Jamie Mackie
Mr Enthusiasm, Jamie Mackie, kicked-off today's 'Spotlight' feature at recently relegated Reading.
Playing at a fabulous stadium like the Madejski must have seemed a distant dream to young Jamie just 12 months ago, when he was earning his corn with Exeter City in the Blue Square Premier.
He was now leading the line for Argyle after being preferred to Jermaine Easter - an apparent victim of Tuesday's Carling Cup defeat at Luton Town.
The pattern of play in the opening ten minutes suggested a lonely afternoon for Jamie, with his presumed strike-partner, Rory Fallon, acting more as a buffer for the midfield than a centre-forward.
Jamie's lonely start quickly got depressing as Ibrahima Sonko powered a header past Graham Stack for the opening goal.
Reading 1 Argyle 0
Jamie's incredibly barren spell in the spotlight ended with Ivar Ingimarsson very nearly gifting him a chance, but the defender's poor clearance from a Jason Puncheon cross bobbled past Jamie and into the thankful arms of Marcus Hahnemann.
Mathias Doumbe
We shifted our focus away from Jamie in the hope that a) he might get a touch of the ball, and b) we could follow a Green facing a club nemesis from last season.
Mathias Doumbe was limited to bench duty the last time Argyle faced Leroy Lita back in April, when lethal Leroy effectively ended our play-off dream with a match-winning brace while on loan at Charlton.
Matty's pace could have proved a valuable weapon on that day, as he is clearly a match for Lita in the speedy stakes.
However, anticipation, not pace, turned out to be a key attribute for the Frenchman on 35 minutes, when he stuck out a vital leg to deny Kevin Doyle after another threatening right-wing run by Jimmy Kebe.
Argyle were definitely losing the war, but Matty was getting on top in his own private battle with Lita, and the former Bristol City forward vented his frustration with a late tackle after Matty blunted a left-wing foray.
The Frenchman responded by spreading a fantastic 50-yard pass out to Jamie on the left, who set Chris Barker away for a rare moment of positive intent for the Pilgrims.
Half-Time
Reading 1 Argyle 0
Graham Stack
After an uncomfortable opening 45 minutes for the former Reading custodian, we turned the spotlight on goalkeeper Stack, who, after a marvellous opening to his Argyle career, suffered a couple of awkward handling moments in the first period.
The spotlight, once again, proved to be a poisoned chalice, as Reading doubled their lead with a carbon copy of the first goal - Sonko heading home from a Stephen Hunt corner, giving Stack absolutely no chance.
Reading 2 Argyle 0
The Royals continued to pile on the pressure with Kebe delivering a fabulous cross into the corridor of uncertainty that flashed beyond Stack.
Moments later, the big man showed his worth with an excellent block after Doyle had been allowed to turn and shoot in the box.
David McNamee
Luggy had to do something to try and get his troops back into the match - something turned out to be the introduction of David McNamee for his debut, and Steve MacLean.
We immediately shifted our gaze to McNamee, who slotted in at right-back, allowing karl Duguid to push forward.
After a positive pre-season, McNamee's debut was frustratingly delayed by a minor hamstring strain, but, better late than never, he started life as a Pilgrim with a forceful run that ended with Puncheon driving a fierce effort narrowly wide.
McNamee made another impressive foray forward on 79 minutes, darting inside before an attempted flick into the path of MacLean appeared to strike Sonko's arm.
It was the final act of a difficult day for the Greens.
Tim Herbert
