Published: Monday, 9th March, 2009 11:02am

Kebe rescues vital draw

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Jimmy'll Fix It: Jimmy Kebe's late leveller earned Reading a 2-2 draw at Plymouth Argyle.

COLD, wet and a cow field of a pitch - not exactly Jimmy Kebe's favourite football conditions.

But the Mali international showed he can be the man for all occasions by popping up with a crucial late equaliser in a cracking match at Plymouth Argyle.

It also capped another impressive display of courage and grit from the Royals who had to come back twice from a goal down to rescue what could be a vital point.

Paul Gallagher's opener was immediately cancelled out by Alex Peace in an even first half.

But a stunning strike by Jamie Mackie looked to have won it for the Pilgrims until Kebe showed nerves of steel to rescue a point towards the end.

However, coach Wally Downes saw it as a missed opportunity: "We showed great resillience to come back twice but I'm not happy with a point because we should have won it.

"During the game I thought we could win it so I'm disappointed, but we'll take it and it all adds to the total."

Coppell made three changes to the side that started in the 2-1 comeback victory at Sheffield Wednesday.

Shane Long was rewarded for his late winner at Hillsborough with a rare start in place of Noel Hunt.

Kebe was restored to the right-wing at the expense of Jay Tabb while Brynjar Gunnarsson's hamstring injury saw Kalifa Cisse step back into central midfield.

Home Park is never an easy place to go, particularly with Argyle's dreadful pitch.

The season had clearly taken a heavy toll on the surface which arguably played into the host's hands. And heavy rain in the south west hardly helped matters either.

But if Royals could overcome the testing conditions at Hillsborough to clinch their first win in five, then surely they could do the same again.

And, in fairness, they are not use to much better at home following complaints about the Madejski Stadium pitch.

Few expected a great footballing spectacle and the first quarter went without much incident as both teams tried their best to knock it around.

In fact, the first genuine chance did not arrive until the 20th minute - and Argyle scored from it.

Gary Sawyer swung in a free-kick from deep on the left, Ashley Barnes nodded it to the back post and Gallagher was in acres of space to volley past Adam Federici from six yards out.

Royals complained Perace was pushed by Barnes but referee Tony Bates let it stand.

Yet it took just two minutes for Reading to show they are no soft touches by netting a swift equaliser.

Stephen Hunt's blocked shot won a corner and, when the Irishman whipped it in, Pearce ran onto it and planted a bullet header past Romain Larrieu from eight yards for his first league goal of the season.

And just moments later Pearce almost doubled his tally with an identical training ground corner routine. But this time Gallager was in the right place at the other end of the pitch to head the youngster' effort off the line.

Suddenly, there were chances galore and Federici was alert to deal with three long-range Argyle attempts before Royals so nearly went in front again in the 39th minute.

Kebe, who had swapped wings with Hunt, used his electrifying pace to burst clear of two players before squaring the ball to Doyle.

Royals top goalscorer turned his man brilliantly but his shot lacked power and Larrieu clawed it away. Then from that corner Stephen Hunt missed the ball completely in a good position, much to the relief of the hosts who were coming under more and more pressure.

Argyle were then dealt a further blow when goalscorer Gallagher was replaced at half-time by Fallon through injury having already lost centre-back Craig Cathcart early in the game.

However, they were not about to lie down and Larrieu came to the rescue with a tremendous one-handed save after Hunt's corner had defelcted off a Plymouth player.

It proved to be a turning point as within moments Argyle restored their lead with a wonder goal.

Mackie picked up the ball way out, strode forward then unleashed a thunderous 25-yard piledriver that flew past Federici into the top corner.

Maybe Cisse could have cynically brought down the Pilgrims midfielder en route to goal but it was a sensational strike - and a massive setback for Royals.

Before they could recover they almost fell even further behind when Fallon volleyed home only for the linesman to raise his offside flag.

Coppell's men knew time was running out and Doyle nearly grabbed another equaliser when he burst clear of Argyle's defence. He fired through Larrieu's legs but the keeper got a faint touch to deflect the ball wide for a corner.

And when the hosts failed to clear their lines properly, Cisse was unlucky to see his return shot smash against the crossbar. Then minutes later Long planted a header over the bar from a Marek Matejovsky corner.

When Pearce was forced off with blood gushing out of a head wound it looked as though it wasn't going to be Reading's day. But nobody told Kebe.

Argyle substitute Jim Paterson had been on the pitch a matter of seconds when he missed a header under pressure from Long. Kebe picked up the scraps and danced into the area before cooly slotting through Larrieu's legs to send the 1,500 travelling fans in front of him into a frenzy.

Reading then went close to a finding a dramatic winner several time, but Plymouth held on.

A draw was no more than Reading deserved in highly-entertaining game. And both sides deserve great credit for putting on a show in those conditions.

Perhaps th biggest disappointment was that both Wolves and Birmingham won, as did Cardiff City who could still have a major say in the battle for automatic promotion.

However, Downes insisted: "It doesn't matter what other teams do. I've told the players that if we go unbeaten from here on, which for me is a good target, we can do it. We have 12 cup finals left."

Only time will tell how important this draw proves to be for the Royals. But four points from two tough away fixtures is a decent return, especially with two home games coming up starting with basement side Charlton Athletic on Tuesday.

Plymouth Argyle (4-4-2): Larrieu - Gray, Cathcart (Timar 25), Seip, Sawyer - Mackie, Fletcher, Duguid, Judge (Paterson 79) - Barnes, Gallagher (Fallon 46). Subs not used: Noone, Summerfield.

Reading (4-4-2): Federici - Rosenior, Duberry, Pearce (Bikey 69), Armstrong - Kebe, Cisse (Harper 81), Matejovsky, S.Hunt - Long, Doyle. Subs not used: Hahnemann, N.Hunt, Tabb. Booked: Rosenior 17.

Referee: Tony Bates (Staffs).

Attendance: 14,014.