Further frustration for Plymouth after being thrashed 4-0 by league leaders Cardiff

It’s further frustration for Plymouth Argyle after being thrashed 4-0 by League One leaders Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.

The Bluebirds extended their unbeaten league run thanks to goals from Ryan Wintle (stunning 25-yard strike before half-time), Chris Willock (deflected effort), Rubin Colwill (another deflection early in the second half), and substitute Isaak Davies (late powerful finish).

Tom Cleverley admitted his side were well beaten as Cardiff picked up a fifth win in six and 16 points under Brian Barry-Murphy, while for 21st place Plymouth it was a fifth defeat in six, with 3 points to their name.

Plymouth fan Jack McDermott, aka Pieface, said via TikTok after the game: “Well this weather is very fitting isn’t it for the absolute pile of shit we’ve just had to watch.

“I fucking hate football, it’s a shit sport. I don’t like it, it’s fucking crap.

“I’ve found a way for us to fix our problems and that is to put a dinger in the ball like they’re doing blind football so our players when they pass the ball five yards to each other know where the ball is because that helps.

“But yeah thanks again to the board of this wonderful football club. We’ve got youth players coming off the bench because we’ve got no one else. Hello League 2, I’m going home. Fucking joke.”

@pieface23pafc I hate football 🤬 #pafc #cardiff #plymouth #pieface #fyp ♬ original sound – Pieface23

Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy said, per the club website: “Today was a good day for us. I’m very happy to get a win against a team who are dangerous opponents.

“I enjoyed a large part of our game today. I thought our final pass could have been sharper, but any day you score four goals and give the supporters so much joy is a great one.

“It’s pleasing that they’ve made such big improvements so early in the season. They were protected a lot by the press of the midfield, who covered so much ground today.

“It’s a fundamental part of how we want to play. We want to be as attack-minded as possible, but you can’t lose sight of the need to defend the box, especially against strong teams.

“We have to protect the goal and preserve Nathan [Trott’s] clean sheet. The defenders were skilled and aggressive today, which is exactly what we want.

“You can’t perform in any way, shape or form if you haven’t got the supporters with you. We’re trying to give them something to feel excited about, and you must back that up with performances.

“I told the players today that we’re going to lose games – it could have been today – but if you play with the same aggression and identity, the supporters here are very fair. The energy we’ve had from them every single day has been brilliant.

“We have to give them our all to impress them.”

Plymouth’s Tom Cleverley said, per Plymouth Live: “Obviously very disappointed. We have got more than one issue at the minute. Clearly I think there is a gulf in quality between the two sides today so how do we bridge that gap?

“That is by doing the basics well – tackling, running, communicating, details, set pieces. That’s how we could bridge that gap today and we didn’t. They did that side of the game better than us as well, and hence a convincing win for Cardiff.

.”I think they had one player who wasn’t contracted to Cardiff last season, being the goalkeeper (Nathan Trott) and we have seven in our line-up. We have lads who this is the first time they have seen this level of football.

“We are on a different stage of our journey to what the opposition are so how do we bridge that gap? That’s be better at the basics of football today.”

“It was a similar game plan to the week. Cardiff play the same system as Swansea. I thought they were an excellent football team, really efficient with how they move the ball, show good confidence and lots of quality when they are in and around our box.

“We knew we were up against it. I thought we were really disciplined, not as much quality on transition as we showed on Tuesday so we didn’t really create anything when we turned the ball over and sprung out.

“It was a little bit of a harsh refereeing decision on the handball and a couple of deflections take the game away from us but I’m not crying about the refereeing or bad luck today. We were beaten by a better side and how do we bridge that gap is what we will be looking to put right.”

Cleverley on Cardiff: “I would be proud as a Cardiff supporter right now, I think six academy products started the game today.

“Really well drilled, Brian (Barry-Murphy) is doing a great job, lots of quality coming out of the academy. I know I’m very complimentary of Cardiff today, we have been beaten by a better side. As the manager of Plymouth Argyle we are inspired by it but we absolutely think we can get to these levels.”

Here’s how fans reacted on twitter amid further frustration for Plymouth after being thrashed 4-0 by league leaders Cardiff…

@ChiIdishDanbino: At what point do us fans stage a mini protest and don’t sell out an away game? Shouldn’t have to keep supporting the capitulations away from home

@jackolesliepafc: 3000 fans spending their hard earned cash to travel up and down the country to watch dross every away game. Club need to focus on the playing squad and make it the priority. Absolutely miles off Cardiff. Walk in the park that. Huge 2 days to show intent.

@Matt_Lee_MPL: Embarrassing from minute one to 94. I’ve bemoaned a lack of quality but this shower of shite can’t even do the basics like heading, tackling or passing to a teammate. The relegation stench around this team is still emanating from last season. I’m just sick of being crap. #pafc

@ImCalledCake: What happened to Argyle? last season they were arguably the best team toward the end of the relegation battle.. now they’re looking at the worst performance they’ve seen in years.. poor fuckers, hope they rebound soon

@JoeRendle: Lost for words which is unlike me. At least during the administration days we had an excuse for being shit… #pafc

@benrobinson97: @SimonHallett, today we’ve visited a club that wants an immediate return to the championship, couldn’t relate. 👍🏼

@BenBlight3: Worst defence in the football league last season. Currently worst defence in the football league this season. Consistency is key I suppose 🤦 #pafc

@taylorjhn1: Once again an absolute disgrace on the road… just when I think things are getting positive, these players remind me that they simply aren’t good enough. Swansea was a one-off. #pafc

@josh88tucker: I didn’t mind Argyle always being shit because we didn’t know any different. We were always shit. What hurts is that we somehow became decent at a level where we could dream and then we completely fucked it. We had it and it’s gone. 😭 #pafc

@_cobibudge: 4 wins from our last 49 away matches. Our propensity to turn into brown bread the second we travel anywhere north of Ivybridge is getting a bit farcical now. It doesn’t matter who the manager is, nor who the players are. It’s a deep rooted mentality problem. On Tom Cleverley, I’m not going to say that we should be showering him with praise, but we can’t be looking to start doubting another manager. We need stability. He’ll make mistakes but he seems a good bloke and he seems like he has good intentions. He needs backing. #pafc

Class 👍 pic.twitter.com/BfhdbSOVPd

— TiltDoherty (@Resurgam96) August 30, 2025