FOREST Green Rovers boss Duncan Ferguson praised his players for the character they showed despite their 2-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Plymouth Argyle.

Headed goals in each half from defenders James Bolton and Bali Mumba handed Plymouth the three points but Ferguson was "delighted" with the manner in which his side battled away.

"I thought we competed well," said Ferguson.

"We struggled to create too many chances but I thought they struggled to create any chances as well.

"Our keeper has not made a save in the whole match. Obviously, with the set-play, we have got a problem with the height of the team.

"The lads are battling away well, it is a great header for their goal. Our shape in the first half was perfect, they never cut us open and didn’t have any clear-cut chances other than the deflected shot that hit the post. So I was delighted with them."

Ferguson felt Forest Green "frustrated" a side flying high in League One and had very little criticism for his team's efforts.

"When it comes to the second half, we asked the players to keep it tight for 10, 15 minutes and their fans will get on their back – and then they score the second goal. One of our players runs out a bit early, opens up the space and they put a good ball to the back post and we concede," he added.

"Other than that, they never had any other shots on our goal. They dominated possession but, as the game went on, I felt a bit more comfortable.

"In the last 10 minutes, we made the substitutions and I thought that gave us something and we got in their half a bit more and created one or two half-chances.

"You can’t complain about the performance of the players, they have given absolutely everything.

"They (Plymouth) have lost one game here at home, they are flying high in the league and they were frustrated."