Argyle Women were unable to recover from a first-half in which they fell four goals down, as they lost to Rugby Borough on Sunday.
The visitors big lead was eroded after the break, as Ellie Sara and Imy Crawford scored for a much-improved Argyle, but it was too late.
Argyle began the match showing signs of promise, as well-worked passages of play caused early issues for the visitors. The Greens' front line consisting of Charlotte Whitmore, Ellie Sara and Jade Berrow were eager to get at the Rugby defence, with the remaining Argyle players in full support, but were unable to find a way to test the hands of Erin Foley.
Rugby responded to the period of pressure well through Angelina Nixon who headed home a well-placed cross at the far post. Sara came close to an equaliser, against the run of play, but Rugby responded positively once more through Nixon who drove into the Argyle 18-yard box and launched a shot at Jasmine Read who palmed the effort away, but Nicky Potts was quick to respond, slotting the ball into the back of the net.
Former Argyle striker Lily Greenslade was next to net for the visitors, from a well-struck volley on the edge of the area that soared past Read. Despite further offensive efforts from the Greens, it was a penalty struck by Ebony Wiseman 16 minutes later that rounded out the first half of action.
Argyle manager Ryan Perks made one change as the second half began, swapping Read for Lily Felgate who immediately joined in celebrations as an excellent run down the wing from Mia Endacott concluded with a superb throughball through the middle of the Rugby defence for Sara, who calmly slotted past the onrushing Foley.
Argyle gradually began to dominate the second half, carving out chance after chance, with Berrow coming extremely close to turning an Endacott cross into the back of the net inside the six-yard box. Endacott’s deliveries continued to cause Rugby issues as the half approached its end and, through a free-kick, fashioned another Argyle chance as midfielder Crawford’s looped header found its way into the top right corner, beating the outstretched Foley.
The final major chance from the match came for Rugby’s Potts who, in the 82nd minute, charged into the Argyle area and blasted a shot towards the bottom left corner, but Felgate was quick to react and tipped the ball away from harm.
Despite a valiant comeback, the Greens were unable to find another way past the Rugby defence as the referee blew for full-time.
“I’m a little bit disappointed with the first 45 minutes," said manager Ryan Perks after the match. “With the ball, we actually did some okay stuff but again it’s individual errors that have stopped us getting something from the game today.
"In the second half, I thought we were superb. We spoke about being brave, being confident, getting on the ball and playing football which is what we did. We played some lovely football and scored some good goals and could’ve probably had more given some of the chances we created but ultimately, it’s the first-half errors that have cost us today.”
This result sees Argyle drop to eighth place in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division as Cardiff City win over Chatham Town pushes them up a place on goal difference.
The Greens will now break away from league action as they return to Coach Road this Sunday to take on Torquay United in the Devon County Cup semi-final.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read (42 Lily Felgate) 2 Katie Dickson (20 Fern Orchard), 4 Jemma Rose, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou (C), 6 Lucy Hack, 7 Charlotte Whitmore, 8 Imy Crawford, 9 Ellie Sara, 11 Jade Berrow, 15 Georgie Knott, 29 Mia Endacott.
