By Blackburn Rovers FC
John Eustace felt the red card to Kyle McFadzean was a turning point in the 1-1 draw against Plymouth Argyle at Ewood Park.
Rovers, who were 1-0 up at that point following Sam Szmodics’ excellent finish early on, were forced to play more than half an hour without McFadzean after he was dismissed for hauling down Ryan Hardie early into the second period.
Rovers will look back on Arnor Sigurdsson hitting the post in the first half with the hosts 1-0 up at the time, even more so after Morgan Whittaker's 74th-minute equaliser, with the Pilgrims top scorer bundling home from close range to level the score for Ian Foster’s visitors.
Harry Pickering came close to scoring a late winner for Rovers when he tested out Michael Cooper’s alertness, and Eustace was left wondering what could have been had the game been 11 v 11 for the full 90 minutes.
“I thought we came out strong in the second half and the red card changes the course of the game,” the 44-year-old said to RoversTV following the contest.
“The effort the group put in to limit them to very few chances was amazing. They showed that fighting spirit that we need from now until the end of the season.
“It was a massive effort from the group and we showed great resilience, putting their heart and soul into the performance.
“We started the game really well, we had a great chance to make it 2-0 and Siggy [Sigurdsson] puts that away on another day.
“We started the first half on the front foot, we played some really good football. They had a couple of good chances as well and it was quite an open first half.
“We’re showing that level of commitment that we need to stay in this league.
“The character’s there for everyone to see. Callum came off on Tuesday with a groin strain and got through 90 minutes today.”