Ipswich Town drew 1-1 with Cheltenham Town at Portman Road yesterday. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
BUS PARKED
Cheltenham arrived in Suffolk in a bad place.
They'd taken five points from a possible 21 on the road in the league.
They were fresh from an embarrassing FA Cup home defeat to non-league side Alvechurch.
They had four regular starters out injured, including talismanic striker Alfie May.
It's no wonder, then, that under-pressure manager Wade Elliott set out with a defensive game plan at Portman Road.
From the very off you could see the wing-backs sitting deep to make a back five and a four-man box midfield sat in front of them.
Kieran McKenna had known what was coming.
"I don't think that their strategy is going to veer too drastically away from what Lincoln's strategy was," he said in the build-up, referencing last month's frustrating 1-0 home loss to the deep-lying Imps.
Could Ipswich start faster this time, get the crowd fired up and break the visitors' spirits?
The answer was yes...
BREAKTHROUGH!
Leif Davis' corner was glanced on by Wes Burns and Luke Woolfenden was there to provide a simple finish at the back post.
Ipswich had scored from a set-piece again. The new dad had struck. Happy days. Frustration had not been allowed to build.
For the next 20 minutes, Ipswich launched wave-after-wave of attack. The Robins were well and truly rocking. Afterwards, McKenna labelled that spell the best his team has played during his 11 months in charge.
Janoi Donacien's lengthy surge and searching pass, aided by a lung-busting Burns decoy run, led to Marcus Harness rifling a crisp first time shot off the underside of the bar.
Did the ball bounce over the line? It was pretty darn close.
Kane Vincent-Young, on for the injured Donacien, saw a fierce angled shot beaten away at the near post by keeper Luke Southwood.
George Edmundson saw a glancing header at a corner brilliantly saved.
It felt like a matter of when, not if, a second goal would arrive and that the floodgates could open from there...
WALTON'S WOBBLE
Such was the one-way traffic, maybe Ipswich got too confident.
In the 28th minute, Ryan Broom sent a cross from the right sailing over Christian Walton and Vincent-Young was forced to head behind at the far post.
The warning was not headed.
Six minutes later, Cameron Humphreys failed to cut out a square pass. Davis was too narrow, Harness was too high and Broom again found himself in acres of space.
Neverthless, he should never have been able to score from such a tight angle. But a low shot squirmed under the body of Christian Walton at the near post.
A man who has very much earnt his reputation as one of, if not the, best keepers in the league has now made costly errors in two successive games.
Ipswich, all of a sudden, seemed at sixes and sevens. And they were unfortunate not to concede another Liam Sercombe's shot slipped just past the out-stretched boot of Dan N'Lundulu at the back post.
A crowd numbering 25,400 made a collective sound that suggested the men in blue shirts needed to wake up.
And they did...
ONE STAT THAT MATTERS
You've won it once, now go and win it again.
Ipswich had Portsmouth at home and Port Vale away to call upon as muscle memory here.
After that little wobble, the reset button was hit and dominance was restored.
Somehow, however, a goal did not come.
Why? Well, first let's praise Cheltenham.
Southwood wasn't as busy as he was in the first half, though he did make one smart stop from Freddie Ladapo's leaping header.
In front of him, organised defenders repeatedly made lunging blocks.
Secondly, there was some errant finishing.
Cameron Humphreys really should have scored just before the break when Southwood pushed the ball straight into his path.
After the restart, Harness planted a good headed chance wide, while Woolfenden failed to attack a back post header with conviction.
Thirdly, there was some bad luck.
Ipswich had three strong shouts for penalties waved away - two for handball and another for a tug at Ladapo's shirt.
Panutche Camara's 90th strike came out off the inside of a post, while Kyle Edwards' delicious stoppage-time cross was inches away from the outstretched boot of Camara.
Fourthly, there was some bad decision making.
Why on earth did Sam Morsy play a free-kick, in a prime 25-yard shooting position, out to the left when the box was packed with bodies?
On other occasions, the Blues were possibly guilty of trying to be too intricate in tight areas instead of someone simply taking a pot shot.
A string of crosses that flashed through the box could have been attacked better too.
All of the above added up to Ipswich finishing this match having had 74% possession, 29 shots and 15 corners.
The most important stat of all, of course, was that they had just one point to show for their efforts.
MISSING MEN
Earlier this season, McKenna was able to use the full depth of his squad to over-power opponents using the five-sub rule.
Options have become a lot more limited in recent weeks though.
There was some bad news after this game. Dominic Ball has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, while Tyreece John-Jules is set to be out for weeks with a hamstring problem.
They join Greg Leigh, Lee Evans, Sone Aluko and Gassan Ahadme in the treatment room
Cameron Burgess and Panutche Camara, meanwhile, are still getting up to speed after recent comebacks.
The hope must be that several of the above players will be 'like new signings' as the weeks and months go by, injecting fresh energy as rivals fatigue.
KEEP THE FAITH
Something that happens once can be dismissed as a 'freak occurence'. If it happens twice or more then some deeper analysis is required.
Ipswich have let two goal leads slip four times on the road this season - Sheffield Wednesday, Port Vale and Charlton (twice).
And this is the second time in three home games that a deep block has frustrated.
The above cannot be brushed under the carpet. McKenna, who leaves no stone unturned and always seeks improvement, will certainly not do that.
He'll also maintain a healthy sense of perspective. I think it's important we all do.
Manchester City had 75% possession, 29 shots and 10 corners at home against Brentford on home soil this weekend but lost 2-1. That's a reminder that these sort of frustrating days can happen to the best of teams.
It's worth remembering, also, that Ipswich are the division's second topscorers. And that they've taken 79 points from 41 league games under McKenna.
This is an entertaining, relatable team. This is a calm, articulate manager who knows what he's doing. This a club who have the ability to make waves when the January transfer window opens.
There were always going to be some bumps in the road. Keep the faith.
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