Morgan Whittaker ended a run of nine Championship games without a goal with his equaliser against QPR
Plymouth had two players sent off as they drew 1-1 with QPR at Loftus Road in the Championship.
The away side saw Adam Forshaw dismissed for a second yellow card less than 30 minutes into the game before substitute Freddie Issaka was shown a straight red in second-half stoppage time.
Michael Frey’s header had given the Hoops the lead inside three minutes before Morgan Whittaker scored a stunning 25-yard equaliser.
Forshaw received his marching orders moments later for a late foul on Jimmy Dunne, having been booked earlier for pulling back the impressive Karamoko Dembele.
The visitors weathered a second-half storm with 10 men and had a penalty shout waved away late on when Jake Clarke-Salter looked to have a hold of Kornel Szucs’s shirt in the QPR box, before Issaka was sent off for going through Hoops full-back Kenneth Paal.
The result means both sides remain without a win after three games of the Championship season.
Dembele impresses but QPR fail to take chances
Marti Cifuentes' side had 30 shots and 10 on target against Plymouth
Dane Nicolas Madsen started in midfield for QPR less than 24 hours after completing his move from Belgian side Westerlo, with fellow new signings Koki Saito and Dembele playing alongside Paul Smyth.
And the three combined to almost give them the lead immediately as the home side flew out of the blocks.
Dembele was chief creator for the hosts with his mazy runs in central areas in the first half and dangerous balls from the right in the second - and it was his in-swinging corner that set up Frey's opener.
The 21-year-old also saw a long-range effort flick up off the bar in the first half, with Sam Field's glancing header off the foot of the post early in the second, and boss Marti Cifuentes described Dembele as a "constant threat".
Cifuentes sent on striker Zan Celar in place of Saito at half-time to partner Frey up top.
The Slovenia striker blazed over from the edge of the six-yard box and saw a header saved by Conor Hazard after captain Steve Cook's volley.
There was no place for Lyndon Dykes in the QPR squad, with Cifuentes saying he was "unavailable", without specifying why, and that he did not know if the Scotland striker would still be at the club at the end of the transfer window.
Whittaker ends goal drought in style
Morgan Whittaker scored his first Championship goal since March in the draw at Loftus Road
Whittaker's run of nine games without a goal was his longest in the Championship for Argyle.
His first-time effort rifled past QPR keeper Paul Nardi to bring the scores level and inspire the visitors to dig in and earn a hard-fought point.
"I thought he probably needed it," said Plymouth boss Wayne Rooney.
"It was a great strike, that's Morgan all over."
New signing Michael Obafemi made his debut off the bench but new goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw's paperwork was not signed in time to play in the lunchtime kick-off.
Hazard made a string of saves to stake his claim for a starting spot, with the home side only scoring once from 10 shots on target - and 30 in total in the match.
'We were unlucky with decisions' - Post-match reaction
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes told BBC Sport:
"It's mixed feelings because only getting a point from a game like this is not enough.
"I think after we scored the goal we started allowing Plymouth to have too much possession.
"We changed some things in the second half and created a lot of chances, the keeper was fantastic.
"The way we attacked in the last 20 minutes was too emotional and not the way we should."
Plymouth head coach Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport:
"Credit goes to the players, not to me and my coaches, because under difficult circumstances and moments they stood up and showed the passion that I want to see in the team.
"To get the equaliser and then immediately go to 10 men - it's a silly tackle especially when you’re on a yellow card, so no complaints on that one.
"I thought we were very unlucky on some decisions today. I think we should have had a penalty, their player [Clarke-Salter] was pulling back ours [Szucs].
"Freddie’s [Issaka] red card I haven’t seen from too many angles. For me it didn’t look like a red card."
Freddie Issaka was shown a straight red card in second-half stoppage time for a challenge on Kenneth Paal
