top two spot this season.

The home side suffered the worst possible start when Derensili Sanches Fernandes put the away side in front with a cool finish after six minutes. It was a goal which sparked the away team into life and it’s fair to say that Huddersfield were the dominant force in the first half.

The Terriers had 14 shots before the break, compared to Plymouth’s three, although they only commanded a 1-0 lead as the half time whistle went. Cleverley’s side were slightly better in the second period and crafted more opportunities, but Bojan Radulović doubled the advantage 10 minutes into the half to secure all three points.

Cleverley Admits Disappointment

Although it’s early in the campaign, this was a fixture which Plymouth would have viewed as an early six-pointer, especially because they have played more games than all the teams around them. As a result, Cleverley has admitted he was disappointed with the performance. Speaking after the game, he said:

“Really disappointing. When we saw the first 40 seconds of the game and we have a big chance at the back post that their goalkeeper does well.

“Then Jack MacKenzie lands on a second ball and puts in a real firm challenge, you think ‘We will have a bit of this and really get the crowd involved’.

“Then the first action that they (Huddersfield) showed their quality, and I thought they were excellent today, we seemed to fear that and really go into our shell, and shrink and not have the mindset of ‘Okay, I’m up against a good player, how am I going to dominate him?’

“Technically, they have got a great side. Then you have got to go firmer in your duels, you have got to run harder, you have got to be really concentrated away from the ball, really structured, to get on top of your individual battles, and then the game.”

“We Shrank Away From The Challenge”

The defeat means that Plymouth have surrendered their lead at the top of League One, dropping to fourth as a result. Furthermore, Huddersfield have now moved into third on goal difference having played a game less.

Head Coach Tom Cleverley reflects on a disappointing afternoon 🗣️

📺 https://t.co/3FIyCtihHJ pic.twitter.com/X3KghAM1n0

— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) October 17, 2026

Continuing, Cleverley slammed his players, accusing them of surrendering to the occasion:

“If anything we shrank away from that challenge. Yeah, dominated in every phase of the game. A real humbling afternoon and one that we are determined to react from with two important games coming up.

“You have to take defeat on the chin on afternoons like that where you are second best.”

The former Watford boss was clearly hurting as he spoke to the media, admitting that it was the kind of performance which causes sleepless nights:

“We are conceding too many big chances in the first 15 minutes so that’s something I have to address. Is that a mentality thing, a structure thing, approach, warm-up, all these things? You don’t sleep as a coach after a performance like that.

“I have got a really honest group of lads who will be accountable for today, who will be really keen to be in the team for Tuesday so they can show that they are hurting.”

Plymouth will have a chance to return to winning ways on Tuesday night when they travel to Stevenage.