PLYMOUTH Argyle manager Wayne Rooney praised his side’s fighting spirit as they dug deep to earn a share of the spoils from their trip to Derby County in the Sky Bet Championship.

Fresh from their midweek victory at home to Portsmouth, the Pilgrims came from behind to secure a vital point at Pride Park.

A spectacular overhead kick from Jerry Yates put the hosts in front early on - only for the returning Adam Randell to level things for Argyle with a deflected free-kick.

It ensured a profitable points return for the week for Rooney’s side, who currently lie 18th in the standings.

“It was a good professional performance,” said Rooney. “Derby are the best in the league at set plays and we knew that, so to concede so early on we knew then it was going to be a tough game.

“I thought we did well to get back in the game. We tried to take the ball and play our way in. We were also quite effective in playing balls into the channel and mixing it up a little bit, which meant we were able get back to 1-1.

“We actually started the second half okay and had good control, but then in fairness to Derby they switched to a back five and went a bit more aggressive and we didn't deal with that as well. We had to show character to stay in the game and in the end I'm pleased to come away with a point.”

Rooney had special praise for Randell, who also took the captain’s armband. He said: “Rands is a fantastic player; a really important player to us. He was the captain of the team today as well. It was a race to get him fit, but we managed to get there and I'm delighted he's got 90 minutes in as well.”