Argyle Under-18s moved to the top of Group A in the PDL Cup after a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.
Gruffydd Evans opened the scoring for the Welsh side in the first half, before Tashall Sandhu’s stunning free-kick brought the Greens level less than two minutes later.
The result means Argyle now sit in first place of their group, with one match remaining - away at Swindon Town.
Head Coach Jamie Lowry made two changes from last weekend’s 5-4 win over Bromley with Tom Armytage and Jovan Wamani coming in for Leo McCormick and Jared Rendle.
Dylan Williams, Sam Hayman, Toby MacLean and Wamani lined up in front of goalkeeper Armytage, while Joel Tolcher and Seb Campbell continued their partnership in the centre of midfield.
Goalscorer Sandhu and Billy Devlin retained their places on the wings, joining James Sharpe and Frankie Maund in attack.
Category Two Academy side Cardiff came out the blocks quickly and had several chances to take the lead in the first 20 minutes.
Taona Nyakuhwa put a good opportunity over the bar just five minutes in when he met Keano Conaty’s low driven cross with a half-volley on the edge of the six-yard box.
Moments later, Conaty narrowly missed the target from a free-kick 25 yards out from goal after Devlin was judged to have fouled Pedro Araujo.
Cardiff continued to pile on the pressure in the early exchanges as Argyle captain Hayman produced a stellar block to deny James Eley a good goalscoring opportunity from close range.
England Under-16 goalkeeper Armytage was then called into action for the first time, making a big save low to his left after a slick opposition move left Ellis Yorke clean through on goal.
Then, after 21 minutes of play, Cardiff found the back of the net to give themselves a deserved 1-0 lead.
Evans received the ball on the right wing and drifted past Wamani, before hitting a powerful right-footed strike into the near top corner of Armytage’s net.
Argyle reacted to going a goal down quickly, equalising less than two minutes after the opener, when Campbell was brought down by Harri Davies just outside the 18-yard box.
From the free kick, Sandhu found a gap in the wall and struck a powerful shot across goal into the left side of Joshua Donovan’s net.
Argyle’s equaliser acted as a turning point in the game as they started to take control and disrupt the visitors’ midfield.
Shortly after Sandhu’s goal, Sharpe had the ball in the back of the Cardiff net with a clinical volley, but it was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
Both teams then saw yellow within the space of a few minutes prior to the break. Davies was fortunate to remain on the pitch following a poorly mistimed challenge on Sandhu, while Wamani was cautioned for a tactical foul to stop Munyaradzi Msipa driving into the Argyle box.
Lowry made two changes at half-time, replacing Wamani and Campbell with Deniz Doru and Harry Locke.
This prompted Devlin to join Tolcher in midfield and MacLean to move out to left-back, leaving Locke on the wing and Doru at centre-back.
Following his move to centre midfield, Devlin could have put Argyle ahead. He dragged a shot narrowly wide of the post following some good pressing from Maund who won the ball back and played a precise pass to set up his teammate.
Maund continued to cause the Cardiff defence problems, especially after partnering up with substitute Emran Boudarga-Wisschhoff.
The pair linked up well to create several chances in the second period as Argyle searched for a winning goal. However, the Welsh side stood firm, with Donovan making three vital saves in the final half hour.
Cardiff did have one final opportunity in the 83rd minute when Nyakuhwa was through on goal, only for Hayman to produce another vital block.
Lowry admitted he was disappointed with his side’s performance, despite dominating large periods of the game.
He said: “My immediate reaction is that I am frustrated. We were well below our levels that we have produced so far this season.
“For all of our possession we did not win enough duels, and we did not land enough second balls.
“We were just not competitive enough, which has been a really good strength for us this season. And in possession we lacked the calmness and the quality that we needed.
“But that happens in development football. We had a bad day at the office and now we need to react.”
Despite Lowry’s frustration, Argyle are now on top of Group A and remain in control of their own PDL Cup fate, with a trip to Swindon in November.
The Head Coach admitted there were still positives to take from Saturday’s draw.
“The main thing to take out of it is that we didn’t lose the game,” he said. “And that is a big achievement against a good, strong Cardiff side.
“We are here for the development of the lads, and they will take a lot away from games like this. So, there are good aspects to take, but we have lots to continue to develop and learn.”
Argyle’s Under-18s now face a trip to Portsmouth on Tuesday at noon in the Youth Alliance Cup.