Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Burton Albion: FLW reports as Pilgrims comfortably dispatch Brewers | OneFootball

FLW reports as Plymouth Argyle hosted Burton Albion in their first fixture at Home Park in 2026.

Plymouth Argyle beat Burton Albion 3-0 in their first match at Home Park in 2026, thanks to goals from Brendan Galloway, Mathias Ross, and Lorent Tolaj.

Plymouth made a bright start and took advantage of this when Galloway caught a pinpoint Joe Ralls corner on the volley, blasting past a helpless Brad Collins.

Two big chances came for both sides on the stroke of half-time, Xavier Amaechi was denied by Collins, before Conor Hazard's mistake almost allowed Fabio Tavares to level the contest. However, it would remain 1-0 to the Pilgrims going into the break.

Just after the hour-mark, Argyle doubled their advantage when Ralls' cross-field pass was headed back across goal by Tolaj into the path of substitute Ross, who buried the chance emphatically.

Tolaj then sealed the deal from the spot after Kyran Lofthouse brought down Galloway in the box. The number nine confidently dispatched his penalty to get his side off to the perfect start at Home Park in 2026.

Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Burton Albion

Argyle came within inches of taking the lead inside the first minute. A long ball forward from Alex Mitchell found Tolaj, who spotted Collins off his line. He tried to dink an effort over the Burton keeper and ended up rattling the crossbar instead.

The Swiss forward was finding avenues early on, and once again fired a warning shot when he picked up the ball about 30 yards from goal and drove at the Burton defence. His shot never troubled Collins though, as it sailed wide of his far post.

After a positive start, Plymouth got a deserved lead from a corner. Ralls' outswinging delivery was volleyed in by Galloway, marking his Home Park return after AFCON with a delightful finish.

Alex Hartridge then had to be withdrawn after a nasty head collision with Bim Pepple. The former was thankfully able to walk off the pitch, whilst the latter was able to continue after receiving treatment.

On the stroke of half-time, Tom Cleverley's side had a golden chance to make it 2-0. Mitchell's long ball was taken down by Tolaj and played into the path of Amaechi, who's shot was well saved by Collins.

They almost paid the price for that missed opportunity, as Burton provided a late scare when Tavares pounced on a poor pass from Hazard. Fortunately, the Argyle keeper redeemed himself by saving the striker's shot.

Referee Ollie Yates then called time for the first half. The Greens had been in control, and looked good value for their lead, but Burton certainly weren't out of the game, and it seemed like a second goal would be required to finish them off.

Argyle started the second half in a similar fashion to the way they started the first. An incisive ball from Ralls found Pepple at the byline, who dug out a perfect ball for Tolaj to hit at goal. His slow effort almost caught Collins out, but it rolled just wide of the far post.

Just after the hour mark, another Plymouth defender added themselves to the scoresheet. A delightful cross-field pass from Ralls was put back across the face of goal by Tolaj for Ross to thump home his first goal for the club from close range.

With 15 minutes to go, Argyle were awarded a penalty when Galloway was hauled down in the box by Lofthouse. Tolaj stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick with confidence, vanquishing any lingering frustration from his Boxing Day miss.

That would prove to be the last of the action for the afternoon, as Argyle welcomed 2026 at Home Park with three goals and three points to lift themselves out of the bottom four.

As for Burton, they took Plymouth's place in the relegation zone, and were still in search of their first points of the new year, having fallen to defeat in both of their opening 2026 outings.

Plymouth Argyle player ratings

Burton Albion player ratings

B. Collins - 4

K. Lofthouse - 4

T. Vancooten - 5

T. Sibbick - 5

A. Hartridge - 5 (N. Akoto 29'(5))

J. Armer - 4

G. Evans - 5 (J. Newall 91'(N/A))

K. Chauke - 4

J. Larsson - 5 (J. Taroni 91'(N/A))

F. Tavares - 4 (Z. Scutt 91'(N/A))

D. Williams - 4 (S. Krubally 91'(N/A))

Unused substitutes: K. Dudek, J. Williamson

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Match attendance

There were 14,662 fans present at Home Park, including a respectable 257 travelling all the way down from Burton.

Tom Cleverley reacts as Plymouth Argyle comfortably triumph over Burton Albion

Speaking to PA Media after the match, Argyle boss Cleverley said: “Tolaj worked well with Bim Pepple and then with substitute Caleb Watts.

“He (Tolaj) has been outstanding for us and deserves a couple of days off knowing he’s top of the (goalscoring) charts.

“It was a thoroughly deserved win.

“We started the game really well with Tolaj hitting the crossbar in the first minute.

“I gave the players a challenge of double-figures attempts on goal in the first half and I think we had 12 and we ended up with 20 in the game.

“It was a good balance of controlling the game but also having some purpose to it.

“I thought we were well worthy of the three points.

“Today marks the end of those 10 games we talked about and a 17-point target we managed to achieve, and we are heading in the right direction.

“Now it’s about the players having a couple of days’ rest and looking to attack the next block of games.

“We were really strong on set-pieces at start of the season then we dropped off for about eight or nine games, since Burton away, we got back to it today.

“Two really nice set-piece goals, one direct and one playing short and I am really pleased with the outcome and to be getting more of our players back from injury.

“We’ve had to deal with it most season where three, four of our most effective players are out and you can see the effect it had on Gary’s team today.

“If they are missing Shade, Beesley and Webster they are not the same team.”

Gary Bowyer reacts as Burton Albion fall into relegation zone following heavy defeat at Home Park

Speaking to PA Media post match, Burton manager Gary Bowyer said: Burton boss Gary Bowyer said: “The game was decided by two set-plays and a very debatable penalty.

“We get told about minimal contact and that’s why it’s not a foul.

“I just don’t know where we are at with it if I am being honest because unfortunately, we don’t have VAR and when they do have VAR you watch it on the telly and they talk about minimal contact and that’s why a penalty wasn’t given.

“The game is one of those where I have to give our players credit because you have seen our squad and you will probably have all had to have done research on our subs because they are not names you will have been familiar with.

“That group of players that played for us today have played four games in 10 days and given their absolute all.

“The efforts from our players and the way they kept at it, you know they didn’t give up, they kept going.

“If I named you our team that could have played here today there are 12 names missing.

“When you are a club of our size and our budget, that then massively impacts us.

“We have been here before in this situation, we know how to get out of it and so when we get some bodies back we will be looking at that.”