Swansea 1
Scotland pen 78
Argyle 0
ARGYLE were denied a battling point at Swansea City by a scandalous decision from a very poor referee.
Iain Williamson awarded the home side a painfully soft penalty with 12 minutes remaining and Jason Scotland gratefully accepted the chance to steal all three points from the spot.
Swansea will argue that they deserved the win after some impressive periods of incisive passing football but Argyle's courageous display provided an equally strong argument for a share of the spoils.
Paul Sturrock made two enforced changes to the side that battled out an enthralling 2-2 draw with Reading at Home Park on the weekend.
The groin strain that forced Craig Cathcart off after 25 minutes on Saturday prompted a return to his parent-club, Manchester United, for treatment, allowing Hungarian Krisztián Timár to slot in alongside Marcel Seip at the heart of Argyle's defence.
The other change came in attack, where leading scorer Paul Gallagher failed to recover from the tight hamstring that cut his game in half against the Royals. Alan Judge nudged forward into the hole behind lone-striker Ashley Barnes, which meant a first start since the January defeat at Nottingham Forest for winger Craig Noone. His place on the bench went to Steve MacLean.
Swansea boss Roberto Martinez made three changes to his team after the frustrating 1-1 weekend draw at Nottingham Forest, their 18th stalemate of the season.
Darren Pratley, Tom Butler and Nathan Dyer came in to replace Joe Allen, Mark Gower and Guillem Bauza in a revamped midfield, as the Swans looked to continue their impressive push for a place in the Championship play-offs.
The early exchanges were dominated by the energy of Argyle's sprightly forward line, as Judge flitted around the Swansea back four and Noone looked for every possible opportunity to cut in from the right flank and threaten the hosts with his favoured left-foot.
The Pilgrims were ruffling the Swans' feathers and Barnes came agonisingly close to punishing some criminal hesitancy in defence by Ashley Williams on six minutes.
A long punt forward by Timár should have been comfortable for Williams but he took too long to lay the ball back to Dutch goalkeeper Dorus de Vries. Barnes stole the ball and fired in a low drive from the edge of the area that de Vries turned wide with his legs. It could, and probably should, have been 1-0 to the Greens.
Swansea have been the deserved recipients of a great deal of praise this season for their composed passing game but the story of the first ten minutes was the tenacity of Argyle's midfield work, which was preventing the hosts from settling into their customary rhythm.
The home side eventually found a way into the Argyle penalty area when the diminutive Leon Britton jinked into space in the right channel but his eventual shot was deflected over by the boot of Marcel Seip.
Swansea's next attack was even more incisive, as Nathan Dyer threaded a clever ball inside Gary Sawyer for the run of full-back Angel Rangel but the wonderfully-named Spaniard delayed his shot long enough for Seip to make a crucial block.
The Swans were now in the ascendancy and Argyle adopted a rather more crude method of disrupting their rhythm, as both Judge and David Gray picked up bookings for a pair of uncompromising challenges. Captain Karl Duguid then picked up Argyle's third caution in the space of just eight minutes in a worrying sequence for the Greens.
Duguid's indiscretion was also in a dangerous area and Spaniard Jordi Gomez, on loan from Espanyol, curled the subsequent free-kick over the Argyle wall and it smacked against Larrieu's crossbar. Argyle failed to respond to the rebound and the game of penalty box pinball ended with Britton snatching at a glorious chance to open the scoring from eight yards.
Surprisingly, a lot of Argyle's problems were coming from the Swansea left where the right-footed Tom Butler was giving the dependable Gray a torrid time.
Butler was again involved on 35 minutes, dancing past Gray and feeding the ball inside for Scotland, who scuffed his effort into the grateful arms of Larrieu. Argyle immediately broke up the other end and Noone kept de Vries honest with a low curler from distance.
Rangel ended the half with a searing drive from 25 yards that Larrieu fielded down to his left. The half-time whistle was greeted with mild relief by the Pilgrims, as their bright start to the game had arguably been overshadowed by Swansea's impressive brand of controlled football for the majority of the half.
It had been 45 minutes of grit, determination and stubborn resilience by the Greens and the pattern of the game suggested a repeat performance would be needed after the interval.
The second-half began with Butler continuing his examination of Gray's defensive skills and he was ably backed up by full-back Alan Tate, who tested Larrieu with an ambitious effort from 30 yards that was comfortably held by the Frenchman.
