In a game basically impossible to summarise, permit us to have a go.
The headline, first of all. Argyle won their first away game of the season, winning 3-2 at Luton Town. Their first since the final away game of last season. The first that truly mattered since March, given that Preston away in May came moments after relegation had been essentially confirmed.
As for the details of how it came about – strap yourself in. Argyle let on the quarter-hour via a Matty Sorinola diving header, but were pegged back by a Jerry Yates penalty. The Greens led again by half-time, with Bradley Ibrahim, winning the ball back, then firing home.
Soon after the interval, not only did Luton equalise again, it was from another spot-kick, this time scored by substitute Nahki Wells. To swing the momentum further the Hatters’ way, Joe Edwards was sent off for a tackle on Millenic Alli, meaning the Pilgrims were down to ten and facing nearly half of the game a player down.
The winning goal came from some of the most extraordinary sequences ever seen. A corner came from Lorent Tolaj shooting from the halfway line, scuffing the shot, but seeing the goalkeeper misjudge the low-power ball coming his way, and knocking it behind. Before the corner was taken, Tom Cleverley was sent from the sidelines, but after the delivery, the ball ricocheted around the box, until Luton tried to clear, the ball hit Ibrahim, and fell in the net.
In an incredible rearguard action, Argyle held on until 100 minutes had come up on the clock, and then celebrated the three points a jubilant Green Army.
Because of Cleverley’s dismissal, Assistant Head Coach Damon Lathrope faced media duties after the game, and did his best to assess the maelstrom of emotions that coursed through everyone with a green heart.
“It's tough to find the words,” he said. “I think the fans have waited long enough for a performance like that, for three points away from home. On a day where it seemed like everything was going against us, the challenge was just getting tougher.
“We lose our captain, we lose our head coach, but the players dug deep, and they showed that togetherness, that character, that's going to hold us in good stead for the rest of the season.
“That's why you're in the game. That's why you travel the miles that our supporters do around the country for wins like that.
“We've been massive on focusing on the process and – this might sound mad - less emphasis on the result. The process is what we are in total control of. It is what, as a player, regardless of the situation or the circumstance, you have got full control over.
“When early in the second half they equalise and everything that could possibly go against us does, you see the character and the resilience in absolute abundance. Everyone's bought into what the gaffer’s been really going after in the last couple of weeks.
“I don't think [the game] was a spectacle. We have played better football, but we know that supporters and us, as a group staff players, we want to see the basics done immaculately well.
“The foundation gives us a chance; even if we are not great with the ball, we are going to be in games, and we're going to give ourselves a chance.
“It is absolutely unbelievable support; we say it all the time. The players, they know that. Trust me, they know that - and they appreciate that.
“[The Green Army] have waited too long to be rewarded for their efforts. We now need to build off that big time because it helps.
“Without a doubt, they carried us through that last 20, 30 minutes. Down to 10, backs against the wall, you could see it. [The players] were absolutely responding to the noise and the support that they were getting.
“It's our responsibility to give them something to get behind. They did that today, for sure.”
For the full interview with Damon, and more post-match reaction, head to Argyle TV now.
