Rovers’ 18 match unbeaten run, which began on the reverse fixture in October, where Rovers and Plymouth drew 1-1, came to an end as the hosts from the south-coast executed an admirable smash and grab performance which was enough to, twice, overrun a Rovers side that lacked enthusiasm, creativity and offensive and defensive prowess, as the hosts ran out 2-0 victors.
During the build-up to this encounter, Tony Mowbray had highlighted Plymouth’s key players as Graham Carey and Rúben Lameiras, both of whom the Rovers manager had worked with at Celtic and Coventry City respectively and in doing so, stated that Rovers would have to watch them closely in order to get anything from the game.
The side that Mowbray put out to face Argyle, saw one solidary change from the starting eleven that easily dispatched Walsall in mid-week, as Craig Conway was introduced in place of Jack Payne, who replaced the Scot, on the bench. One landmark that was achieved in this line-up, was Danny Graham earning his 500th career appearance off the back of being selected as a starter and the forward was no doubt eyeing up a goal to mark the occasion.
As 3pm appeared on the referee’s watch, it was Rovers who took the kick-off and started the game in the hope that they could treat their supporters – who had made the 306-mile journey down to Home Park – with a victory.
Inside 6 minutes, Rovers had the first shot of the game, courtesy of Elliott Bennett who received the ball after some good build-up by Adam Armstrong and Bradley Dack. Dack and Armstrong played the ball in between them before finding Bennett on the edge of the box who lined up a shot from around 20-yards out, but the captain for the day’s shot veered wide of the mark.
The next sight at goal came 13 minutes later, on the 19th minute, which saw a Rovers free-kick land straight onto the head of Paul Downing, who had the power in his locker to leap over his marker and make some good contact with the ball. Downing’s strong header, however was headed straight into the hands of the on-loan Norwich City keeper, Remi Matthews, who was between the Argyle posts.
On the 24th minute, Plymouth had a shout for a penalty as Ryan Taylor claimed that he had been bundled over in the area by Paul Downing, who did well to hold the forward off, however the referee, Charles Breakspear denied the hosts a penalty as he waved the claims away.
It didn’t take long for Plymouth to go from wanting a penalty, to celebrating a goal, as Rúben Lameiras, who Tony Mowbray had spoken about pre-match, volleyed his side into the lead inside 25 minutes as a David Fox free-kick fell into his path. A free-kick from around 35-yards out saw Fox and Carey stand over the ball, but as Carey shaped up to strike at goal, Fox overruled the Argyle number 10 as he tried to loft a ball onto the head of Sonny Bradley who was in the box. The cross, however was cleared by a Rovers man, only as far as Lameiras who lashed at the ball from around 12 yards out to send the home fans wild.
Rovers, in the 10 minutes after the Lameiras goal tried to force their way into the back of the Argyle net, however the home defence stood resilient as they put their bodies on the line in order to deflect shots behind for corners which resulted in them being cleared. However, despite Rovers trying to get themselves back into the game, their luck went from bad to worse by the 37th minute as Plymouth managed to put themselves 2-0 in-front courtesy of Ryan Taylor. A lethal counter-attack by Plymouth saw Antoni Sarcevic break up a Rovers attack and lay it off to Carey who did well to slot the ball through to Taylor who still had a lot to do before being able to celebrate. The forward latched onto Carey’s pass and coolly placed the ball past the despairing David Raya to put the hosts 2-0 to the good.
With Rovers 2-0 down, there was an air of nervousness amongst the away fans as they watched on as the players tried to get themselves back into the game and keep the unbeaten run alive. On the 42nd minute, with half-time approaching, Craig Conway and Adam Armstrong combined to try and get Rovers back into the game with a whole half to play. Conway ran down the wing and chipped the ball into the box towards Armstrong who did well to jump up and connect with header, but unluckily for him, he wasn’t able to get his first goal for the club, and Rovers back into the game, as the ball looped up into the air and into the hands of Matthews who easily claimed the ball.
After one minute of time was added onto the end of the first-half by the officials, both sides went into the break with contrasting emotions. Plymouth would have been ecstatic with their first-half performance as they did well to stand firm and reduce Rovers to shots from the edge of the area. With that being said, the hosts also showed their lethality in attack with their no-mercy counter-attacking style, which helped them go 2-0 up. Conversely, Rovers, and Tony Mowbray would have been furious with their first-half performance as they showed nothing to get their loyal following of around 1200 fans off their feet.
