Argyle errors gift 10-man Barnsley an opening win
Tom Cleverley said he was frustrated and disappointed afer his first game as Plymouth Argyle head coach ended in a 3-1 defeat at home to 10-man Barnsley in EFL League One.
Barnsley scored two goals against the run of play in the first half as Argyle dominated and saw a Caleb Watts strike in the fifth minute chalked off for a foul in the build-up.
Debutant Brendan Wiredu then deflected a Davis Keillor-Dunn's free-kick into his own net as Barnsley took the lead on 13 minutes and doubled it on the half hour through Adam Phillips thanks to another Argyle defensive lapse.
The impressive Watts saw a 39th-minute header tipped over by Murphy Cooper, but did grab a goal back on 50 minutes, volleying home after Brendan Galloway had won a header.
There was more controversy after the hour when Barnsley's Jack Shepherd handballed and was sent off for a second yellow card.
That gave the hosts further impetus, but neither Xavier Amaechi nor Watts could hit the target, despite having excellent chances to do so.
The Pilgrims' search for an equaliser exposed them at the back, and on 86 minutes, Barnsley took full advantage.
Luca Ashby-Hammond was left helpless when another defensive mistake allowed Keillor-Dunn to go through from a long clearance and calmly slot home to seal the three points for the visitors.
Cleverley was left understandably frustrated after the match.
"I think Barnsley will be very thankful for the gifts they received today," he said.
"If we're half-hearted in what we do, then we're going to get punished. I'd be the happy if the players committed to the wrong thing, at least they'd be committing to something."
Meanwhile, Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane credited his side's new-found grit for the win, especially after losing Shepherd to the red card.
"I thought we played some really good stuff at time, I thought we played really well after going down to 10, we created some big chances," Hourihane said.
"The togetherness, the fight that the lads showed was brilliant. I think last year we lose that game, but what we tried to create in pre-season – you can see the lad buzzing – was just the togetherness, the bond. That was the bigges thing for me today, that grit, that determination, the fight just to come through."
