Crystal Palace 1

McCarthy 85

Argyle 2

Gallagher 28, 56

ARGYLE completed a week from heaven after the weekend from hell with a hugely impressive 2-1 win over a deflated and out-played Crystal Palace.

Paul Gallagher deserves the headlines for two superbly-taken goals either side of half but the quiet plaudits should be shared out to everyone involved.

Patrick McCarthy's late header frayed a few Green nerves but Argyle held on for their second away win in the space of four days to banish the memory of a dismal 2-1 home reverse against Norwich seven days ago.

Manager Paul Sturrock made just one change from Tuesday's superb 2-1 win at Watford and that was enforced.

Jim Paterson was the unlucky man, failing to recover from a thigh strain picked up at Vicarage Road. Chris Barker slotted in neatly at left-back, allowing Hungarian Krisztián Timár to fill the vacant spot on the bench on his return from suspension.

Palace boss Neil Warnock also made just one change to his team. Former Ipswich striker Alan Lee came in for young Sean Scannell, a victim of their 2-1 midweek reverse at high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The mildly familiar name on the Palace bench was Leandre Griffit, who joined Argyle on their pre-season tour of Austria. The French winger did little wrong during his trial but Luggy decided against pursuing his interest.

The first minute saw Luke Summerfield fire in a grass-cutter free-kick that scuttled safely into the arms of Palace's Argentinean goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

The early pressure continued to flow towards Speroni goal with Rory Fallon looking in the same bustling mood that earned him massive praise at Watford.

Fallon added no small measure of skill to his obvious physical power to sneak round the back of the home defence on five minutes and slam a cross into the legs of the sprawling Matt Lawrence. Chris Clark fired the ricochet back into the danger area but Palace got lucky in the flailing leg lottery.

Some cute play by Gallagher moments later won Argyle a free-kick on the edge of the Eagles' box. The wily Scot used a sticky out bum motion to invite a clumsy challenge from Portuguese defender Jose Fonte.

Summerfield, the spot-kick hero at Watford, immediately sent in a bouncing-bomb shot that forced Speroni into a quick adjustment to snaffle the danger.

Warnock, who spent a highly successful spell as Argyle manager between 1995 and 1997, is hardly known for his reluctance to make a point, and Palace's sluggish opening prompted an outburst of swinging arms and spittle.

Fallon was one of his targets, with Warnock lambasting referee Neil Swarbrick for not penalising the Kiwi's robust approach. From an Argyle perspective, it is exactly the kind of aggressive and determined display Luggy wants from his target-man.

Danny Butterfield finally lifted home spirits with a powerful drive that deflected over for a corner. Ben Watson swung in an inviting cross that shaved off Clint Hill's rising head and Summerfield had to scoop the ball clear from underneath his own cross-bar.

It was a momentary concern for Romain Larrieu and his defence, and they were soon cheering Argyle's beautiful opening goal.

In a training ground move, Summerfield's low corner picked out the run of Gallagher to the edge of the box and the man on loan from Blackburn swished his foot across the face of the ball, caressing it into the top corner via Speroni's right-hand post.

It was a peach of a goal from a young man who is starting to look very fruity.

Warnock responded with a vein-bursting rant at anybody and everybody. The result was a minor improvement from his players and Larrieu's wonky radar almost gifting an equaliser. Le 'Keeper was lucky to see a wayward punch slice wide of the goal after an innocuous pump into the box.

Gallagher remained the dominant force, however, and he came within a whisker of doubling his tally with a vicious long-range shot that had Speroni scrambling across his goal.

Clark was another man enjoying a fine first period and his ambidextrous style was giving Butterfield a headache at right-back. One foray led to Fallon spooning a toe-volley onto the roof of Speroni's net.

Larrieu took centre-stage in first-half injury time with a sensational flying save to tip Paul Ifill's sizzling volley over the cross-bar and keep Argyle's lead intact. Seconds later, he produced a more routine save from Shaun Derry's poorly executed side-foot volley from close range.

Warnock made a tactical adjustment at half-time with Victor Moses replacing the ineffective Lee in the van, and Moses introduced himself in impressive fashion, looping in a fine volley that almost deceived Larrieu.

The subsequent corner was headed clear by Fallon but Derry picked up the pieces and arrowed a searing drive fractionally wide of the post. Moments later, Ifill dinked a cross in front of Larrieu and the Frenchman's palm away fell to Nick Carle, who just couldn't sort out his feet quickly enough.

Palace's opening to the second period suggested Mr Warnock had a quiet word with his players during the interval. Unfortunately for him, they didn't listen.

Gallagher enhanced his reputation with the second goal on 56 minutes, ghosting in to pick up Fallon's flicked header and smash the ball past Speroni from 20 yards.

The home defence must have been dreading a return to the dressing room, as they allowed Gallagher all the room he needed to double their woes. Having said that, it was another clinical finish from the Scot.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Warnock obliged by sending on defender McCarthy for midfielder Nick Carle, allowing centre-back Fonte to amble forward as an emergency striker.

All the strings continued to be pulled the excellent Gallagher, however, and his crafty reverse pass found the run of Summerfield, who sent a bobbling effort narrowly wide from the edge of the box.

It would have been easy to assume that victory was secured but, as with Watford on Tuesday, there was always a chance Palace could sneak a way back into the game. Thankfully, the bravery of Mat Doumbe in throwing his body in front of a violent volley from Moses snuffed out such negative thoughts.

Unfortunately, the clean sheet Argyle's performance deserved was taken away from them with just five minutes left on the clock.

Watson fired in a lovely corner and, for the first time all afternoon, Argyle failed to pick up the runners. Substitute McCarthy was the beneficiary, planting an unstoppable header beyond Larrieu.

A couple more Watson corners kept Argyle keen but 11 cool heads and brave hearts protected their three points.

Palace (4-3-3): 1 Julian Speroni; 20 Danny Butterfield, 2 Matt Lawrence, 6 Jose Fonte, 3 Clint Hill; 10 Nick Carle (5 Patrick McCarthy 66), 4 Shaun Derry (capt), 24 Ben Watson; 23 Paul Ifill, 9 Alan Lee (11 Victor Moses half-time), 41 Kieran Djilali (27 Leandre Griffit 74).
Substitutes (not used): 7 Carl Fletcher, 26 John Oster.

Booked: Fonte 64, Griffit 90

Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Romain Larrieu; 13 Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, 22 Craig Cathcart, 19 Marcel Seip, 15 Chris Barker (5 Krisztián Timár 88); 25 Jamie Mackie (8 Yoann Folly 78), 2 Karl Duguid (capt), 20 Luke Summerfield, 6 Chris Clark; 11 Paul Gallagher (10 Jermaine Easter 84), 14 Rory Fallon.

Substitutes (not used): 23 Nicolas Marin, 31 Emile Mpenza.

Booked: Doumbe 70, Gallagher 73

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

Attendance: 14,209 (1,006)

Tim Herbert