Argyle left frustrated as 10-man Bolton snatch victory at Home Park

Plymouth Argyle were left to reflect on a bitterly frustrating afternoon at Home Park as they fell to a narrow defeat against Bolton Wanderers, despite playing against 10 men for the entire second half.

The Greens created the better moments for long spells and will feel hard done by not to take at least a point, particularly after responding well to adversity. Early on, Ronan Curtis came within inches of opening the scoring, only to be denied by a stunning save from Bolton goalkeeper Jack Bonham after a superb through ball from Herbie Kane.

Argyle were handed a significant advantage just before the break when John McAtee was shown a red card for a challenge on Alex Mitchell, giving the hosts a full half to capitalise with an extra man.

However, it was Bolton who struck first after the restart. A penalty was awarded when the ball struck the hand of Mathias Ross, and Johnny Kenny made no mistake from the spot to put the visitors ahead.

Argyle responded exactly as they needed to. Just eight minutes later, Kane once again unlocked the defence with a perfectly weighted pass, and Curtis showed great composure to spin and fire home a deserved equaliser.

With momentum seemingly on their side, the Greens pushed forward in search of a winner—but were undone by a cruel twist. Under pressure from Sam Dalby, Malachi Boateng inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, handing Bolton a decisive and deeply unfortunate lead.

Argyle continued to press until the final whistle, with top scorer Lorent Tolaj going agonisingly close late on, but the visitors held firm.