Burnley 0
Argyle 0
SEVEN defeats in their last seven visits to Turf Moor combined with last weekend's depressing home defeat to Swansea to make a point at Burnley a very welcome one.
Never lacking in commitment, Argyle added poise, composure and a healthy amount of tactical acumen to frustrate the Clarets into goalless submission.
You could count the clear-cut chances on the hands of a snake and the irritation got too much for Chris Eagles, who gave the statisticians something to with his dismissal eight minutes before the end.
Manager Paul Sturrock made two changes from the disappointing 1-0 home loss to Swansea.
With his loan move from Blackburn Rovers only completed hours before kick-off, Paul Gallagher slipped straight into a left-wing position, opposite Jason Puncheon, with Steve MacLean acting as the fulcrum in the Argyle attack.
The inclusion of the new man meant a drop down to the bench for Kiwi Rory Fallon, where he was joined by Jim Paterson, Jamie Mackie, Craig Cathcart and, for the first time, sprightly young winger Craig Noone.
Arguably the player of the season so far, Graham Stack, retained his place in goal but he was marshalling a different central defensive partnership, with Frenchman Mathias Doumbe not included in the squad.
Krisztián Timár came in alongside Marcel Seip for his first league start of the season. Karl Duguid and Chris Barker continued to provide the defensive width.
The Green midfield comprised Luke Summerfield, Simon Walton and Chris Clark acting as a compact three-man buffer for the defenders behind them.
Jermaine Easter joined Doumbe in watching from the stands, with Luggy clearly feeling the want-away striker did not warrant a place in his 16.
Luggy's opposite number, Owen Coyle, made just one change from the side that beat Oldham in the midweek Carling Cup win over Oldham Athletic.
Former Pilgrim Russell Anderson began his Burnley career after joining the Clarets on a season-long loan from Sunderland against the side he starred for towards the end of last season - Michael duff was the man to miss out.
Coyle also included in his line-up his big summer signings from a pair of very different Uniteds, Manchester and Scunthorpe. Former Red Eagles took his place on the wing, with ex-Iron Martin Paterson starting as the lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation.
If Argyle had sprung a surprise with the late inclusion of Gallagher, Burnley responded by starting with Anderson, nominally a central defender, in the right-back position, and the two new recruits began the game as direct opponents, with Argyle's addition drifting in from a left-wing position to support MacLean.
The early signs were positive for Argyle and Gallagher, in particular, was causing the hosts problems by popping up in some awkward positions that had the Burnley defence looking decidedly anxious.
Luggy has consistently said that his team is at their best when they are in the faces of the opposition. Well, all Burnley could see in the opening exchanges was a wall of TangerGreen, as Argyle's high-tempo pressing game prevented the Clarets from finding any sort of rhythm.
The only moment of concern for the Pilgrims was a whipped free-kick by Eagles on 15 minutes that Stack comfortably parried over the cross-bar.
Argyle's excellent start, composed passing of the ball and the nullifying effect of Puncheon and Gallagher when not in possession was stifling the threat of Burnley's talented wide-men, Eagles and Wade Elliott, who tormented Lee Hodges in the Clarets' 1-0 win in last season's version of this fixture.
The frustration bubbling up in the home crowd was given a brief release when Chris McCann's snap-shot forced Stack into making a smart save down to his right.
The Argyle response was a familiar trick: MacLean and Summerfield stood in front of a free-kick 25-yards from goal and, with most expecting the pair to split and Gallagher to run in and have a crack, MacLean performed a delicious pirouette and swept in a shot that Brian Jensen had to palm clear.
To be fair to Burnley, they did not let the deception worry them for long, and captain Steven Caldwell should have directed his close-range header the right side of the post, from a Claret perspective, when he was picked out by a deep free-kick from Eagles.
The half ended with Argyle back in the ascendancy. The quick feet of Puncheon bamboozled left-back Christian Kalvenes and the cut-back found Gallagher poised to open his Pilgrim account, but he prodded an instinctive curling shot inches wide.
It has been said many times before, but Football really is a funny old game. In just 45 minutes, Argyle went from looking like lost strangers against Swansea to regaining their hard-earned status as an established Championship team.
Luggy deserves credit for his tactics and so do the players for keeping their passes short and concise. The challenge for the second-half was to learn the lesson: if it only takes 45 minutes to make things right, it also takes the same amount of time for it to go wrong again.
Coyle introduced Robbie Blake at half-time in the hope that the skilful winger could repeat the trick of last season and grab a winner for the Clarets, but the start of the second-half followed a similar pattern to that of the first, with Burnley probing unsuccessfully and Argyle arguably producing the more cohesive football.
A central reason: Seip and Timár were clearly operating under strict no-hoofing instructions, thus enabling the Pilgrims to build progressively from the back.
The muffled squirms of discontent from the Burnley faithful was all the evidence required to prove Argyle's tactical superiority was a massive frustration for the Clarets and Luggy grasped the opportunity to introduce wildcard Noone for his debut in place of the tiring Gallagher.
Fallon also joined the party with MacLean making way, while Burnley expanded their attacking options by introducing crowd favourite Ade Akinbiyi.
Noone finally got his first touch as a Pilgrim - ten minutes after entering the arena - but Puncheon could not get any real juice on his header from the youngster's deep cross.
Frustration boiled over into stupidity for Eagles, who earned himself a straight red card to add to his earlier yellow one for apparently lashing out at Barker down in the corner.
Either that, or he said something naughty because referee Michael Oliver needed only a moment to consult his assistant before issuing the dismissal.
Noone was the first Pilgrim to try and pounce on the new advantage with a purposeful run into the box to meet Duguid's floating cross. He ignored a vertical disadvantage of at least half-a-foot to out-jump Anderson and plant his header narrowly over.
The final opening of the day came from the boot of Burnley substitute Joey Gudjonsson, whose firecracker free-kick forced Stack into a vital fingertip save.
Argyle can now take a valuable point and, more importantly, restored confidence into the two-week international break.
Burnley (4-5-1): 12 Brian Jensen; 24 Russell Anderson, 5 Clarke Carlisle, 6 Steven Caldwell, 3 Christian Kalvenes (8 Joey Gudjonsson 75); 11 Wade Elliott (9 Ade Akinbiyi 73), 7 Kevin McDonald (20 Robbie Blake half-time), 2 Graham Alexander, 16 Chris McCann, 33 Chris Eagles, 10 Martin Paterson. Substitutes (not used): 1 Diego Penny (gk), 18 Alan Mahon.
Booked: Eagles 56
Sent-off: Eagles 83
Argyle (4-3-3): 21 Graham Stack; 2 Karl Duguid, 5 Krisztián Timár, 19 Marcel Seip, 15 Chris Barker; 4 Simon Walton, 20 Luke Summerfield (3 Jim Paterson 85), 6 Chris Clark; 7 Jason Puncheon, 9 Steve MacLean (14 Rory Fallon 72), 11 Paul Gallagher (17 Craig Noone 68). Substitutes (not used): 22 Craig Cathcart, 25 Jamie Mackie.
Booked: Gallagher 59
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Attendance: 10,032 (250 away est.)
