Birmingham 1
Queudrue 50

Argyle 1
Gallagher Pen 26

ARGYLE took another step toward Championship safety by taking a point from a gripping match at promotion-chasing Birmingham City.

Paul Gallagher gave the Greens a first-half lead from the penalty spot after Blues' goalkeeper Maik Taylor was harshly adjudged to have brought down Jamie Mackie. Taylor's misfortune was compounded by the red card that swiftly followed.

The incident stirred the home crowd into a frenzy and their heroes salvaged a draw when substitute Franck Queuedrue exploited an error by Romain Larrieu to head in an equaliser early in the second-half.

The drama continued for a grand total of 103 minutes, with all the stoppages, but neither side could find a winner on an enthralling afternoon in the Easter sun.

Argyle manager Paul Sturrock stuck with the same squad that trounced Coventry City 4-0 on Saturday, thus deciding against making the one change he was pondering over in the wake of the Sky Blues win.

Alan Judge, instrumental in the demolition of Coventry, was the man many considered to be under threat, as Luggy hinted that the free-spirited Irishman could be counter-productive to the rigid structure and shape he likes to play away from home.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish made one change to his side from the frustrating 0-0 draw with bottom club Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Garry O'Connor came in to partner Cameron Jerome in attack, with Algerian Hameur Bouazza dropping to the bench, and bumping Marcus Bent out of the squad.

There was still no place in the squad for Scott Sinclair, on loan from Chelsea, who made his name as a blistering winger during a temporary spell with the Pilgrims two seasons ago.

The man in the middle was Michael Oliver, who, at 23 is the youngest referee in the Football League. His father Clive was in charge of Argyle's win over Coventry just 48 hours earlier.

The first move of the day was tinged with Premier League quality, as former Tottenham and Newcastle United full-back Stephen Carr smashed over a cross for the late run of Lee Bowyer, on loan from West Ham, but he nodded narrowly over.

Jerome's express pace carried the next threat to the Greens. The former Cardiff City striker shrugged off the challenge of Marcel Seip and ran directly at Chris Barker. The converted centre-back poked a desperate foot at the ball, and the recovering Seip was on hand to prevent the loose ball running to Bowyer.

Argyle responded to the early pressure with an impressive break of their own. Mackie twisted Liam Ridgewell inside out and powered a low drive towards goal that Taylor could only palm into the path of Ashley Barnes.

The young striker gobbled up the chance with glee and wheeled away in celebration, only to have his moment cut short by the assistant referee's flag and the relieved amusement of the home crowd.

Argyle's sprightly front pairing were soon at it again, with Barnes flicking a long ball forward from Karl Duguid into the path of Mackie, who powered a fierce half-volley towards the roof of the goal. Taylor, again, was a match for the effort, but only just.

After Seip and Birmingham captain Damien Johnson both escaped bookings for poor challenges, Barnes was not so lucky. The youngster deserved a reprimand for pushing Ridgewell into the advertising hoardings but the excessive response of Taylor, and Ridgewell's petulant refusal to except the apology, hardly helped his cause.

Taylor's comeuppance was harsh in the extreme. Mackie's pace was too much for Ridgewell after a long ball over the top by Judge. Taylor edged forward to narrow the angle and Mackie was bundled to the ground by a combination of Birmingham challenges and his own momentum in chasing the ball.

Young Mr Oliver made an instant decision in awarding Argyle a penalty and sending-off Taylor. The whole incident happened so quickly it was difficult to make an informed assessment, but first impressions were that Taylor was very unlucky and the infringement, if there was one, took place just outside the box.

Gallagher had to wait for at least three minutes with the ball on the spot as substitute keeper Colin Doyle readied himself. Keith Fahey was the unfortunate man to be sacrificed.

Doyle finally took his place between the sticks for the penalty and Gallagher promptly smacked the ball past him to give Argyle the lead. On chances created, it was a deserved lead, but the circumstances from which it arose can only be described as fortunate.

Birmingham's afternoon soon got considerably worse, as Ridgewell was carried off with what appeared to be a serious injury after an innocuous challenge by Mackie. Initial reports suggested Ridgewell had suffered a broken leg. Frenchman Queudrue took his place at the heart of a beleaguered Blues' defence.

