Ipswich Town beat Peterborough United 2-1 in a League One clash at Portman Road yesterday. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
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Conor Chaplin did recently tell us all that he has always been a 'purple-patchy' goalscorer.
After going 12 games without a goal, the 25-year-old has now scored two braces in his last three outings.
Added to his six in six from earlier in the campaign that puts him into double figures and two shy of his finishing total from last season.
Kieran McKenna described these latest finishes as 'two Conor goals'.
The 21st minute opener was an expert glancing header from Sam Morsy's clipped cross.
The 58th minute winner was a thumping finish high into the net after the ball had fallen loose at a corner.
Chaplin has a superb knack of finding space in the heart of the box and then finding the extremities of the goal.
"It was nice to be able to move his position today (playing on the left side of the inside forwards rather than right)," said manager Kieran McKenna.
"That's something we've wanted to look at for a while but we haven't had so many options there.
"It gave him some fresh angles to attack from."
AN ACHILLES HEEL
After six goals were conceded at Port Vale and Charlton towards the end of October, McKenna conceded: "If there's a common theme then it is dealing with high balls into our box. Teams are going to target us on that from here on in. We've got the winter coming up and we've got to stand up to that."
That Achilles heel struck again in this match as Chaplin's opener was cancelled out within 10 minutes.
Peterborough took a corner short, Kwame Poku swung a high, angled cross to the far post and Frankie Kent was there to squeeze in a header from close-range.
Should Christian Walton have come to claim? In fairness, he had the sun in his eyes.
Should Wes Burns have stuck with his marker better? Yes.
Thankfully, this goal didn't prove costly. But this undoubtedly is an area the Blues need to work on.
GREAT CHARACTER
It would have been easy for shoulders to have slumped after that leveller went in.
Ipswich had scored early against Cheltenham at Portman Road and gone on to draw.
Ipswich had scored early against Fleetwood at Portman Road and gone on to draw.
A combination of those previous home results, sub-zero temperature and an early kick-off had made for a sub-dued atmosphere among the 24,849-strong crowd.
Janoi Donacien had limped off during a pretty flat opening 15 minutes too.
But the Blues, a mirror image of their calm and measured boss, refused to panic or feel sorry for themselves.
"A weaker group of players might have gone into their shells at that moment, but we responded well at the end of that half and into the second half," said McKenna.
A driving Burns run up the right really ignited team-mates and fans alike just prior to the winner. After that there was a lot more zip to Town's play.
A few nervy moments at set-pieces aside, the Blues never really looked under threat.
No-one can argue this wasn't a fully-deserved victory.
ALUKO'S RETURN
It was a major surprise to see Sone Aluko's name in the starting XI.
The 33-year-old suffered a nasty looking knee injury at the end of August and has only been back in training for less than a fortnight.
But McKenna, who loves to rotate his forward line, decided to take a calculated risk.
"I just knew he was going to give the players a big boost and confidence lift because they think so highly of him," explained the Blues boss.
"We planned to play him for 45 minutes to be honest. But he looked strong, felt fine and he wanted to go on."
There were no signs of rust from the silky attacker. He displayed several moments of close control in tight situations, was close to executing some deep through balls and, not to be underestimated, worked really hard out of possession.
Aluko eventuially came off in the 78th minute to a rousing reception.
Having him back and instantly up to speed is a major lift at a time when forward numbers are down.
CREAM RISES TO THE TOP
This feels like a really important three points.
Today's narrative could easily have been centred around lost leads, set-piece frailties and a stretched squad.
Instead, the focus is on supreme consistency, strong character and another win against a top-third side.
With Plymouth drawing at Cambridge, the Blues are now a point clear at the top of the League One table.
With Sheffield Wednesday drawing at Exeter, the gap to third has opened up to three points.
With Derby drawing at Burton, the margin to seventh now stands at 14 points.
That's an incredibly healthy position to be in as the halfway stage approaches.
One of Ipswich's biggest strengths this season has been an ability to follow-up a frustrating result with a good one.
"I think that's a good sign for the group," said McKenna.
"The team that shows the most consistency in their performances and manages to maintain their mentality throughout the season will be successful in the end."
Next up... Wycombe away.
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