Argyle staged a dramatic comeback to beat ten-man Northampton Town 3-2 on the final day, but missed out on the Sky Bet League One play-offs due to results elsewhere.
The hosts found two goals inside the opening 20 minutes, with Elliott List and Michael Jacobs giving Argyle quite the mountain to climb.
Lorent Tolaj sparked the comeback, firing in on 28 minutes, before Malachi Boateng levelled just before half-time.
Conor McCarthy was sent-off just after the hour mark, helping Argyle find a winner through substitute Brendan Wiredu as the game drew towards its conclusion.
Tom Cleverley made just one change to the side that beat Port Vale at Home Park last weekend.
It came in goal and was enforced. Conor Hazard was suspended, having been shown a straight red card in the Vale game.
This meant that Luca Ashby-Hammond stood in, fresh from a solid performance off the bench last time out.
Ahead of him was a back four containing Joe Edwards, Mathias Ross, Alex Mitchell, and Wes Harding, from right to left.
Boateng achieved the feat of starting every league fixture for Argyle this season; he was partnered by Caleb Watts in the centre of midfield.
Ronan Curtis held the width on the right, with Owen Dale the player selected to operate in the same role on the left.
Bim Pepple partnered Tolaj upfront; the pair came into this game both firmly in the race for Argyle’s Golden Boot award – Tolaj led his partner by two goals before a ball was kicked at Sixfields.
The race for the playoffs was on; Argyle needed to win at Northampton and hope that both Stevenage and Luton Town dropped points in their respective fixtures – unlikely but not impossible.
Nevertheless, the Pilgrims were well focused on their task and started the game well at Sixfields.
Pepple had forced a save from Lee Burge within the opening minute, before Dale sliced a side-footed volley just wide of a near-open goal.
Another pair of chances came just after the five-minute mark. Mitchell’s initial header was diverted into the path of his defensive partner Ross, who shanked an effort over both the crossbar and the roof of the away end behind the goal.
However, against the run of play, it was the hosts that took the lead in the 13th minute, something that was certainly not in the afternoon’s script.
Jacobs found space on the left flank and attracted the attention of Mitchell, who drifted across in an attempt to deal with the winger.
Before Mitchell could make a challenge, Jacobs had prodded a ball in behind the defender for List to attack.
With the forward advancing into the box and bearing down on goal, he finished well from a tight angle, beating Ashby-Hammond and finding the bottom-right corner.
Things went from bad to worse for the Greens; Northampton found a second goal in spectacular fashion just five minutes later.
The Cobblers’ wing-backs were causing Argyle problems; it was from this position that the hosts forged the opening that led to their second.
Nesta Guinness-Walker found space on the right and played a square ball to Jacobs, who had drifted inside from the opposite flank.
To the 34-year-old’s credit, the strike was a brilliant one. He curled it first time off the underside of the crossbar and back, bouncing into the roof of the net.
There was nothing Ashby-Hammond could do to deny Jacobs; Argyle were now two behind and looked understandably rocked.
Cleverley’s side took ten minutes to find their feet and re-establish themselves in the game; they had looked by far the better side before Northampton scored against the run of play.
Finally, the Pilgrims got their bit of luck, which resulted in a goal that halved the deficit.
It was a touch of class from Curtis, who created the goal; his control and cross were worthy of the moment which followed.
Tolaj was found in the box, and struck an effort goalwards which deflected off a Northampton defender and past Burge, who was left helpless.
With the score now 2-1, Argyle were back in the game with plenty of time left to play.
This match had not had any time to breathe, the opening 30 minutes saw end-to-end action resulting in three goals. Argyle needed to utilise this opportunity to regain control of proceedings.
And this is what they did by 40 minutes; they had levelled the game courtesy of Boateng, who had once again come in clutch in a crucial moment.
Curtis’ corner was headed back across goal by Ross at the far post, into a congested area in the box. Dale was the first to try his luck, cannoning a scissor kick towards goal, which deflected off both Conor McCarthy and Tolaj.
In another moment of slight fortune, the ball then dropped for Boateng, who powered an effort past the crowd of bodies and beyond Burge to make it 2-2.
The game was now level, with half-time just minutes away. To make things even sweeter for Argyle, Luton were trailing Bolton Wanderers, and Stevenage were being held by Wigan Athletic, meaning that if they were to find another goal, they would be in the top six.
