Ten-man Argyle fell to a late defeat against Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium in the Vertu Trophy.
After Kornel Szucs’ early red card, it was only a late goal from Kamil Conteh that separated the two sides.
Tom Cleverley opted to rotate his squad for the Vertu Trophy clash, making five changes to the starting XI that lost at Huddersfield in Sky Bet League One.
Luca Ashby-Hammond took the place of Conor Hazard in goal, making his first start for the Greens since the visit of Peterborough United in late September.
In defence, Alex Mitchell and Bali Mumba came in for Brendan Galloway, who is away on international duty, and Bradley Ibrahim, who featured on the bench.
Having scored and assisted twice in Argyle’s last Vertu Trophy game, it was no surprise to see Tegan Finn come into the team; Owen Oseni the forward replaced.
Caleb Roberts, who has also impressed for the Greens in the Vertu Trophy so far this season, came into the side for another of Argyle’s internationals, Law McCabe.
The first action of the game was referee Aaron Farmer showing Szucs a red card after he was adjudged to have denied Bryant Bilongo an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The Hungarian tangled with the Rovers forward as the ball was lofted over their heads and towards goal.
In response to the sending-off, there was an immediate tweak in formation from Cleverley, swapping to a 4-4-1.
The back four consisted of Sorinola on the right and Dale on the left, with Mitchell and Ross in the centre.
Despite the red card, the game remained even, Bristol Rovers pushing on and trying to take the attacking initiative, Argyle searching for quick breaks and space in behind the defence.
The Pilgrims’ threat was evident on occasion; Roberts forced a turnover in midfield and was the catalyst for an Argyle counter attack, from which, if Tolaj had found a teammate in the box, Argyle would likely have netted the opening goal.
As the half went on, the hosts struggled to play through the Greens and turned to their bench to make an attacking change. Striker Fabrizio Cavegn came on for centre-back Stephen Negru, prompting Rovers to swap from a back five to four.
Other than Taylor Moore heading a corner narrowly wide, Bristol Rovers did not give Ashby-Hammond too much to consider in the first-half, despite having the numerical advantage.
Argyle will have been relatively pleased when they reached half-time, knowing that with a more frequent threat on the break, the game was certainly there to be won.
There were more flashes of threat from the Greens at the beginning of the second period, most notably when Tolaj held off two defenders and nearly played Mumba through before he was crowded out.
With rain lashing down for the entirety of the game, it was no surprise that the overall quality of the football match decreased throughout the second half.
Sorinola had an opportunity to test Brad Young after Boateng’s botched touch inadvertently played the ball through to Roberts on the edge of Rovers’ penalty area.
It was patient play from the 19-year-old who waited for the overlapping run of Sorinola; the full-back’s shot flew narrowly above the crossbar.
The hosts responded with a chance of their own. Kamil Conteh tried his luck from distance and came close, skimming the ball across the surface and just inches wide of the post with Ashby-Hammond at full stretch.
Substitute Cavegn was next to use the surface to his advantage, zipping a curled effort wide of the right upright after darting into the box.
With the game looking destined to finish goalless, a late corner proved profitable for Rovers, and they took the lead four minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Jack Sparkes’ corner caused Ashby-Hammond problems, fumbling the ball into the path of Conteh, who sealed the win for the hosts in the final moments.
This result means that Cleverley’s side finish second in their Vertu Trophy group, and therefore they will play away from home against one of seven first-place sides remaining in the southern section of the competition.
Bristol Rovers: 13 Brad Young, 3 Jack Sparkes, 4 Taylor Moore (capt), 6 Clinton Mola, 10 Ruel Sotiriou, 11 Luke Thomas, 22 Kamil Conteh, 23 Macauley Southam-Hales (24 Alfie Chang, 46), 25 Ryan Howley, 27 Bryant Bilongo (7 Shaq Forde, 46), 28 Stephen Negru (29 Fabrizio Cavegn, 30).Substitutes: 40 Henry De-long, 47 Kian Hill, 48 Tom English, 49 Excel Iwhiwhu.
Goals: Conteh 90+4
Booked: Cavegn 83
Argyle: 21 Luca Ashby-Hammond, 2 Mathias Ross, 6 Kornel Szucs, 9 Lorent Tolaj (capt), 11 Bali Mumba, 15 Alex Mitchell, 19 Malachi Boateng, 24 Caleb Roberts (23 Bradley Ibrahim, 84), 29 Matty Sorinola, 35 Owen Dale, 39 Tegan Finn (7 Jamie Paterson, 84). Substitutes: 13 Zak Baker (gk), 18 Owen Oseni,27 Bim Pepple, 38 Joe Hatch, 43 Sam Hayman.
Booked: Ross 26, Ashby-Hammond 61, Mumba 79
Sent-off: Szucs 2
Referee: Aaron Farmer
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