MUST-WIN, six-pointer, do or die.

At this stage in the season, second-bottom Argyle's trip to third-bottom Reading was a classic survival battle.

Victory tonight would bring the Greens within a point of the Royals, and with a game in hand. Defeat would leave us at least six points adrift of the safety spot currently occupied by Ipswich Town.

Before the Madejski challenge, we faced 19 games to save our Championship status and with 24 points thus far accumulated, history suggested we needed around 28 points to survive.

Obviously, it is also dependent on the teams above us and how they fare. That measurement took an early knock, as James O'Connor gave Sheffield Wednesday a third minute lead over Blackpool, which, as it stood, pushed the Owls nine points clear of us.

At present, the table makes bleak viewing, but, if we can put a mini-run together, it could change everything. The proviso: teams in our immediate vicinity need to start losing.

A full Championship schedule tonight made it a hugely important couple of hours in our quest to stay in the second tier of English football, a quest that would undoubtedly be more achievable if we could convert promising performances into points.

Side-issue alert: The Reading announcer stood on the pitch with both teams ready to kick-off and gave a stirring, "come on Reading, let's get another three points in this crucial home game". Time and place mate - do it five minutes before but don't delay kick-off for a disrespectful rant with 22 players and a referee watching your embarrassing display with great impatience.

If Paul Mariner needed a tonic after an opening onslaught from the home side at the magnificent Madejski, it came in the form of Roman Bednar's opener for West Brom at home to Scunthorpe - a loss tonight would leave the Iron on 33 points and, therefore, catchable.

Not much further up the M4, there was grim news as David Norris, yes our former hero, scored the first goal for Ipswich at QPR. On the positive side, if Rangers continue their Toyota-style meltdown, perhaps we can catch them instead.

Drop down and to the right a bit, and you'd find the unfortunate Crystal Palace trailing to a Shefki Kuqi goal for Swansea, which, given the Eagles ten-point deduction for going into administration, makes them also catchable.

Isn't it strange how former Palace custodian Simon Jordan has not been spouting his views on the TV recently. I obviously don't know the details but the man with the comedy haircut was the club owner, the club did not pay their bills, ten points were deducted and Palace fans are left to suffer. Reticence must be a quality that comes with shame.

Meanwhile, on the subject of disastrous club custodians. The battle between football's greatest prankster, Cardiff's very own wind-up merchant Peter Ridsdale, and Peterborough's Darragh McAnthony, a man with shares in Panini's new manager sticker-book, was going the way of the Silver Beadle. Chris Burke's goal at the stadium-we-couldn't-afford-but-built-anyway leaves the Posh further adrift.

Back to the catchables, and Derby took a surprise lead through Rob Hulse over Newcastle (whose chairman can barely attend games without fear of being turned into Magpie food), while Freddy Eastwood had done the same for Coventry against Forest.

Daryl Murphy's second for Ipswich at Loftus Road could be another blessing in disguise. Town are showing enough signs of improvement to escape and their chairman is scandal-free, I think. Now, who is in charge of QPR again?

0-0 at half-time and, although Argyle had held their own, the introduction of Craig Noone and Kenny Cooper for Rory Fallon and Alan Judge suggested Mr Mariner was keen to keep the catchables catchable. A decision backed-up by Darren Potter's second for Sheffield Wednesday - cheers Ollie.

It was getting tasty. Jamie had two chances, Kenny one and Arnie another. Suddenly, the Royals were in trouble, or maybe not. A missed tackle in midfield left Arnie stranded and Shane Long swept the home side in front.

When the epitaph is written on our season, I fear missed chances will be the theme. We now had to do what hadn't been done since Hull City in August 2007: come from behind and win an away game. To make it even worse, Derby were now pumping Newcastle 3-0. Somebody buy Mike Ashley a drink. Oh no, you can't drink in view of the pitch. You can if you say the pint of lager you've just downed is juice - I'm getting confused.

There was, however, hope, and it came in the form of Nooney's wonderful energy from the wing. A deep cross found Clarky, who found Jamie, who found Fletch, who found the net.

In the midst of all that, David McNamee picked up an injury that ended his game. Mariner's choice for replacement: Joe Mason. As the cricket saying goes: 'don't die wondering'.

Elsewhere, Cardiff were now safe against the very unsafe Posh, QPR had pulled one back against Ipswich and Scunthorpe were two down at the Hawthorns.

The final 20 minutes were scintillating. Reading attacked, we attacked. The 1-1 score-line was a fair reflection on a terrific match. That was until Clarky conceded a penalty and Long broke Green hearts.

Football is a very cruel game but there is something special happening at our club. You can sense it in the offices, you can sense it with the fans, you can sense it around the coaching staff and, most importantly, you can sense it with the players. I just hope Messrs Mariner and Carver have the time and luck to make it reality.

Tim Herbert