Ipswich Town drew 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday at Portman Road yesterday. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
FLEEING THE SCENE
Kieran McKenna has spoken about how his team hasn’t been awarded their fair share of penalties this season – especially at Portman Road.
The Blues were awarded one in the 19th minute of this high stakes game though thanks to an eagle-eyed linesman.
All eyes were tracking a corner worked out to the edge of the box when Wes Burns went down in a heap holding his face.
The linesman on the far side had done well to witness the off-the-ball incident through a crowd of bodies and frantically waved his flag to get the referee’s attention.
After a discussion between the two officials, Geoff Eltringham pointed to the spot.
That long delay, during which time Leif Davis had to prevent Aden Flint from scuffing up the penalty spot, probably didn’t help penalty taker Conor Chaplin.
In a high-pressure moment, he opted for a low attempt down the middle. But penalty-saving expert Cameron Dawson, having dived to his left, was able to keep the ball out with his trailing foot.
Looking back at footage, it’s clear that Marvin Johnson flings a frustrated elbow at Burns in the box. So why no card?
“I asked the referee that at half-time,” said Davis. “He told me ‘I didn’t really see who it was because he ran off, so I couldn’t send him off’.”
Johnson may well face retrospective action in the same way Sam Morsy did for his off-the-ball clash with Accrington’s Ethan Hamilton last season. That will be of little solace to Ipswich though.
How different would this game have been had the visitors been reduced to 10 men so early on? How different would it have been had Chaplin converted?
We’ll never know.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
To rub salt in the wounds, the Owls took the lead eight minutes later.
Town switched off as Barry Bannan played a quick free-kick up the line. Josh Windass then whipped in a cross from the left and Michael Smith did superbly to glance a firm header into the far top corner on the run.
"That was incredible individual quality,” said Blues boss Kieran McKenna. “If anyone in world football scores that header we'd all be purring about it.”
There was certainly no purring as Smith posed provocatively in front of the North Stand, holding a finger to his lips in celebration.
When the game restarted, home fans gave a roar of encouragement to their team.
TOO WEAK
Fast forward seven more minutes and Town found themselves 2-0 down thanks to a combination of poor concentration and weak defending.
Flint launched a deep free-kick into the left channel and Burns (who was targeted aerially all game) was eased out from underneath the ball far too easily by Smith.
Harry Clarke and Sam Morsy were both a fraction of a second too slow to react as Johnson darted inside.
Cameron Humphreys wasn’t close enough to Bannan when he lifted a high ball towards the back post.
Windass was able to nod the ball down, despite being sandwiched by both Cameron Burgess and the leaping Davis.
Oh, and goalscorer George Byers’ late run wasn’t tracked by Broadhead.
All-in-all, it was a pretty poor goal to concede.
A packed Portman Road was stunned into silence. The mood quickly turned to anger though as Ipswich threatened to fold.
Woolfenden’s lapse in concentration saw Smith race in on goal. Thankfully his touch around the forward-rushing Christian Walton was too heavy.
It was a worrying five-minute mega wobble reminiscent of the one seen in the first half at Cambridge the previous weekend.
A LIFELINE
Had it stayed like that, Ipswich would probably have been booed off at the break.
Instead, Broadhead produced a moment of magic that completely changed the complexion of this game.
His 25-yard free-kick, just left of centre, was whipped over the wall and into the top corner via the underside of the bar. It was an unstoppable strike from the recent £1.5m signing from Everton.
“I’ve seen him score all type of goals - from outside the box, inside the box, headers - but I can’t say we knew he had that free-kick in him!” said McKenna afterwards.
That goal arrived in the 43rd minute. Town, all of a sudden, were bang on top. Every attack was met by a guttural roar. Wednesday would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle.
What an emotional rollercoaster of a first half it had been.
FINALLY SOME FORTUNE
Town carried on where they left off at the start of the second half, playing on the front foot from the first whistle.
Chaplin’s direct charge was halted illegally by Byers and this time there was an opportunity to take aim from a dead ball down the right side.
Davis thought about crossing, but then opted to shoot. His effort took a big nick off the head of Byers and looped into the net.
Against Fleetwood and Plymouth, Ipswich had been on the receiving end of deflected finishes. No-one could argue the Blues weren’t due a goal like this themselves.
TRIED TO WIN (ALMOST LOST)
Town were undoubtedly the better team in the second period. They couldn't quite make long periods of pressure pay though.
Chaplin’s crisp volley from the edge of the box (unbelievable technique as the ball dropped out the sky) and unmarked header were unfortunately straight at Dawson.
Substitute Freddie Ladapo steered the ball wide from a good position in stoppage-time too.
All those openings originated from corners as Sheffield Wednesday defended strongly in open play. You can see why they’ve conceded so few goals this season.
And it has to be said that the Owls had the best chance to win it when 6ft 6in defender Aden Flint was inexplicably left unmarked at the back post. His initial header was blocked and his follow-up shot clipped the top of the bar.
All-in-all, a draw was probably about right.
SOMETHING MISSING
How do we feel about that? I’ve got mixed emotions.
Fighting back from 2-0 down against an experienced, in-form side with the division’s meanest defence obviously deserves real credit. Could that be a springboard to kick on? I hope so.
I can’t shake this nagging feeling that something is missing though. There's so much to like between the boxes, but a lack of ruthlessness at both ends of the field continues to prevent powerful momentum building.
McKenna’s men have now drawn 11 of their 30 league games this season. Their record against the current top seven reads P8 W1 D5 L2. They’ve won just four of their last 14 in the league.
With 16 games to go, there is very little room for error – starting at Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.
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