Charlton 4 Ipswich 4: Karl Fuller, Ipswich fan on ITFC

The highs and lows of the game in one crazy injury-time spell. Fortunately, an entire day has passed as I write this. My mood now is a lot more measured than at any moment on Saturday night.

I will get the negatives out of the way. It is criminal to lose a two-goal lead. We did so at Sheffield Wednesday, and again at Port Vale. To then do it twice in one game, and the second time at the end of injury time, is unbelievable.

All six goals conceded in the last two games will give us nightmares for a while. My concern is that we are not learning, especially from set pieces. We have already seen poor goals conceded at home to Barnsley and Lincoln that should have had the alarm bells ringing.

George Edmundson wheels away after putting Town ahead at the Valley (Image: Page Pix)

It cannot continue for much longer. But I still believe that anything that needs sorting out, I trust Kieran McKenna to do so.

Now for the positives. After beating Derby, I would have settled for four points from Port Vale and Charlton. We have achieved that. We have remained unbeaten since that Lincoln defeat which proves we can bounce back again. Just as we did after defeat to Plymouth.

Seven goals in two games sees us as the top scorers in the league, with the joint best goal difference. We are averaging 2.18 points per game which will take us to 100 points if we continue as we have been. In the grand scheme of things, we are well placed and there is not too much to be worried about.

But all that aside, the circle of thoughts still arrives back to those two late Charlton equalisers. Our position could have been even better. It is a game that we will have to get out of our system, treat it as a freak result and move on.

We have gotten through October in decent shape. Eight matches, seven in the league, at a time when we have picked up injuries and a suspension. 16 points out of a possible 21 in the bank and we can now look ahead to the FA Cup tie with Bracknell in the knowledge that November will only present us with two league games.

A word on coping with missing players. I thought that at Port Vale, the inclusion of Dom Ball and Cameron Humphreys made the fact that we were missing Sam Morsy and Lee Evans almost unnoticeable. Our squad is not only showing good depth but is well drilled to cope with absences without too much fuss.

We cannot really allow those last few minutes at Charlton to cloud what is currently a strong position, with much to look forward to. However hard it might seem right now.

Ipswich players deflated after Charlton make it 4-4 (Image: Page Pix)

There has been a lot of talk this season about some of the contentious decisions that have gone against us in matches, particularly against Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, and Cambridge (in the EFL trophy). I have often wondered about the ‘accountability’ of match officials when what appears to so many of us are errors made in games.

I am pleased to have interviewed Ipswich fan and former EFL official Matt Stewart last week to talk about life as an official in the professional game and to get some insight into those controversial moments and beyond. If you would like to read the interview, please visit my website www.thefullerflavour.co.uk and you will find it on the front page. It makes for fascinating reading.

It was terribly sad news on Friday to read of the passing away of ITFC Supporters Club chairman Martin Swallow. Martin, who was 53, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2020. I had seen him at the fan’s forum events at the club and was pleased for him when he was elected as chairman of the Supporter’s Club.

He held various roles with the club including a stint as our PA man, he drove the team bus and was a steward. He was also a dedicated servant to Bury Town and in 2021, Ipswich and Bury played the first game of the Martin Swallow Challenge Trophy in his honour. Rest in peace Martin and my sympathies go out to his family and friends.