Queens Park Rangers 0
Argyle 2
Halmosi 49, Norris 62
SECOND-HALF goals from Petér Halmosi and David Norris made sure that Ian Holloway's homecoming was a happy one, giving the Pilgrims a thoroughly deserved first Championship victory since the opening day of the season.
Argyle's wideboys netted early after the break in front of the hundreds of Pilgrims' fans who made sure the home supporters knew they value the man in charge of their fortunes as much as their hosts once did. Formula 1? Formula Ollie!
Holloway had whistled up three senior players for his return to Shepherd's Bush, all to a midfield in which David Norris remained the only constant.
Hungarian internationals Halmosi and Ákos Buzsáky, second-half substitutes in Saturday's 2-2 Sky high-to-low draw with Cardiff, joined compatriot Krisztián Timár in one of the most cosmopolitan of London Boroughs, while Lilian Nalis was recalled from the wildnerness to the ground where he was sent off last season.
Rangers' starting line-up showed just one change to the 11 that had paved the way to a 1-1 draw at Leicester City three days earlier.
Danny Nardiello, who had come on as a substitute to good effect at the Walkers Stadium, began in place of the man he had replaced at Leicester, on-loan Chelsea striker Ben Sahar, the Israeli international.
Nardiello's partner up front was a man familiar to Argyle supporters, England Under-21 international Dexter Blackstock, who spent a thoroughly successful loan spell at Home Park three seasons ago, scoring four goals in 14 games to help keep Bobby Williamson's Championship debutants in the second flight of English football.
The game started at a pace and was barely five minutes old before the two sides swapped chances.
Argyle's came first, after Barry Hayles had been bundled over just outside the penalty area. Halmosi took precise aim and curled the free-kick around the inside of the wall with his left foot.
The ball curled away and left Rangers' goalkeeper Lee Camp grasping at thin air before the spin took it wide of his post by no more than a yard.
Immediately, Nardiello was played through by Blackstock and, surprisingly, left Marcel Seip in his wake before unleashing a fierce shot. Luke McCormick had been alert to the situation, however, and his closing down of the shot made the save look easier than it was.
A game of attack and counter-attack ensued, with defences making sure goalkeepers were not needed to do anything other than mop up - except once, when a looping header from Nardiello plopped down from a height on to Luke McCormick's crossbar with the Argyle goalkeeper appearing to get a vital touch as the ball re-entered earth orbit.
Argyle strung together some sweet passes, taking control of the midfield with good periods of possession. When they got the ball wide, they looked dangerous, too, and Hayles was inches away from converting a cracking head-high right-wing cross from by Ebanks-Blake.
A driving run into the heart of the home defence from Halmosi ended with Rangers grateful to get the ball away from Norris for a corner which saw Buzsáky set up Hayles with a training-ground routine that saw the Argyle skipper show unbelievable technique to strike a low first-time shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The shot was blocked before Camp was required but the Hoops' 'keeper immediately got his chance to show his paces when Gary Sawyer let rip with a quality volley that had the former Derby County custodian scrambling to his left to save the shot.
Another free-kick, this time from Buzsáky and more central to goal, nearly broke the deadlock but, again, the ball curled agonisingly just the wrong side of the post. Camp did not move, which means he is either the coolest man in west London or he was never going to get anywhere near the ball.
The Pilgrims nearly undid all their solid work in the opening 45 minutes in first-half injury-time when Paul Connolly sold McCormick short with a backpass that Mikele Ligertwood seized upon, but the back line remained stiff in the sinews and disaster was averted.
Argyle maintained their momentum into the opening stages of the second half and the pressure that had built all through the first half finally told in the 49th minute when Halmosi cut inside Zesh Rehman with such adroitness that the Rangers' right-back slipped and had to watch from a prostate position as the Pilgrims' record signing planted a right-foot shot beyond Camp.
Going behind stirred Rangers into a state of liveliness they had not before suggested they possessed and they came within inches of levelling when Martin Rowlands clipped a Seip conceded free-kick against the crossbar. McCormick, it is fair to say from his statuesque response, did not have it covered.
The home side then introduced highly-rated West Ham striker Hogam Ephraim and Marcus Bignot but the new pair hardly had a moment to settle in before the Pilgrims extended their lead.
The provider was Connolly, who slung in a right-wing cross deep to the far post. Halmosi unselfishly headed it back into the danger zone, where Hayles, Ebanks-Blake and Norris converged on it. Any of them might have scored, but Norris won the race and smashed it home.
After that, it was up to Rangers to try to break down an Argyle side that spent the rest of the game largely going through the motions with some comfort.
Nardiello did eventually spring the Argyle's ad hoc offside trap but shot so high that several people in the crowd ricked their necks, and Argyle responded with a terrific shot from range by Buzsáky that slipped narrowly wide.
If proof was needed that it was indeed Ollie's night, then it came when Timár and Seip comically got in each other's way to leave Sahar, on as substitute, clear in on goal. International strikers should not spurn such ribbon-wrapped opportunities.
Queens Park Rangers (4-4-2): 1 Lee Camp; 28 Zesh Rehman (2 Marcus Bignot 59), 4 Danny Cullip, 5 Damion Stewart, 3 Chris Barker; 18 Stefan Moore (25 Hogan Ephraim 59), 7 Adam Bolder (capt), 32 Mikele Leigertwood, 14 Martin Rowlands; 8 Daniel Nardiello (17 Ben Sahar 83), 9 Dexter Blackstock. Substitutes (not used): 12 Jake Cole (gk), 21 John Curtis.
Argyle (4-4-2): 23 Luke McCormick; 2 Paul Connolly, 5 Krisztián Timár, 19 Marcel Seip, 18 Gary Sawyer; 7 David Norris, 4 Lilian Nalis, 8 Ákos Buzsáky, 16 Péter Halmosi; 9 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, 10 Barry Hayles (capt, 17 Lee Hodges 90). Substitutes (not used): 1 Romain Larrieu (gk), 11 Nick Chadwick, 13 Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, 14 Rory Fallon.
Booked: Seip 56, Timár 70.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Attendance: 10,850 (2,000 away est).
