Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Blackburn Rovers: Late goal seals Pilgrims win

Morgan Whittaker’s dramatic 97th-minute winner saw Plymouth beat Blackburn after home boss Wayne Rooney was sent off.

Rovers thought they had grabbed a point through Joe Rankin-Costello’s late equaliser, which saw Rooney shown a red card in the aftermath, only for Whittaker to head home in the final seconds.

Rooney appeared to think there had been a foul in the build-up to Blackburn’s leveller and remonstrated with the fourth official.

The former England captain was then sent to the stands by referee James Linington following a heated exchange.

The two late goals followed Michael Obafemi hammering home his first strike in a Plymouth shirt.

The result moved Argyle up five places to 14th in the table, while Blackburn slipped one spot to eighth.

Rovers made two changes from their midweek defeat by Coventry and the pair brought in by manager John Eustace nearly produced an opening goal.

Ryan Hedges intercepted the ball, creating a shooting opportunity for Makhtar Gueye, but the striker could not get enough power behind his effort.

Andreas Weimann fired the ball at the same goal moments later, but he was denied by a smart reaction stop from keeper Daniel Grimshaw.

Plymouth got their reward for soaking up early pressure when Obafemi pounced following an expert twisting run and cross from winger Ibrahim Cissoko.

The Republic of Ireland international striker nearly made it 2-0, but missed the target after shaking off the attention of experienced Rovers defender Danny Batth.