Plymouth Argyle Recall Oli Irow for Stevenage League One Clash

Plymouth Argyle sought a response to their 2-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town when they visited Stevenage in an English League One fixture on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Head coach Tom Cleverley planned to restore winger Oli Irow to the starting lineup, while defender Alex Hartridge returned to fitness after an ankle injury, according to reports from Plymouth Herald and Yahoo Sports.

Stevenage entered the match in 12th place with 12 points from nine league games, while Plymouth occupied fourth place with 19 points, according to the BBC's League One table. The encounter also presented Plymouth with an opportunity to recover from their disappointing home performance against Huddersfield.

According to Plymouth Herald, Irow was expected to start after coming off the bench against Huddersfield. The 20-year-old Tottenham Hotspur loanee had impressed with his attacking contributions earlier in the season, and his introduction during the previous match brought additional energy to Plymouth's forward play.

Cleverley acknowledged that leaving Irow out of the starting lineup against Huddersfield had attracted criticism and accepted responsibility for the selection decision.

"I will take all the criticism that I get for that decision. I have just seen a little bit of a loss of spark, and that's in training as well, from Oli. You see it in young players.

You just think 'Right, out the firing line for one, not dropped'. I think Oli has proven enough he gets in our best 11 with the work he has done up until now. We certainly felt like we were missing some spark (against Huddersfield) that he brought in the last half-an-hour.

Yeah, I have to take responsibility for potentially not getting the team selection right." said Tom Cleverley, Plymouth Argyle head coach.

Cleverley also indicated that changes were planned for the Stevenage fixture before the defeat at Home Park. Captain Joe Edwards was expected to be available again after a minor hamstring problem, while Xavier Amaechi was another candidate for selection following his recent contributions from the bench.

"Down the sides of the pitch are where the real competition for the team is. Wide areas and full-backs. I have got two good players in each position and whoever is performing the best will play.

With Xav's impact in the last two games, and Oli clearly showed an impact, then there is tough decisions to be made. In full-back areas as well. We expect Joe to be back on Tuesday, and you have got Matty (Sorinola), Macca (Jack MacKenzie), Alex Hartridge.

So full-back and wide areas there is strong competition and what I'm paid to do is make the right decisions more times than the wrong ones." said Cleverley.

Defensive availability remained another consideration for Plymouth. According to Plymouth Herald, Mathias Ross was hoping to return after an infected foot kept him out against Huddersfield, while Julio Pleguezuelo was also under consideration after recovering from a knee injury.

Hartridge, who joined Plymouth from Burton Albion during the summer, had missed around a month through an ankle injury before returning as a substitute against AFC Wimbledon on October 10. He subsequently played additional minutes in an Under-21 Cup match against Bournemouth before completing the full game against Huddersfield.

The defender recognized the challenge posed by Stevenage, who had reached the League One playoff semifinals the previous season. Speaking to Yahoo Sports, he stressed that Plymouth needed to improve after their latest defeat.

"Another real test. A good team and there will probably be no secrets on how they are going to play, and what the game is going to look like. It's going to be a proper battle.

I think we have shown this season, and I think the guys did it last year as well, responding to poor performances and putting it right. So that's what we want to do." said Alex Hartridge, Plymouth Argyle defender.

Hartridge also described the Huddersfield defeat as a missed opportunity and said he was pleased to be playing again after his injury. He believed the experience of completing a full match would help him improve his performances.

"It's nice to be back playing but I don't particularly want to be involved in a game like that. It was disappointing for us and an opportunity missed. We feel like we didn't give the best account of ourselves.

You probably saw a more powerful team, a team better in duels, over-run us. If that was us being slightly off it and them being a good side, it was a combination of things." said Hartridge.

The defender said he was trying to maintain perspective on the timing of his injury, which interrupted a promising start to his Plymouth career.

"It happens and the timing, I try to not get too negative on when it happens. It's better that it happened after a positive start than after a negative start. There is loads of better scenarios, there is loads of worse scenarios.

It's always frustrating to miss football but it could have been way longer, it could have been way more complicated. I'm just happy to be back playing now." said Hartridge.

Hartridge added that completing 90 minutes had helped him regain match readiness after his spell on the sidelines.

"I feel like once I have played 90 minutes in a game I'm then ready, and I can show a better performance than on Saturday as well." said Hartridge.

Stevenage entered the contest following a 2-0 away defeat to Bradford City. According to Argyle Life, manager Alex Revell's side relied on a direct approach, averaging 43.5% possession and completing 27.2 long passes per game. Their defensive organization had helped them remain competitive despite spending comparatively little time on the ball.

Plymouth, meanwhile, had collected 10 points from a possible 15 in away league matches at the time of the Plymouth Herald report. Cleverley said his team needed to translate its strong away performances into better results at Home Park, with a subsequent trip to Cambridge United scheduled for Saturday, October 24.

"It's the kind of game we are a little bit more suited to at the minute. It will be a war of attrition. We have been very good mentally at bouncing back after defeats.

We don't fear these weeks, at all. Other teams that I have been part of, a week on the road after a home defeat you would be like 'This is a mountain to climb' but not this group. They are really honest, they will be accountable and be raring to go Tuesday, to first of all win the shirt and second of all we give a better account of ourselves than we did (against Huddersfield).

We have been second to none on the road for 10,11 months now so I'm looking forward it," said Cleverley.

The Plymouth manager attributed the team's away form to consistent preparation and an emphasis on individual responsibilities, while acknowledging that its home results had fallen short of expectations.

"We are very process driven as a staff so your job and the detail in it, and your role whether that's in the staff or as a player, is consistent. Whether it's a pre-season game or the play-off final, the controllables should be delivered to a world class level, and that's what I pride myself on preparing the team to do. So home, away doesn't really come into it.

What we have to be conscious of, we need to take more advantage of the home (games), which we are not doing well enough. It's probably why we are just away from that two points a game mark that we are desperately striving for, but the positive of that processed way of thinking and just controlling what you can as an individual and as a team has really benefited the away form and mentally we enjoy being on the road." said Cleverley.