AFTER dropping points at Oxford last week, it was important for the ladies to get off to a good start against Forest Green Rovers, if they were to maintain a serious promotion challenge.

Gemma Farley was re-instated into the back four, with Laura Carpenter moving forward into midfield. From the beginning, it was an evenly contested affair, with Argyle pushing on whenever possible to try and break down the resolute Forest Green defence. Neither side could really create decent chances as they tended to cancel each other out.

On 25 minutes, the game burst into life when an Argyle move down the right side involving Becky Rose to Jamie Schofield who slid the ball through to Leah Brooks on the right wing.

Leah made some progress before passing to Laura Gough who got a shot away at the second attempt, but the keeper was well placed to save easily. Just a couple of minutes later, and the same player cut in from the right and shot on goal when it might have been more productive to look for a colleague in the box who was better placed.

In the very next minute, Michaela Phillips was called into action to pluck a high ball from under the bar at the other end. In the 34th minute, Laura Perrett let go a shot that went just wide.

At this point the Pilgrims were pressing hard and playing the ball around nicely at times, and were definately the better side. They got their reward for the hard work on 35 minutes.

Midfielder Brooks was pushed over in the penalty area as she was about to shoot, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. For the second week running, up stepped Perrett to score from the spot with an accurate shot.

From this point Argyle had the upper hand as Rovers struggled to keep them at bay. Perrett picked up a pass in midfield and sent an accurate ball along the line to Kate Hine on the ovelap.

The full-back outpaced the defender and raced into the box. Everyone was expecting a cross, but Kate held her nerve and hit a looping drive from a narrow angle over the keeper and into the far side of the net, giving Argyle a 2 - 0 interval lead.

In the second half, Rovers came onto the attack with renewed energy and for some reason the Pilgrims did not seem able to match their efforts of the first period. On 65 minutes, Aoife Aherne replaced Jamie Schofield and a few minutes later Sophie Drake was called into action, with Leah Brooks coming off . Four minutes on and Rovers got their first goal that set alarm bells ringing.

There then followed an unfortunate incident that had a great bearing on the remainder of the match. Kate Hine and a Rovers player each went into a sliding tackle , but the Rovers player made contact with the Argyle captain's thigh, leaving extensive stud marks down her leg and knee.

A clear foul which the referee failed to spot. Had he done so it probably would have resulted in a second yellow card for the Rovers player, who would have then been sent off.

This affected the Pilgrims concentration. Rovers sensed this, and the Argyle defence came under mounting pressure as the game wore on. 85 minutes in and Rovers were level when the defence failed to deal with a ball into the area, and the ball was scrambled into the net.

In an effort to regain the lead, Rhys Sullivan sacrificed a defender for an extra attacker as Kat Marment replaced Gemma Farley, but Argyle had another scare when a high ball over the top sent a Rovers forward through on goal only to shoot into the side netting. A couple of minutes from time and Argyle's misery was complete when Forest Green scored a third goal.

From a commanding position, the Pilgrims managed to lose the three points, defensive frailties showing through and costing them dear. There will need to be some real improvement if they are to claw their way back into contention for the remainder of the season.