The task in the second half for the Greens: find a third in order to win the game, and hope results remained as they were elsewhere.
Argyle’s first chance of the second period fell to Curtis, who was fed through on goal by Tolaj, but was met quickly by Burge, who was hot off his line to close the winger down.
Curtis was unable to find the finish required to beat the goalkeeper, instead poking it into the ex-Coventry man.
Brendan Wiredu and Xavier Amaechi were brought on by Cleverley in an attempt to change the game, Dale and Watts made way.
In a moment of madness that threatened to change the game, McCarthy was shown a second yellow card and a subsequent red after a late challenge on Wiredu, which was pretty needless.
The task had been made easier for Argyle; now against ten men, they just needed to find a winning goal.
External pressure was ramping up; Luton had levelled at Bolton, meaning they were also a goal away from climbing into the play-offs.
Cleverley opted for fresh legs in the back four with 20 minutes left to play; Julio Pleguezuelo and Jack MacKenzie were on for Ross and Edwards.
It looked as though the elusive goal had come when Tolaj followed up Wiredu’s saved header, with the goalkeeper not back to his feet.
However, Sam Hoskins seemed determined to spoil the Pilgrims’ play-off party, making a spectacular goal-line block to keep the scores level.
What came next, though, could not be stopped, as substitute Wiredu stepped up with a hugely important goal.
Amaechi picked the ball up on the right and played it inside to Wiredu, who was advanced and waiting. The midfielder took aim, curling an effort off a Northampton defender and into the bottom-left corner, causing bedlam in the sold-out away end behind Ashby-Hammond’s goal.
So, on 74 minutes, Argyle had the lead and were in the top six. However, should either Stevenage or Luton score, the Greens would be leapfrogged. This was certainly going right down the wire – probably the only thing that could have been predicted.
Mitchell had the chance to make things more comfortable for the Greens, but his headed effort was over the crossbar.
Matty Sorinola was introduced in the place of Curtis, with seven minutes of regulation time left to play.
Just as the clock crept past the 90-minute mark, cheers rang out from the home supporters at Sixfields. Stevenage had scored to take the lead against Wigan.
Moments later, it had emerged that Luton had found a winner at Bolton, meaning Argyle’s play-off dreams were over.
As you could imagine, at this point, the game between Northampton and Argyle was flat. Neither side really had the desire to score another goal; there seemed to be more fixation on results elsewhere.
After 11 minutes of second-half stoppage time, referee Ben Speedie blew his whistle to indicate full-time, signalling the end of Argyle’s 2025-26 campaign.
Despite doing their part by winning, results elsewhere saw Cleverley’s side miss out on the final day after late heartbreak, confirming their place in Sky Bet League One next season.
Northampton Town: 1 Lee Burge, 3 Conor McCarthy, 6 Jordan Willis, 8 Cameron McGeehan, 10 Elliott List (11 Kamarai Simon-Swyer, 70), 12 Nesta Guinness-Walker (7 Sam Hoskins, 63), 15 Jake Evans (40 Neo Dobson, 85), 17 Michael Jacobs (27 Jack Vale, 85), 23 Terry Taylor, 26 Kyle McAdam (4 Dean Campbell, 85), 35 Max Dyche (capt). Substitutes: 34 Ross Fitzsimons (gk), 32 Mataeo Moon-Arnaez.
Goals: List 13, Jacobs 18
Booked: McCarthy 45+1, List 64, Evans 84
Sent-off: McCarthy 62
Argyle: 21 Luca Ashby-Hammond, 2 Mathias Ross (3 Jack MacKenzie, 70), 8 Joe Edwards (capt) (5 Julio Pleguezuelo, 70), 9 Lorent Tolaj, 15 Alex Mitchell, 17 Caleb Watts (4 Brendan Wiredu, 55), 19 Malachi Boateng, 27 Bim Pepple, 28 Ronan Curtis (29 Matty Sorinola, 87), 35 Owen Dale (10 Xavier Amaechi, 55), 45 Wes Harding. Substitutes: 13 Zak Baker (gk), 23 Bradley Ibrahim.
Goals: Tolaj 28, Boateng 40, Wiredu 74
Booked: Dale 34, Ross 59, Boateng 66, Curtis 79
Referee: Ben Speedie
Attendance: 7,131 (1,531 away)
