Plymouth Argyle 3 - 3 Middlesbrough FC: FLW reports as Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick share spoils in thriller | OneFootball

All the action from Home Park as Wayne Rooney were reunited in the dugouts.

Plymouth Argyle and Middlesbrough played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, as former Man United team-mates Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick were reunited on the touchline.

Argyle were forced into an early change, losing Michael Obafemi to injury. Homegrown hero Freddie Issaka took the Burnley loanee's place on the pitch.

The weather certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the Green Army inside Home Park, with the atmosphere absolutely electric, as they got behind their men.

The hosts were all over their high-flying counterparts in the first 30 minutes, and two great chances came down the right. Firstly, Mustapha Bundu fired in another inviting cross, which was met by the toe of Ryan Hardie. Unfortunately, his effort only found the side netting.

Ten minutes until half-time, it looked like Plymouth should've had a penalty. Bundu wriggled his way into the box, but was halted by George Edmundson, when the defender chopped the Sierra Leonean down. Referee, Will Finnie, said no.

It didn't matter though, as five minutes later, the hosts had a deserved lead. Brandon Galloway's ball in was flicked into the path of Lewis Gibson by Hardie, who couldn't miss. They'd been knocking on the door, and finally got what they deserved with an excellent move.

The Pilgrims almost doubled their lead in stoppage time. Adam Randell, with a marauding run from midfield, crossed the ball in on the left-hand side. Edmundson made a meal of the loose ball, which gifted it to Hardie inside the box. The number nine found Bundu, whose shot was quickly charged down by Brynn.

The first half concluded with Rooney's men having the lead and being firmly in control. Boro had really offered nothing in terms of attacking output thus far. But with the quality they have in their squad, you can't count them out.

Both teams emerged from the tunnel unchanged, as the rain continued to lash down in Devon.

Just a minute after play resumed, Argyle could've doubled their lead in spectacular fashion. Hardie beat his man for pace, and played a square ball to Rami Al Hajj. The attacking midfielder cutely flicked it to Darko Gyabi, who was unmarked. He went for the overhead kick, but his effort sailed just wide.

Five minutes after half-time, Middlesbrough silenced the home crowd with an equalizer. Carrick's men started the second-half strongly, and were rewarded for it. Ben Doak's cross was deflected into the path of Jonny Howson. The veteran midfielder fired a first-time strike goalwards, which hit Hardie on the way through, leaving Dan Grimshaw stranded.

The hardworking Hardie had to be stretched off the pitch early in the second half. The striker clashed with Doak as the Liverpool loanee broke forward, eventually pulling up by Rooney's dugout. It was a real shame for the Scot, who'd been excellent. Andre Gray took his place leading the line.

Hayden Hackney dragged a brilliant chance wide, after Tommy Conway found the number seven in the box. The Teesside outfit were showing some good attacking intent, which they failed to showcase in the first 45 minutes.

More injury concerns came for Rooney. Galloway sat on the deck for a short period of time, before picking himself back up. However, he was replaced by Nathaniel Ogbeta just minutes later.

With 20 minutes left, Gyabi restored Argyle's lead with an excellent finish. Once again, Bali Mumba and Bundu linked up on the right, the latter firing in a cross. The midfielder arrived on the scene just in time to leather it past Brynn.

Carrick made a triple sub in response to the goal. Goalscorer Howson, Tommy Conway, and Riley McGree were replaced by Dan Barlaser, Emmanuel Latte Lath, and Delano Burgzorg respectively.

The changes worked, as Hackney levelled the game once again just minutes later. Burgzorg played a lovely one-two with the midfielder, who burst into the box. His initial effort was well saved by Grimshaw, but he managed to roll home the rebound.

This game really burst into life late on. Bundu got a well deserved goal, to restore Argyle's lead for the third time. Ogbeta's low cross evaded Gray, but the winger was there to slam it home.

It was becoming hard to keep up with the game, especially when Boro made it 3-3. A routine corner was headed back across goal into the path of Latte Lath, who couldn't miss. An electric crowd had just witnessed four goals in 15 minutes.

Nine minutes were added on for either side to find a winner, which set up an extremely exciting conclusion to the already thrilling fixture.

Two minutes from time, Argyle nearly grabbed all three points. A cross from Mumba was caught awkwardly by Rav Van den Berg, who almost turned it into his own net. Much to the Dutchman's relief, it crept wide.

Neither side found a winner in the end, which saw Rooney and Carrick share the spoils in a thrilling encounter. It was a solid point on the board, but would've hurt after leading three times.

Plymouth now find themselves propping up the Championship table, after Hull City beat Swansea City earlier in the day. Middlesbrough snuck into the play-offs, but have played a game more than seventh-placed Watford.

Player ratings

Plymouth Argyle

D. Grimshaw - 7

B. Galloway - 7 (Substituted with N. Ogbeta 71')

L. Gibson - 7

K. Szucs - 6

B. Mumba - 7

D. Gyabi - 8

A. Randell - 7

M. Obafemi - N/A (Substituted with F. Issaka 9')

R. Al Hajj - 6

M. Bundu - 8

R. Hardie - 8 (Substituted with A. Gray 59')

Substitute

F. Issaka - 6

A. Gray - 6

N. Ogbeta - 7

Middlesbrough

S. Brynn - 5

N. Borges - 5

G. Edmundson - 5 (Substituted with D. Fry 79')

R. Van Den Berg - 6

A. Dijksteel - 6

H. Hackney - 7

J. Howson - 6 (Substituted with D. Barlaser 75')

R. McGree - 5 (Substituted with D. Burgzorg 75')

F. Azaz - 6 (Substituted with A. Gilbert 85')

B. Doak - 8

T. Conway - 7 (Substituted with E. Latte Lath 75')

Substitutes

E. Latte Lath - 7

D. Burgzorg - 7

D. Barlaser - 6

D. Fry - 6

A. Gilbert - 6

Attendance: 16,550 (1,302 away fans)

Wayne Rooney assesses thrilling Middlesbrough meeting

Speaking to the press following the match, Plymouth boss, Rooney, said: "Reflecting on the game, I thought [in the] first-half we were excellent, both in possession and out of possession.

"I thought we got the press right and nullified the way Middlesbrough wanted to play. Middlesbrough are a very good attacking team, [they are] very good at taking the ball and playing through lines. I thought we got our distance right and our pressure right, and forced them to go more direct.

"[In the] second half, we conceded early. Middlesbrough then began to control the game a bit, but we were still creating good opportunities to score. I think, based on chances alone, we deserved to win the game.

"[I'm] A little bit disappointed that we didn't [win the game], but two of the three [Middlesbrough] goals, we were a little bit naive. We had opportunities to clear the ball, and we didn't clear it well enough."

Michael Carrick pleased with Middlesbrough's character

Speaking to the press after the game, Middlesbrough manager, Carrick, said: "I was pleased with the boys' character, commitment, and belief to keep pegging it back [in the] second half.

"I thought we were the better team [in the] second half, but [in the] first-half we weren't at our best. You can't concede that many opportunities and goals, and expect to win football games every week.

"Momentum swings, that's the game really. We did start well and had a good element of control to it, but credit to them [Plymouth], they put a lot of bodies forward.