Argyle 2
Ebanks-Blake 44, Timár 67

Stoke City 2
Cresswell 8, Hodges og 57

TONY Pulis may not be the Green Army's number one bogey-man nowadays, but he will not have done much to endear himself to them after cynically nicking another two points from his previous employers.

Some arch gamesmanship by goalkeeper Russell Hoult, whose professional foul denied Sylvan Ebanks-Blake a late winner, earned Stoke a share of the spoils.

Ebanks-Blake, who had earlier netted his 12th goal of the season, was clean through on goal after latching on to fellow scorer Krisztián Timár's long punt forward when Hoult raced from his area and brought down Argyle's leading scorer.

Argyle twice came from behind for their point, although, ironically, they played much better than when winning four days earlier.

A Lee Hodges headed own goal just before the hour had put Pulis's Potters 2-1 ahead - and helped them to a ninth successive game undefeated as they remain on course to muscle their way into the Premier League.

Manchester United centre-back Ryan Shawcross had earlier handled to give away a penalty just before half-time that allowed Ebanks-Blake to level Richard Cresswell's eight-minute opener with the Argyle striker's 12th goal of the season.

A thumping header from Timár brought Argyle level for a second time, converting Péter Halmosi's corner within ten minutes of Hodges' oggie.

Argyle manager Paul Sturrock made his promised two changes to the starting line-up that had beaten Queens Park Rangers 2-1 - just - at Home Park on Boxing Day.

Luggy recalled another on-loan Manchester United player, winger Lee Martin, in an offensive and psychologically sound move given that Martin had endured a horrible temporary spell at Stoke last season. Wind him up and send him out.

Martin's recall allowed David Norris to move into the centre of the engine-room, displacing, not the veteran legs of Lilian Nalis, but those of Nadjim Abdou.

However, in this busy Christmas period, youth was given its head up front, where Jermaine Easter was preferred to Barry Hayles. Ebanks-Blake's improved hold-up play against QPR made the decision to rest the skipper easier, no doubt.

Stoke, who had come straight down to the Westcountry following their dramatic 3-3 draw at Barnsley on Wednesday, made one change to their Oakwell starting eleven.

That was between the posts, where goalkeeper Steve Simonsen was dropped for the first time in more than 100 Championship games to be replaced by Hoult, making his league debut for the Potters.

Otherwise the third-placed Championship side was everything you would expect from a Pulis squad: big, strong, direct, disciplined, and his son on the bench.

Luggy had been critical of his side's inability to start like they meant it but can have had no complaints at the tempo with which they approached this latest challenge.

They rattled Stoke when Nalis sent Péter Halmosi away on the left for a super cross that Hoult scrambled away. Unfortunately, the ball would not drop for a green shirt.

The encouraging start, however, counted for nothing when some uncertain defending from a not unexpected long throw-in on the right allowed Stoke to take the lead, Cressswell mopping up after Ricardo Fuller had kept the pressure on Romain Larrieu and Marcel Seip.

It was the tenth time this season that the Pilgrims have conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes of a game.

Ebanks-Blake had a shot well saved by Hoult, after linking well with Easter, as Argyle attempted to hit back immediately, and Halmosi tried to slide home a cross to the far post.

However, the task of overcoming Stoke's sheer physical presence was proving an intimidating one, even though Ebanks-Blake looked happy to give things a shot whenever he was in sight of goal.

With the game open and Argyle prepared to have a go, Stoke were not without their moments going forward and, after Lawrence mildly tested Larrieu on his near-post, Fuller should have wrapped the points up.

He tricksed his way through the Argyle back line rather too easily and took the ball around Larrieu before shooting left-footed at the wide open goal. Lady Luck, as Luggy would have it, mooned at his splendid effort, however, and the ball cannoned off the post.

Almost inevitably, Stoke were left to rue that wasted opportunity when the Pilgrims won their second successive Devonport end penalty.

Credit to goes to Easter for making life uneasy for the Potters' back line, and to Martin for staying game and winning a loose ball that he was second best to, for it was his little toe that saw a sliding Shawcross handle the ball on the ground.

Ebanks-Blake has hit every penalty he has ever taken low the goalkeeper's right, and told viewers of Argyle World why he likes to do so in the wake of his successful conversion against QPR on Wednesday.

The whole of the Stoke bench are obviously subscribers, judging from the way they, to a man, relayed this information to Hoult, who dutifully flung himself to his right, keeping the ball out but merely popping it up for Ebanks-Blake to plant it back past him with his left foot.

Stoke brought on Gabriel Zakuani for Andy Wilkinson at the interval, giving them a back four made up entirely of on-loan players, but Zakuani was soon undone by Ebanks-Blake, whose cut-back from the bye-line was let down by a poor first touch by Norris.

From being on top, the Pilgrims found themselves back behind as Stoke rallied. Lawrence had a shot well saved by Larrieu, but, from the same player's resulting corner, Shawcross rose to put pressure on Hodges and the ball glanced off the Argyle left-back's head and into the goal.

Within ten minutes, the Pilgrims had levelled, the pleasure at the goal being doubled by the fact that they did Stoke from a set-piece, Timár heading home powerfully from compatriot Halmosi's inswinging right-wing corner.

Luggy sent on Jimmy Abdou, for Martin, to nip around the heels of a visibly tiring John Eustace and Rory Delap, but Argyle were lucky to stay on terms after Leon Cort deflected a shot by Eustace to wrongfoot Larrieu, who watched as the ball went just wide.

Then came Hoult's entirely deliberate indiscretion as he took one for the team, and, with Simonsen on and Jon Parkin sacrificed, Stoke were grateful to hold out under intense Pilgrims' pressure.

Ebanks-Blake nearly had the final say with an overhead kick from range which Simonsen - dropped, remember, for being a liability - saved expertly.

Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Romain Larrieu; 2 Paul Connolly, 5 Krisztián Timár, 19 Marcel Seip, 17 Lee Hodges; 29 Lee Martin (26 Jimmy Abdou 74), 7 David Norris, 4 Lillian Nalis (capt), 16 Péter Halmosi; 9 Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, 36 Jermaine Easter. Substitutes (not used): 10 Barry Hayles, 13 Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, 14 Rory Fallon, 18 Gary Sawyer.

Booked: Norris 78.

Stoke City (4-4-2): 25 Russell Hoult; 28 Andy Wilkinson (21 Gabriel Zakuani half-time), 5 Leon Cort, 17 Ryan Shawcross, 14 Danny Pugh; 7 Liam Lawrence, 4 John Eustace (capt), 24 Rory Delap, 9 Richard Cresswell; 10 Ricardo Fuller, 11 Mamady Sidibe (8 Jon Parkin 60, 1 Steve Simonsen (gk) 80). Substitutes (not used): 26 Anthony Pulis, 31 Carl Dickinson.

Sent off: Hoult 80.

Booked: Shawcross 43, Fuller 86.

Referee: Steve Tanner (Somerset).

Attendance: 13,692 (638 away).