QPR result shows crucial potential Plymouth Argyle ingredient: View | OneFootball

Plymouth Argyle claimed a respectable 1-1 draw away at QPR on Saturday afternoon

Plymouth Argyle were able to salvage a respectable 1-1 draw away at QPR on Saturday afternoon, a result which is indicative of a crucial ingredient within the Pilgrims' possession.

Wayne Rooney's side embarked upon the worst possible start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign by turning out on the receiving end of a 4-0 demolition at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday before claiming their first point of the season at home to Hull City last weekend.

Plymouth, who only narrowly managed to secure second-tier survival on the final day of the previous season, have been widely tipped among the relegation favourites this term under the tutelege of Rooney, a Head Coach very much in the last chance saloon of his managerial career following a bitterly-disappointing tenure with Birmingham City en-route to their own demotion to League One.

They still find themselves awaiting their first victory of the season but a crucial point was sealed at Loftus Road over the weekend despite eventually going down to nine men and weathering a real storm from Marti Cifuentes' side. Their ability to contend and cope with such adversity, however, could prove pivotal towards any ambitions of staving off relegation this year.

Plymouth Argyle's 1-1 draw at QPR

The opening stages of Saturday's showdown in West London marked yet another nightmarish start for Plymouth, who went a goal down within three minutes after Michael Frey met Karamoko Dembele's corner to head past Conor Hazard.

Plymouth were able to gamble upon individual quality when Morgan Whittaker unleashed an outrageous and improbable powerful drive from distance to leave Paul Nardi helpless while restoring parity just shy of the half hour mark.

However, Adam Forshaw received his marching orders only moments after, ensuing a nervy remaining hour which saw the visitors firmly under the cosh as they endured less possession and scarce attacking opportunity as QPR conducted an onslaught.

Zan Celar, Paul Smyth and Plymouth's tormentor in-chief Dembele - who created a match-high nine chances - were all presented with ample opportunity to put Rooney's men to the sword but failed in doing so, although Hazard often spared his side's blushes. The 26-year-old has been mightily impressive between the sticks thus far and is very much compensating for the loss of Michael Cooper to Sheffield United, having faced an xGOT of 3.54 while making nine saves throughout the afternoon.

In no small part due to Hazard's heroics, Plymouth managed to keep QPR at bay but endured six tense minutes of additional time in further adversity when 18-year-old striker Freddie Issaka was shown red for a flying challenge on Kenneth Paal.

Rooney will now face the pivotal call of duty of instilling additional discipline and coolness into his players, but the adversity itself suggests a strong, dogged and difficult Argyle resolve which can pay dividends throughout the course of the campaign.

Plymouth Argyle's positive ingredient from QPR fixture

It would upset the odds to see Plymouth avoid themselves from being embroiled in the unforgiving scenario of a Championship relegation battle this term, which requires a certain degree of mettle, steel and fight. They showcased those fundamentals in abundance away to a side who could well be challenging for the division's top-six positions, and that only bodes well for future encounters.

In that potential dogfight, Plymouth will need to compensate for their collective deficit in quality by sticking together, making the going difficult for their opponents, being hard to break down and displaying both composure and resilience to hold their nerve and contend with setbacks.

The failure of teams to do so in years gone by has often equated to relegation and while Plymouth do look to be among the weaker sides in the division in terms of squad ability and strength in depth, Saturday afternoon revealed their own trump card.

They deserve plenty of credit for seizing a point away from home with two less players than QPR while successfully seeing off such tangible and continued attacking pressure. Rooney likes his teams to dominate the ball and Plymouth have a raucous Home Park crowd to play up to and swing the pendulum in their favour when their opponents head down to Devon, but it would be rather naive to assume they will not spend plenty of time under the cosh with the odds stacked the other way.