All the hoo-ha did nothing to help the game's rhythm, although the speed of Jerome was a constant concern for Barker and Seip. Other than that, Argyle were in cruise control. The same could not be said for young Mr Oliver, however, who was not exactly popular with the home crowd.

Every decision for Argyle was greeted with vein-popping vehemence by the restless natives. If Judge's deflected shot in first-half injury time had gone in, there would have probably been a full-scale riot. Thankfully, for the sake of peace, Doyle back-pedalled quickly enough to tip the looping shot over.

Mr Oliver started the second period in chastened mood and when Jerome dived theatrically under a challenge from David Gray, the referee immediately grasped the opportunity to make some friends by booking the Scot.

Argyle assistant manager Kevin Summerfield and McLeish were still exchanging views on the matter when David Murphy drifted a high free-kick into the box.

Larrieu came wandering off his line to claim the ball but never got there, and Queudrue headed into a vacant net. Larrieu protested wildly that he had been impeded but there was no way Oliver was going to disallow the goal.

Ten-man Birmingham were now in the ascendancy and they almost took the lead when Jerome steered a header inches over from a Sebastian Larsson cross.

As the seething tension around the stadium dissipated slightly, the Birmingham bench added further fuel to a simmering atmosphere with some excessive appealing and a wild disagreement with Mr Oliver's decision to abandon the multi-ball system. It was fiery stuff and Summerfield, a son of the Black Country, was more than standing his ground for Argyle.

McLeish and his management team of Andy Watson and Roy Aitken, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, were in no mood to calm the situation and when Murphy crumpled under a nothing-challenge from Judge, all three led the protests down the touchline and in front of Argyle's bench.

Argyle physio Paul Maxwell went some way to restoring good relations between the two benches as he raced on to assist the injured Queudrue, while his opposite number from Birmingham tended to Jerome, who was deemed unfit to continue and replaced by Scotland international James McFadden.

On the pitch, set-pieces were the major problem for the Greens. Larrieu's confidence had clearly been affected by his earlier error and the defence in front of him retreated ever deeper to compensate. All of which was an invitation for Birmingham to flood the Argyle box.

The Pilgrims finally regained their composure in a frenetic second-half long enough to string some passes together and the eventual shot from Mackie was parried away by Doyle.

As with the first-half: Barnes was on hand to slot home the rebound; he sprinted away in delight; an offside flag ruined his moment; it was the right decision from the officials.

Tired legs in both sides made an inevitable impact in the closing minutes of an absolutely breathless match. Argyle warranted a point for a calm yet determined performance in such a firecracker atmosphere, while Birmingham's claim was backed by an admirable response to the loss of their goalkeeper.

Barnes headed just wide from a Judge cross in the dying seconds, and Jaidi nodded into the arms of Larrieu from a Larsson corner in the final act of an exhausting encounter.

Games like this are why staying in the Championship means so much.

Birmingham (4-4-2): 1 Maik Taylor; 2 Stephen Carr, 6 Liam Ridgewell (20 Franck Queudrue 35), 15 Radhi Jaidi, 3 David Murphy; 7 Sebastian Larsson, 4 Lee Bowyer, 22 Damien Johnson (capt), 30 Keith Fahey (13 Colin Doyle 26), 8 Garry O'Connor, 10 Cameron Jerome (16 James McFadden 70). Substitutes (not used): 9 Kevin Phillips, 33 Hameur Bouazza.

Booked: Jaidi 42, Jerome 57, Johnson 86

Sent-off: Taylor 24

Argyle (4-4-2): 1 Romain Larrieu; 33 David Gray, 19 Marcel Seip, 15 Chris Barker, 18 Gary Sawyer; 23 Alan Judge, 2 Karl Duguid (capt), 28 Carl Fletcher, 11 Paul Gallagher; 24 Ashley Barnes, 25 Jamie Mackie (14 Rory Fallon 90). Substitutes (not used): 5 Krisztián Timár, 6 Chris Clark, 27 Lloyd Saxton (gk), 37 Rudi Douala.

Booked: Barnes 20, Gray 49, Fletcher 81

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

Attendance: 19,323 (1,800 away est).