ROVERS slipped to a disappointing 3-2 defeat at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday despite twice taking the lead.

An entertaining game saw the Gas make a great start as a well placed Lines free kick gave us the advantage in the 12th minute.

We could do little about Argyle’s equaliser on 34 minutes however, as a deft header eluded the defence and Slocombe in goal could do little to keep it out.

Rovers hit back superbly just two minutes later as Harrison showed why he is fast turning into the complete centre forward and a strong contender for the club’s player of the season.

He showed desire, strength and commitment to win the ball in the opposition penalty area and rifled a low drive past their keeper to put us back in front. Extending his contract will no doubt be a priority for Clarke in the summer.

Plymouth came back strongly as the second half got underway, earning a penalty that looked a soft decision. Slocombe was equal to the task as he brilliantly parried the spot kick to maintain our lead.

It didn’t last long unfortunately as Ollie Clarke unluckily deflected a shot to wrong-foot Slocombe and make it 2-2.

Both sides were pushing hard for the winner but just as it was looking like ending in a creditable draw, Argyle benefited from another dubious penalty award in the 85th minute and this time Slocombe could not keep it out.

We were unable to score again in the dying minutes so despite our best efforts the clash ended in defeat.

It was disappointing to return empty-handed but the players deserve credit for contributing greatly to an enthralling match and with a little more defensive resilience would have gained at least a point.

The loss saw us slip to 10th in the table, seven points off the play-offs.

It is looking a tall order now to break into the top six but the players need to give everything in the nine games remaining to try to improve on last season’s points total and finish as high as they can.

We face another tough-looking away trip on Saturday at seventh-placed Peterborough.