As both sides came out for the second-half, it was Rovers who made a change in personnel as they tried to salvage something from this game with Dominic Samuel coming on to replace Danny Graham who, on his 500th career appearance, wasn’t able to mark the occasion with a goal.
Once the second-half had kicked off, it didn’t take long for Samuel to impact the game, but for the wrong reasons as he went into the referee’s book, only seconds after being introduced. Seconds later, Bradley Dack followed his mate into the book, as the playmaker also picked up a yellow card which meant that both the Rovers attacking cast would have to watch their step for the rest of the game.
On the 49th minute, Craig Conway led the Rovers charge as he picked up the ball on the right-hand side before cutting inside and releasing an ambitious shot at goal, which was comfortably saved by Remi Matthews in the Argyle net.
6 minutes after Conway’s attempt, Armstrong had a shot of his own, but the on-loan Newcastle man, who was still looking for his first goal in the blue and white of Rovers, was unable to keep his shot down as the ball ballooned high and wide of the target.
The 58th minute came and so did one of Rovers’ best chances of the half, which came through Dominic Samuel’s header. Elliott Bennett was able to craft an opening and feed Samuel a high ball, with a deep cross. The forward did well to position himself in the area and meet the ball in the air, but Remi Matthews once again denied Rovers a goal as he easily saved the header.
Rovers’ frustrations were beginning to show by this point as Tony Mowbray decided to shuffle his pack in order to find a different route back into the game, as the manager performed a double substitution. Joe Nuttall and Corry Evans were introduced in place of Craig Conway and Richie Smallwood in the hope that Nuttall’s aerial presence, alongside the quality that was already on the pitch, would help Rovers get back into the tie.
On the 64th minute, Rovers won a corner that was delivered in towards the far-post. The ball took a couple of bounces before falling to the feet of Paul Downing who struck his shot straight into the side-netting.
Seconds later, from the goal-kick, Plymouth were once again on the counter-attack as Lameiras struck an effort at goal that nearly found its way into the net, but for the head of Derrick Williams who did well to recover and clear the ball from just in-front of the goal line.
Plymouth, by the 70th minute, decided to shut up shop and bring on two defenders in the hope of grinding out a win by fighting off any potential Rovers onslaught that was due. Goal-scorer, Rúben Lameiras and David Fox were withdrawn in place of former Rover Yann Songo’o and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.
It took only 3 minutes until Songo’o nearly put the game to bed and came back to haunt his former club, as he almost got on the end of a Graham Carey free-kick which just evaded him as he was left unmarked in the box.
The frustrations in the Rovers camp were increasing by the minute as Elliott Bennett became the next Rovers player to enter the referees’ notebook, for a late challenge inside the home side’s half.
The game soon became a case of Rovers trying and Plymouth clearing, as on the 88th minute, the hosts wasted the final few minutes of normal time, by making their third and final change which saw Graham Carey, who had run the game for Plymouth, be replaced by Joel Grant.
With the game looking like ending in nothing other than a Plymouth win, that soon became a reality after the referee, Charles Breakspear, put Rovers out of their misery by blowing for full-time after the 4 minutes of added time he had added, were completed.
With Rovers losing their long unbeaten run at the hand of Plymouth, it will now be interesting to see how Mowbray and his men react to the surprise defeat in their next game, which is at home to Oldham Athletic. In terms of the league standings, Rovers have dropped back down to 3rd after Shrewsbury managed a 2-1 win away at Bristol Rovers. Wigan, on the other hand, have now gone 4 points clear of Rovers due to their convincing 2-0 victory over Gillingham, which leaves the top of the table looking like this; Wigan are top with 28 games played, 63 points and a positive goal difference of 42, Shrewsbury are 2nd with 29 games played, 61 points and a positive goal difference of 18 whilst Rovers sit in 3rd with 30 games played, 59 points and a positive goal difference of 25.
With the disappointment of the defeat expected to be raw in the minds of the players throughout next week’s training, they will be hoping that they can repay the fans’ faith in them with a win in their next outing, which is at home to Oldham Athletic on the 10th February. In addition to that, the players will be hoping that they could restart the unbeaten run against an Oldham side, who beat Rovers in the reverse fixture, giving next Saturday’s game an added incentive
