 The ensuing mêlée battle continued until nightfall, as the outnumbered English ships could rely on their stronger gun batteries to keep the Dutch at bay.Most of the hired English merchant ships neither attempted to aid their warships nor pursue the Dutch merchant ships.As Ayscue was defeated in his aim of capturing or destroying Dutch merchant ships, and as De Ruyter fought off an attack by a potentially superior force by a bold attack on its strongest ships, De Ruyter clearly won this battle of Plymouth and saved the convoy.