Bristol Rovers 2 Plymouth Argyle 1

Well, if that’s the case, new Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney will use the coming days to hammer home his message that sloppiness of any kind will be punished at any level.

Having watched his new club produce some creditable displays so far under his fledgling tenure, the former England international will not have been impressed by what was played out in front of him in Argyle’s latest warm-up fixture against Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

After two wins and a draw from their previous three fixtures, the Pilgrims made the short trek up the M5 looking to building on those performances against their Sky Bet League One hosts.

They certainly started bright enough in the summer heat, Morgan Whittaker threatening with an early shot, before summer signing Muhamed Tijani’s close range header was kept out well by Josh Griffiths in the home goal.

That, however, was somewhat of a false dawn as Rovers hit back, claiming the lead in the ninth minute when goalkeeper Michael Cooper’s clearance fell invitingly into the path of Luke Thomas.

Although his initial shot was well saved by Cooper, the ball broke to Promise Omochere, who was able to roll the ball into the net.

Argyle looked to respond almost immediately, Whittaker again threatening before Ibrahim Cissoko’s curling effort cannoned back off the crossbar.

Rovers, though, continued to look lively themselves and having withstood the Pilgrims pressure, they doubled their tally just past the half hour mark when wing-back Jack Hunt was able to steer home a clever cross from Luke McCormick.

Argyle frontman Mustapha Bundu had a glorious chance to restore parity just before the break, latching onto a canny pass from Cissoko. However, as he bore down on goal, his attempted dinked finish was thwarted by the arm of Griffiths and diverted to safety.

Half time offered Rooney the chance to reassess proceedings and having brought on Bali Mumba for Adam Forshaw at half time – then a glut of other changes on the hour mark – the Pilgrims looked to haul themselves back into the contest.

The game itself, though, was far from a classic and with chances at a premium, it was more of a run-around for both set of players, clearly desperate to get much-needed game minutes under their belt.

Griffiths continued to thwart Argyle at every opportunity, firstly denying an effort from Whittaker, before Callum Wright also threatened from close range.

Argyle were getting closer and with six minutes remaining they finally made the breakthrough, striker Ryan Hardie firing home at the second attempt after Griffiths had saved his initial effort.

The visitors tried hard to level things up in the dying embers, but it was to no avail as ‘The Gas’ defiantly saw things out to the close.

Bristol Rovers: Josh Griffiths, James Connolly (Taylor Moore 60), Connor Taylor (James Wilson 60), Michael Forbes (Clinton Mola 60), Jack Hunt (Joel Senior 60), Jamie Lindsay (Kamil Conteh 60), Kofi Shaw (Grant Ward 78), Trialist (Bryant Bilongo 75), Luke McCormick (Isaac Hutchinson 78), Luke Thomas, Promise Omochere (Scott Sinclair 60). Substitute (not used): Matt Hall

Goals: Omochere 9, Hunt 32

Plymouth Argyle: Michael Cooper, Nathanael Ogbeta, Jordan Houghton (capt, Will Jenkins Davies, 80), Dan Scarr (Lewis Gibson, 60), 7 Ibrahim Cissoko, Morgan Whittaker, Mustapha Bundu (Ryan Hardie, 60), Brendan Galloway (Matty Sorinola, 78) Muhamed Tijani (Callum Wright, 60), Adam Forshaw (Bali Mumba, h/t), Victor Palsson (Julio Pleguezuelo, 60). Substitutes (not used): Conor Hazard, Saxon Earley, Freddie Issaka.

Goal: Hardie 84

Attendance: 3,266

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