Wayne Rooney praised Plymouth’s grit and resilience as he guided them to a rare away point on his first return to Pride Park since resigning as Derby manager.
The former England and Manchester United centre-forward spent an eventful 17 months in charge of the hosts from November 2020, preserving their Championship status against the odds during his first season at the helm before a mammoth points deduction condemned them to relegation the following year.
County, who took the lead through Jerry Yates’ spectacular eighth-minute strike, dominated for long periods. But Argyle held firm, equalising courtesy of Adam Randell’s deflected free-kick just before the break and defending resolutely from that moment on.
“I think it was a good professional performance,” Rooney said. “Especially after going behind so early on.
“With Derby being the best in the division from set-plays, we did really well. We played our way back in and got ourselves level.
“I thought we began well after the break and then had to show real character to stay in the game. So yes, I’m pleased with how we did.
“Fair play to Derby, they switched formation and we struggled to deal a little bit with that extra aggression it brought them. But we dug in and showed another side to our game, which was good to see.
“What we want to do now is get a little bit of momentum behind us. This is something we would like to try and build on and I believe we can.”
On loan from Swansea, Yates worked under Paul Warne at Rotherham. He repaid the faith County’s head coach has shown in his abilities by firing the hosts in front early on – powering an overhead free-kick beyond Daniel Grimshaw following Argyle’s inability to clear a corner.
Yates nearly extended County’s advantage soon after, guiding a header just wide of the post.
But Warne’s men paid the price for failing to translate their attacking superiority into a dominant lead on the scoreboard when Randell’s 41st-minute shot ricocheted off a defender and wrong footed Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
Yates remained a threat and nearly converted another memorable effort just past the hour mark. Spotting that Grimshaw had advanced well off his line, the 27-year-old tried his luck from inside County’s half. Back-tracking frantically, the Argyle goalkeeper was able to turn the ball around an upright.
“I thought we dominated,” Warne said. “That’s the honest truth.
“We just needed that second goal and we didn’t get it. We lost two points off a free-kick that I thought was a bit charitable in the first place so it’s hard to be critical of the lads.
“We played in a different shape and were in the ascendancy in virtually all parts of the game but unfortunately the scoreline doesn’t show that.
“I try not to let the players sulk about it. If there is a lesson then it would be about the importance of getting that second goal. But I can’t be critical.
“Yes, we are judged by results and scorelines. But from a performance perspective I thought that we were great.
“I try not to let the players sulk about it. I get it, because I want to win every game too.
“But I really enjoyed watching us play and perform out there.”