Scotland then had a far better chance, skipping past the retreating Timár and Seip before unleashing a low drive that beat Larrieu by miles and, thankfully, the far post by inches.
As with the first-half, Argyle's best chance seemed to come from the generosity of Swansea's defence. This time, Tate was guilty of a sloppy back-pass that de Vries scrambled clear, but Judge's volleyed return from 40 yards didn't quite have enough juice to trouble the covering defenders.
Swansea's admirable style of football and Argyle's brave resistance was producing an intriguing game of football but increasingly, and unfortunately, referee Williamson's pedantic approach was taking too much attention away from the action.
The Berkshire official surpassed himself with a comical free-kick decision against Sawyer, presumably for high feet, although Britton's feet were at the same level. Gomez's whipped shot from the resultant free-kick was mercifully parried clear by Larrieu.
Presumably in the interest of fairness, Mr Williamson then awarded Argyle a ridiculous free-kick after a superbly timed tackle by Pratley on Noone. Thankfully, the footballing Gods once again decreed that nothing would come from Williamson's error.
One of the biggest problems with a poor refereeing display is the frustration it creates on the pitch and around the stadium, and seven bookings after 65 minutes of a far from bad tempered game was sufficient evidence of that fact.
Argyle's five cautions would earn them a fine from the Football league but the effect on Swansea's rhythm was even more expensive for the hosts, although Pratley and Scotland did both keep Larrieu keen with a couple of grass-cutters from distance.
Scotland then bustled his way into the area and Timár's robust challenge on the Trinidad & Tobago international was perhaps lucky to receive a shake of the head in response from Mr Williamson.
The incident seemed to reignite the hosts and Gomez sliced an excellent chance wide from 20 yards before Scotland forced the advancing Larrieu into an excellent block with his legs.
It had taken 78 minutes, but Mr Williamson finally got to make the decision that would decide the game and, on first glance, it was a disgrace.
Butler's scuttled effort from distance had bounced away off the chest of Larrieu but the Frenchman was quick to get to his feet and scoop the ball away from Gomez. The Spaniard flung himself to the ground and Williamson obliged by pointing the spot.
Scotland slotted the penalty into the corner with ease but he should never have been given the opportunity. Without the benefit of a replay, it appeared to be another poor decision from a very poor referee.
Luggy had no time to complain about the injustice and he immediately sent on former Swan Rory Fallon for Barnes and MacLean for Noone.
Williamson, he doesn't deserve the Mr anymore, kept up his shocking display by denying Argyle a certain free-kick for a foul by Pratley on the industrious Judge, and Swansea very nearly profited when a swinging Gomez shot had Larrieu scrambling across to make the save.
Argyle launched an aerial bombardment on the home side for the remainder of the game but Swansea held firm for a win that could have massive ramifications for both clubs at both ends of the table.
Watch the tapes Iain Williamson. If I'm wrong, I sincerely apologise. If I'm right, then you should do the same.
Swansea (4-5-1): 1 Dorus de Vries; 22 Angel Rangel, 26 Albert Serran, 2 Ashley Williams, 5 Alan Tate (capt); 7 Leon Britton, 8 Darren Pratley, 14 Jordi Gomez, 28 Tom Butler, 31 Nathan Dyer (18 Gorka Pintado 76); 9 Jason Scotland (26 Joe Allen 81). Substitutes (not used): 10 Andrea Orlandi, 23 Guillem Bauza, 25 Matty Collins.
Booked: Gomez 33, Serran 44
Argyle (4-4-1-1): 1 Romain Larrieu; 33 David Gray, 5 Krisztián Timár, 19 Marcel Seip, 18 Gary Sawyer (3 Jim Paterson 88); 17 Craig Noone (9 Steve MacLean 80), 2 Karl Duguid (capt), 28 Carl Fletcher, 25 Jamie Mackie; 23 Alan Judge; 24 Ashley Barnes (14 Rory Fallon 80). Substitutes (not used): 6 Chris Clark, 20 Luke Summerfield.
Booked: Judge 18, Gray 21, Duguid 26, Fletcher 55, Barnes 65, Sawyer 75
Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire).
Attendance: 13,103 (469 away).
Tim Herbert
