Wayne Rooney and Plymouth Argyle’s key component in 1-1 draw with QPR

Plymouth Argyle were able to secure a respectable 1-1 draw away at QPR on Saturday afternoon, a result which suggests possession was a key factor for the Pilgrims.

Wayne Rooney’s side made the worst possible start to the 2024/25 Championship season, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday before picking up their first point of the season at home to Hull City last weekend.

Plymouth, who narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of last season, are considered relegation favourites this season under the leadership of Rooney, a head coach who is playing in what is essentially his last chance as a manager after a bitterly disappointing spell at Birmingham City, who themselves were relegated to League One.

They are still waiting for their first win of the season but a crucial point was picked up at Loftus Road at the weekend despite being down to nine men and having to weather a storm from Marti Cifuentes’ side. Their ability to deal with such adversity could prove crucial to any ambitions of avoiding relegation this year, however.

Plymouth Argyles 1-1 draw at QPR

The opening stages of Saturday’s showdown in west London were another nightmarish start for Plymouth. They fell a goal behind inside three minutes after Michael Frey capitalised on Karamoko Dembele’s corner and headed the ball past Conor Hazard.

Plymouth were able to rely on the quality of their individual players as Morgan Whittaker left Paul Nardi helpless with an incredible and improbably powerful long-range shot and equalised just before the half-time mark.

However, Adam Forshaw was sent off just moments later and what followed was a nerve-wracking remaining hour in which the visitors came under heavy pressure, had less possession and few attacking opportunities, while QPR mounted an attacking battle.

Zan Celar, Paul Smyth and Plymouth’s tormentor Dembele – who created nine chances, the highest of the game – all had ample opportunities to beat Rooney’s men but they failed to do so, despite Hazard often saving his side from embarrassment. The 26-year-old has been impressive between the sticks so far, compensating for the loss of Michael Cooper to Sheffield United, as he had an xGOT of 3.54 and saved nine shots over the course of the afternoon.

Thanks in no small part to Hazard’s heroics, Plymouth managed to keep QPR at bay, but the visitors had to endure six tense minutes of injury time when 18-year-old striker Freddie Issaka was shown the red card for a flying foul on Kenneth Paal.

Rooney now faces the crucial task of instilling additional discipline and composure in his players, but the adversity itself points to a strong, dogged and stubborn determination from the Argyles that can pay off as the season progresses.

Plymouth Argyle’s positive aspect from the QPR game

It would be a shock if Plymouth were not caught up in the Championship’s cutthroat relegation battle this season, which requires a certain level of grit, toughness and fighting spirit. They have shown those fundamentals in abundance in a team that could well challenge for the top six spots in the league, and that only bodes well for future encounters.

In what could be a tough battle, Plymouth will need to compensate for their collective lack of quality by sticking together, making life difficult for their opponents, being difficult to beat and showing both composure and resilience to keep their nerve and deal with setbacks.

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Failure to do so in recent years has often resulted in relegation, and although Plymouth appear to be one of the weaker teams in the league in terms of squad strength and depth, they played their own trump card on Saturday afternoon.

They deserve a lot of credit for picking up a point away from home with two fewer players than QPR, successfully fending off such palpable and sustained attacking pressure. Rooney likes his teams to dominate the ball and Plymouth have a loud Home Park crowd to play with and swing the pendulum in their favour when their opponents travel to Devon, but it would be rather naive to assume they won’t spend a lot of time under pressure with the odds stacked the other way.

The ability to deal with this is an overwhelming positive for Plymouth and a welcome potential insight into how the team can combat adverse, difficult circumstances in the weeks and months ahead.