Two second-half goals from Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park ended Argyle’s winning run.
Argyle travelled to Lancashire as buoyant as they have been all season, heading into the game with two consecutive league wins, sandwiching the big Emirates FA Cup win over Liverpool on Sunday. However, the Pilgrims never really got going.
After a goalless first half, former Argyle midfielder Adam Forshaw scored a rare goal to put Rovers in front, and Tyrhys Dolan added a second to seal the game for sure.
The Greens made two changes from the team that won 5-1 over Millwall in midweek. Tymoteucz Puchacz, who missed the game against the Lions through injury, returned at left wing-back. Matty Sorinola continued on the right flank, playing alongside a back three of Maksym Talovierov, Nikola Katic and Victor Palsson, all in front of goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
Darko Gyabi returned in the Pilgrims midfield, alongside captain Adam Randell, the pair supporting the front three of Ryan Hardie, Mustapha Bundu and Callum Wright.
Blackburn, fifth in the lead, flew out of the traps. Good work on the right from AmarioCozier-Duberry led to a cross from Callum Brittain, which was headed back by Makhtar Gueye and found Tyrhys Dolan, but he could not get any momentum on his close-range header.
Soon after, a really good cross from Todd Cantwell on the left looked perfect for Gueye, but Palsson made a really telling intervention to prevent the Blackburn forward from pouncing.
Argyle’s tricky start was not made any easier by the loss of Ryan Hardie just before the 20-minute mark, seemingly with a bad back. Michael Baidoo was the man to come on in his place.
From this point, mind, Argyle seemed to look a bit more solid. Rovers still had the bulk of the ball, but seemed to create fewer moments to make the Greens’ backline panic.
Indeed, at the other end, Argyle started to create moments of their own. Half-chances they were, admittedly, but a Bundu header, on target and easily pouched by goalkeeper Aynsley Pears, was followed by a Wright shot, plenty over the bar, as Argyle started to stir.
Two arguably better chances came from shaky Rovers moments. Dion Sanderson, running towards his own goal, was shouldered off the ball by Bundu, but referee Sam Allison called it as a foul. From admittedly Green eyes, it looked like Bundu was simply the stronger of the two vying for the ball.
Then, a backpass fell way short of Pears, and Wright looked like he may run through on goal, but Blackburn scrambled well enough to halt Wright, and then prevent Baidoo from assisting.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Ladapo-Hayes First Law of the Returning Player came into effect. Forshaw, appearing in space in the penalty area, hooked a finish over the head of Hazard, then celebrated like a man who had not scored in almost nine years – which is exactly what he was. His last goal was for Middlesbrough, against Reading, in April 2016.
Blackburn had been generally on top before the goal, and taking the lead swelled them even more. Within minutes, Gueye left highest to head on goal, which Hazard doing well to push it away.
Rovers continued to probe with free-kicks and corners, with Argyle holding on grimly to retain a single-goal deficit.
On 67 minutes, Argyle went with a triple change, bringing on Jordan Houghton, Muhamed Tijani and Kornel Szucs for Gyabi, Wright and Sorinola. They conjured a reasonable chance when intense pressing by Randell led to Pears scuffing a kick, and the ball falling to Bundu, but with the goalkeeper off his line, Bundu rushed his effort, and Pears gratefully caught the effort.
With 12 minutes remaining, Blackburn put a bow of proceedings with a second in which they pulled Argyle apart, threading through to Dolan, who turned and rattled in a clincher.
Argyle looked to react quickly, and narrow the gap, with a superb Randell clipped pass finding the run of Baidoo but, with the ball at an awkward height, he could only press hischest against the ball, and knock it into Pears’ hands.
Rovers looked certain to add a third goal in stoppage time, when Gueye bore down on goal, but not only did Hazard make a super save, he recovered quicker than the Blackburn forwards sensing a tap-in.
Results elsewhere were not too cruel, and now all eyes turn to a big fixture at Luton Town on Wednesday.
Argyle: 21 Conor Hazard, 9 Ryan Hardie (30 Michael Baidoo, 19), 11 Callum Wright (26 Muhamed Tijani, 67), 15 Mustapha Bundu, 17 Tymoteusz Puchacz, 18 Darko Gyabi (4 Jordan Houghton, 67), 20 Adam Randell (capt), 25 Nikola Katic, 29 Matty Sorinola (6 Kornel Szucs, 67), 40 Maksym Talovierov, 44 Victor Palsson (28 Rami Al Hajj, 80). Substitutes: 31 Daniel Grimshaw (gk), 2 Bali Mumba, 3 Nathanael Ogbeta, 19 Malachi Boateng.
Booked: Talovierov 12, Randell 83
Blackburn: 1 Aynsley Pears, 2 Callum Brittain, 4 Yuri Ribeiro, 5 Dom Hyam, 8 Todd Cantwell (14 Andreas Weimann, 85), 9 Makhtar Gueye, 10 Tyrhys Dolan (19 Ryan Hedges, 90), 27 Lewis Travis (capt), 28 Adam Forshaw (21 John Buckley, 85), 31 Dion Sanderson, 33 Amario Cozier-Duberry (47 Augustus Kargbo, 63). Substitutes: 12 Balazs Toth (gk), 11 Joe Rankin-Costello, 17 Hayden Carter, 42 Emmanuel Dennis, 45 Cauley Woodrow.
Goals: Forshaw 55, Dolan 78
Attendance: 14,875 (1,096 away)
Referee: Sam Allison
