Argyle 1
Fallon 51

Southampton 1
Wright-Phillips 12

STEVE MacLean is not the first record-signing striker to arrive at Argyle from a Welsh club, though Rory Fallon has had to wait a year to register his first Home Park goal.

Fallon's second-half equaliser, after Bradley Wright-Phillips had given Southampton an early lead, gave Argyle manager Paul Sturrock some measure of satisfaction against the side that ignominiously sacked him a few years ago.

One way and another, it is a big weekend for the big Kiwi, a devout Christian who, on Sunday, makes a public declaration of his faith when he is baptised. Maybe it was not just out of relief that he sunk to his knees in celebration of his goal.

It is probably fair to say that faith has been in short supply when it comes to many's belief in Fallon's talents, but, after an uncertain start against the Saints, he could not be accused of hiding his light under a bushel .

As he grew into the game, so did his team-mates and Argyle created enough quality opportunities to easily claim all three points. Their failure to do so meant that they dropped out of the Championship's top ten for the first time since September.

Luggy had made four changes to the side that had laid down and died at Turf Moor a week earlier, although, surprisingly maybe, he found room for only one of his recent new signings: record £500,000 acquisition Steve MacLean who had completed his move from Cardiff the previous day.

MacLean took his place up front alongside the recalled Fallon, who was making only his sixth start of the season - and only his tenth since his own record-breaking transfer from Swansea a year ago - ahead of Jermaine Easter and Everton youngster Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Jutkiewicz was joined on the substitutes' bench by fellow freshmen Chris Clark and Yoann Folly as well as Lee Hodges. Hodgy was stood down from the left-back position in favour of Gary Sawyer, who moved from the centre to allow Krisztián Timár - back from a thigh injury - to resume his central defensive partnership with Marcel Seip.

The fourth and final recall went to David Norris, the subject, these days, of much rumour and speculation, from Suffolk to Cornwall, who came back after suspension to the right side of midfield, with Jimmy Abdou being omitted from the squad altogether.

Southampton, fresh from a 1-0 home victory over Scunthorpe, showed two changes to their starting eleven, both in defence.

Manager George Burley, who is on the short-list for the Scotland national job, recalled Swedish right-back Alexander Ostlund, releasing Jermaine Wright into midfield where he bumped Inigo Idiakez on to the bench.

Captain Darren Powell returned to the centre of the back four, relegating former Torquay United man Wayne Thomas to the replacements.

A lively opening received the early goal that always looked likely when Bradley Wright-Phillips raced through unhindered on to a long pass from deep to chip the ball expertly past Luke McCormick.

He looked offside when Ostlund played the pass forward, but a replay showed otherwise. In any case, Argyle's main grievance should have been that Norris was fouled in the preceding Argyle attack, the breakdown of which gave Saints the chance to decisively counter.

It was not coming together for Argyle, who looked like what they inarguably are - a team in transition. Their two strikers initially looked just like a pair who had not started just over a dozen games between them this season and none together.

They stuck to their task, however, and gradually began to bring the Pilgrims back into the game. Fallon improved noticeably and his flicked header to Péter Halmosi led to a bit of ping-pong around the Southampton penalty area, during which goalkeeper Kelvin Davis made a splendid block from Lilian Nalis's drive.

Davis was the Saints' saviour again a few minutes later when Norris cut in from his wing and pinged in a familiar crisp low effort that the goalkeeper parried, with MacLean, who was also growing into his role, thwarted by Grégory Vignal from sweeping up the rebound.

Another amazing passage of Argyle attacking play saw Fallon denied by Davis's bravery in coming off his line to prevent the big Kiwi from cashing in on Norris's perceptive headed through-ball.

The ball looped up of Davis and was returned goalwards by the head of Halmosi, with players from both teams converging on the ball as it arced towards the net. Vignal courageously put his body on the line - literally, in this case - to clear the ball.

There were bodies all over the place afterwards, with Vignal and MacLean needing the longest treatment, and Argyle wondering how they had not gone into the interval on level terms.

Mind you, they were lucky to stay just the one down after a start to the second half that was as enterprising as the first.

A lineman's erroneous flag meant that Halmosi was not allowed the chance of cashing in on Fallon's defence-splitting pass after some fine forward interplay, and Southampton almost rubbed their noses in it when Wright-Phillips escaped Timár's attentions to send a shot across McCormick and only just wide.

Argyle made them pay immediately. Sawyer and Timár combined to send Halmosi away down the left, and his low, driven, cross was expertly turned past Davis by Fallon with a first-time well-angled volley from ten yards.

The goal provided the Pilgrims with even more momentum and Southampton were put under an Halmosi-led siege.

Fallon emerged from a goalmouth pack to head down one of his crosses, but could find no takers, and another Hungarian special delivery found MacLean, who tried to side-foot a volley - a move with a high degree of difficulty - home from eight yards and sent the ball wide.

Southampton held out but goodness knows how. Former Saint Folly, on for Luke Summerfield, nearly got a toe to Norris's pass, before Halmosi cracked a shot that Davis turned on to a post with Fallon's attempt at sweeping home the rebound deflected for a corner.

The pulverisation of the Saints (which sounds a bit like the title of a Reformation painting) continued. Ostlund was dragged in a successful attempt to limit Halmosi, who then promptly switched wings.

Argyle remained competitive and spirited until the end but could not make the breakthrough their efforts deserved, and they nearly lost their hard-won point towards the end when McCormick made a meal out of another Wright-Phillips effort.

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 (capt), 20 Luke Summerfield (8 Yoann Folly 68), 16 Péter Halmosi; 9 Steve MacLean, 14 Rory Fallon.
Substitutes (not used): 6 Chris Clark, 17 Lee Hodges, 36 Jermaine Easter, 37 Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Southampton (4-4-2): 1 Kelvin Davis; 2 Alexander Ostlund (3 Wayne Thomas 77), 35 Andrew Davies, 6 Darren Powell (capt), 21 Grégory Vignal; 14 Adam Hammill (27 Inigo Idiakez 58), 15 Jason Euell, 10 Jermaine Wright, 11 Andrew Surman; 8 Bradley Wright-Phillips, 9 Grzegorz Rasiak (31 Stern John 81).
Substitutes (not used): 7 Rudi Skácel, 13 Bartosz Bialkowski (gk).

Booked: Powell 25, Vignal 37, Davies 61, Rasiak 64.

Referee: Uriah Rennie (South Yorkshire).

Attendance: 14,676 (1,642 away).