Argyle 1
Easter 84
West Bromwich Albion 2
Bednár 9, 43
OH dear. It was not supposed to be like this.
Barely 24 hours after returning to Home Park on a wave of optimism, Paul Sturrock was denied the result most of the Westcountry - and certainly the majority of a season's best near-14,500 crowd - was willing him by a bravura performance from West Bromwich Albion.
It was another debutant, Czech striker Roman Bednár, making his first start of the season on loan from Hearts, to whom the glory went. His two first-half goals were, nominally, the difference between the two sides, although, in truth, it probably went a little deeper than that and not even substitute Jermaine Easter's late debut consolation goal could disguise that.
The good news for Luggy is that Argyle did not play badly and did little to contribute to their own downfall; the bad news is that West Brom were too good for them and played, it appeared, largely within themselves.
When the new man talked about a lot of hard work ahead in Tuesday's jovial Press conference, he was not joking. Nevertheless, he has the spirit and skill with which to work and the talent with which to mould it.
Maybe Sturrock's new old team were just a little too eager to please him, maybe they were suffering first-night nerves. Maybe not.
Whatever, the Pilgrims have scaled many heights with and since Luggy, but there is further to go for minds and bodies; along steeper paths, too. They need a guide of his standing.
Sturrock - for it was he who had the final say on the first XI, despite his kidding that coach Geoff Crudgington would be in charge - had made one change to the side so splendid in victory at Sheffield United the previous Saturday.
That was forced upon him, too. Lee Martin, the Manchester United winger on loan to Home Park, was obliged to miss the match due a training-ground injury, so his place on the right flank went to England Under-18 international Dan Gosling.
For continuity from Luggy's first game in his first stint at Home Park, and this one, you had to cast your eyes towards the bench, where, then as now, was goalkeeper Luke McCormick.
West Brom's own injury problems increased during Sunday's 0-0 home draw with Blackcountry rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers when Ishmael Miller limped out of the game with a knee injury, joining a long list of Hawthorns players similarly affected. With erstwhile strike partner Kevin Phillips being one of that number, Manchester City loan star Miller's place went to Bednár.
For the opening ten minutes, Argyle looked like they had forgotten to come to their own party. West Brom's quick, crisp, passing had them on the back foot from the first blast of referee Steve Bennet's whistle, and the success they were gaining from it buoyed their confidence.
No surprise, then, when they went ahead. An impudent back-heel on the right by Portugueser Filipe Teixeira gave Zoltán Gera the space and time to measure a cross in behind the already hard-worked defence for Bednár to run on to and slide the ball past wrong-footed Romain Larrieu.
That was not in the script.
The Baggies' delivery into Argyle's penalty area continued to cause concern, and Gera nearly added a second before the quarter-hour with a heard from Chris Brunt's corner that was cleared off the line by Péter Halmosi, who, it seems, is making a habit of these last-gasp interventions.
Brunt made Larrieu scrabble at the foot of his right-hand post with a dipping long-range free-kick before Argyle managed their first attack, a slick passing move that ended when Sylvan Ebanks-Blake overhit a cross from the left.
Argyle's first-half moments were few and far between, but at least things quietened down in their own penalty area for a while.
In fact, Dean Kiely was the next goalkeeper to be called into serious action, saving Barry Hayles' drive after the Argyle skipper had latched on to a raking pass from deep by Lee Hodges, and bullishly held off the attentions of Bo?tjan Cesar.
A subsequent free-kick that was awarded for his follow-up challenge so angered the ox in the box that Bennett felt obliged to flash him a yellow that, being his fifth of the season, means he will miss next month's Westcountry derby against Bristol City.
West Brom retorted by more slick interplay on the right between Teixeira and the Hungarian Gera, who again found Bednár in space. His first-time shot from the edge of the box was smashed into the side-netting.
The ease with which West Brom were keeping and passing the ball was matched only by Argyle's determination to stay in the game, but the Pilgrims were mighty fortunate to avoid going further behind following another speedy break.
Larrieu got off his line and got down to Teixeira's fierce drive, but the Iberian thorn in Argyle's side really ought to have converted the rebound. His option of the cute chip, which saw the ball bobble wide, was a profligate one.
No matter. Albion still managed to go into the break 2-0 up and cantering. It took a Hollywood pass of 60 yards, from right to left , by Gera to set it up. The recipient Brunt, a fledgling talent under Sturrock at Sheffield Wednesday, put the ball into the six-yard box, where Bednár stopped to head the gift-wrapped delivery in.
Sturrock, who had spent the first-half in the directors' box, obviously felt the hands-on approach was needed and could not help himself.
By the time the second half started, there was an empty space alongside chairman Paul Stapleton and a familiar figure standing in front of the home dug-out, looking bemused at proceedings, and periodically jabbing a finger here and there.
Neither the man's presence, nor the introduction of substitute Nadjim Abdou for Gosling, initially made a difference, as the swaggering visitors engaged cruise control.
Argyle, though, showed the spirit that had won them their 1-0 triumph at Bramall Lane and gradually ratcheted up their performance.
It took a brave and well-timed header from Paul Robinson to deny Hayles the chance of converting a left-wing cross from Lee Hodges after a patient Pilgrims' build-up.
Bednár missed out on a hat-trick when Larrieu slipped trying to gather another Gera heat-seeker. However, the Argyle goalkeeper recovered - just - to claw the attempted chip out of the air.
Halmosi, escaped from his countryman's shadow to bring out two saves in quick succession from Kiely, the first with a low drive, the second with a header from Hayles' little dink into the box that he could not get anything like the same power behind.
Jermaine Easter, who Sturrock fancied when he was managing Swindon, joined proceedings late on, for the fifth game in a row, and immediately made an impact at his near post with a pure striker's goal.
David Norris provided a pass into the box from the right and Easter roofed the ball, giving Kiely no chance.
It gave Argyle hope, and they grabbed the lifeline, busting a gut to get the leveler, but were ultimately left frustrated on a generally frustrating night.
Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Romain Larrieu; 2 Paul Connolly, 13 Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, 19 Marcel Seip, 17 Lee Hodges (14 Rory Fallon 88); 22 Dan Gosling (26 Nadjim Abdou half-time), 7 David Norris, 4 Lilian Nalis, 16 Péter Halmosi; 10 Barry Hayles (capt, 36 Jermaine Easter 79), 9 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Substitutes (not used): 18 Gary Sawyer , 23 Luke McCormick (gk).
Booked: Hayles 30, Nalis 47.
West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): 1 Dean Kiely; 2 Carl Hoefkens, 4 Leon Barnett, 25 Bo?tjan Cesar, 3 Paul Robinson; 11 Zoltán Gera, 7 Robert Koren, 8 Jonathan Greening (capt), 29 Chris Brunt; 9 Roman Bednár (10 Craig Beattie 72), 20 Filipe Teixeira (15 Sherjill MacDonald 79). Substitutes (not used): 12 Richard Chaplow, 13 Luke Steele (gk), 26 Pedro Pelé.
Booked: Gera 90.
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent).
Attendance: 14,338 (1,053 away).
