A win, a draw and frozen pitch frustration for Devon’s professional clubs

The opening weekend of 2026 brought a full spectrum of emotions for Devon’s professional football clubs.

The biggest smiles came at Home Park, where a confident 3-0 victory for Plymouth Argyle over Burton Albion lifted the Pilgrims five places in the League One table, and a rare position outside of the relegation zone.

Argyle have been infuriatingly inconsistent all season but this was definitely one of their good days, Brendan Galloway getting the fun started with an excellent volley on 21 minutes. Lorent Tolaj, by far the stand-out Pilgrim performer over the past few months, was a constant menace to the Burton defence in a dominant first period.

The Greens finally got the comfort of a second goal just past the hour, Tolaj providing the assist for Danish defender Mathias Ross to convert from close range. Victory was complete with a penalty from Tolaj and Argyle can finally start looking up the table.

Jayden Wareham continued his outstanding form for Exeter City, notching a late leveller to earn an impressive 2-2 draw in the cold at Huddersfield Town.

The Grecians have produced a fine festive period and now enjoying the relative safety of mid-table but they were on the back foot in Yorkshire when Marcus Harness opened the scoring on 18 minutes.

The City response was swift and emphatic, Reece Cole lashing a fabulous equaliser into the top corner from just outside the box. Bojan Radulovic restored the home lead two minutes before half-time and Huddersfield were moments from victory when Wareham popped up with a neat finish from Ilmari Niskanen’s cross.

Next up for Exeter City is the small matter of a trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup.

Torquay United were the Devon club left spewing by the freezing weather conditions. The Gulls were due to play at Dover Athletic, their longest away trip of the season, but the game was postponed just three hours before kick-off.