Chaos that made for entertainment, but a first-half defensive display that wasn’t good enough.

Head coach Valerien Ismael conceded that his team made it unnecessarily hard for themselves at Plymouth, especially having got ahead early on.

“It was an entertaining game I think,” he said.

“In attack we played well, defensively – especially in the first half – we were not stable enough.

“We made a lot of mistakes and errors in defence. We knew that, in transition, Plymouth are dangerous and we have to be more aggressive.

“Instead we were more careful and were taking steps back rather than stepping in front.

“In the second half we were better, especially the first 30 minutes of the half where we were completely in control.

“We stayed calm, we passed the ball and we deserved to score the third goal.

“But at the end it was just fatigue and tiredness. Both teams wanted to win the game but at the same time they didn’t want to lose it.

“It was a little bit chaotic but I think that made it entertaining for people.”

Argyle’s first goal was a peach of a strike, but there were elements of the second and third that looked avoidable.

“I thought the second goal was unlucky. The first shot was blocked but he got the second shot,” said Ismael.

“Their third goal you can avoid, especially when you have just come back to 2-2.

“At that point, I said to the guys, we needed to be more calm and show more composure, and to stay in the game.

“But it’s all part of this process for us, but I thought we were better in the second half especially when we moved the ball into the final third.”