Doncaster Rovers fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle this afternoon

Doncaster Rovers’ wait for a League One victory continued as they suffered a disappointing 3-2 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle.

Grant McCann went with the same team that drew 1-1 with Notts County. Brandon Hanlan was selected in a wide-attacking role in a bid to provide support to Alfie May, who went into the game chasing his first league goal of the campaign.

Rovers started the better of the two sides in the first 15 minutes with Brandon Hanlan missing a couple of opportunities to open the scoring. However, they found themselves behind just before the half-hour mark when Will Evans opened the scoring with a close-range rebound.

Doncaster Rovers suffered a 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle. | Craig Hawkhead/AHPIX LTD

placeholder image — Doncaster Rovers suffered a 3-2 defeat to Plymouth Argyle. | Craig Hawkhead/AHPIX LTD

The remainder of the first half proved fairly uneventful, but Rovers came out with intent after the break, winning a penalty just four minutes into the half through Owen Bailey, with Alfie May getting off the mark with a powerful penalty into the corner.

For a period after the goal, Rovers showed intent and a desire to take all three points. However, any hopes of a victory were killed off in the 74th minute when Bim Pebble, who was a threat throughout, gave the visitors the lead. He combined well with substitute Caleb Watts to get that particular goal - and it wouldn’t be long before the Argyle substitute himself got on the scoresheet after a messy bit of defending from the Rovers backline.

The hosts pulled a goal back in the dying moments of the game with substitute Bayley McCann producing an excellent cross from a set-piece to find the head of Sean Greham from close range.

Overall, Plymouth were good value for their victory. Here are our player ratings from Rovers’ League One defeat on matchday five.

GK: Tommy Simkin - 6: Made six saves in total to keep the score down. Can’t be blamed too much for the defeat.

RB: Sean Grehan - 6: Found it fairly tough playing out of position, but took his header very well to give Rovers a late consolation. Doing a job in an unnatural position but definitley suits playing centre-back.

CB: Jay McGrath - 5: Was turned by Bim Pepple in the build-up to Argyle’s opener. Struggled to deal with the forward. Sloppy in possession at times.

CB: Neill Byrne - 5: Was booked in the second half. Like McGrath really struggled to get to grips with Pepple, with the duo struggling with his physicality.

LB: Jack Senior - 6: Worked hard at both ends of the pitch, but has definitely had better games this season. Was booked in the second half.

CM: Owen Bailey - 6: Won the penalty which was converted by Alfie May. Battled hard throughout the contest but has definitley had plenty of better games in a Rovers shirt.

CM: Robbie Gotts - 6: Produced a really good cross for Hanlan in the first-half which almost saw Rovers get themselves in front. Went close to scoring himself later in the half with a nice shot from outside the penalty area.

CM: Isaac Hutchinson - 5: Lost the ball sloppily in the build-up to Plymouth’s second goal. Was also booked in the second half. Not his best showing after a few encouraging performances in prior weeks.

RM: Tommi O’Reilly - 6: Tested the goalkeeper with a low shot in the first-half. Showed glimpses of his potential with a few nice crosses but the best is yet to come.

LM: Brandon Hanlan - 6: Missed a couple of opportunities to score in the first half, but did work hard in the game and was a handful for the opposition’s defence.

ST: Alfie May - 7: Was on the scoresheet with a fine penalty. Attempted the spectacular with an acrobatic effort that was blocked. Was largely feeding off scraps but was still one of the team’s better performers.