How important could Argyle's recent late goals be?

Andre Gray celebrates scoring for Plymouth ArgyleImage source, Rex Features
Image caption,

Andre Gray has scored three goals in five league games, with just two of those appearances being starts

  • Published

Never leave a Plymouth Argyle match early - eight of the last nine points the Pilgrims have won have been down to goals in the final 10 minutes.

Andre Gray's superb curling equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time in the draw with Watford on Friday night proved that while Wayne Rooney's side may not be at the right end of the table, they do not know when they are beaten.

Since Morgan Whittaker's dramatic 97th-minute goal secured a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on 5 October three of the four games where they have avoided defeat have been because of late goals.

Without those late goals Argyle could well be six points worse off, leaving them bottom of the table on 11 points alongside Queens Park Rangers.

Gray and Whittaker found the net in the final 10 minutes to claw back a point having been 3-1 down at home to Preston North End three weeks after the Blackburn win.

Michael Obafemi's 82nd-minute strike was enough to get just a fourth league win of the season as they beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Home Park early this month - a victory which lifted Argyle out of the relegation places.

Adam Randell's goal early in the second half bucked the trend in the 1-1 draw at Derby County prior to the international break, before Gray's heroics on Friday night.

The striker - who was a free agent after ending a spell in Saudi Arabia in the summer - scored a brilliant double, his winner coming after a first-half volley that Rooney described as "world class".