We switched our focus to the evergreen Lee Hodges, who was plying his trade at left-back today.

Hodgey's first contribution in the spotlight was to win a free-kick by firing a swinging cross from the left that Andy Wilkinson charged down with his hand. The resultant set-piece ended with a rushed effort from David Norris scuttling well wide.

It was clearly going to be a challenging afternoon for the veteran with his direct opponent, Liam Lawrence, coming in to the game fresh from a superb Boxing Day hat-trick in the 3-3 draw at Barnsley.

Our man found himself in foreign territory on 35 minutes when a Halmosi corner found a way to the far post, and Hodgey controlled the ball with his right and swivelled to hit a hurried half-volley over the bar.

A frustrating first-half got a whole lot better as it came to a close. Ryan Shawcross conceded a penalty with a handball. Goalkeeper Russell Hoult guessed right to save Sylvan's spot kick but, thankfully, the rebound fell to our top goalscorer and he nudged in the equaliser.

To be fair, the goal added some undeserved gloss to a jittery Argyle performance and Hodgey, along with his team-mates, would have to improve in the second half against the powerful Potters.

We started the second half with Jermaine Easter, who had shown some good touches in the first period and a blossoming understanding with Sylvan.

It looked a promising choice straight away as the man on loan from Wycombe Wanderers showed great strength to hold off the mountainous Ryan Shawcross before delivering a whipped cross that was inches too high for Sylv's run.

Unfortunately, Argyle's rejuvenation was brief as the visitors retook the lead through another set-piece - this time Shawcross was the benefactor.

It should be noted that there is clearly some growth hormones in the Stoke water. Their average height must have been about nine foot, and a distinct lack of razors in the Potteries made them look particularly menacing, although nothing compared to Timár of course.

Jermaine's industry nearly earned reward when he got an unorthodox touch to a Shelly cross, but the ball squirmed harmlessly wide to end a decent, if unspectacular, spell for the Welsh international. 

Player Watch today had to end with in-form Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who looked supremely confident all afternoon and would surely be our best route back into the game.

Scrub that - Timár was the man to bring the scores level with a thumping header from a delicious inswinging Halmosi corner.

Sylv's inventive afternoon continued with a cute flick to prompt another attack - he was just having one of those games where everything seemed to work.

The equaliser should have brought a sustained period of Argyle pressure and plenty of involvement for Sylv but, credit to Stoke and Pulis, they kept pouring forward and you could see why they are challenging for promotion.

The game turned on its head on 80 minutes when Sylv raced through and knocked the ball past Hoult. The visiting 'keeper had no option but to foul Sylv and earn an inevitable red card - it was a certain goal and, therefore, a good red card from a Potters perspective.

Sylv came dramatically close to grabbing a late winner when Chuck curled in a fantastic cross that Stoke could not cope with. Sylv put substitute 'keeper Steve Simonsen under immense pressure as the ball was somehow flapped away from the net.

He got even closer in injury time with a stunning overhead kick from the edge of the box after exquisite chest control, and Simonsen did well to scramble across his goal and turn the ball wide. A brilliant end to an enthralling game.