Ipswich Town drew 0-0 with Bristol Rovers last night. Andy Warren has his say on the game.
Speed date
When Ipswich Town are successful, they generally start games quickly and set a tone.
It felt like the Blues did that here, briefly, with real attacking purpose down the flanks and pressure on the Rovers box, resulting in two decent openings which left you feeling we could be in for a good night.
First, a clever Leif Davis corner found a free Cameron Humphreys on the edge of the box, with the teenager guiding his shot towards goal before Ellery Balcombe dealt with it well enough.
Then, from another corner, a decent delivery ended with Cameron Burgess heading into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Things were looking good.
Sadly, though, this was as good as it got.
The main course
The game soon settled into its pattern, which saw Ipswich have good spells of possession in safe areas, but Rovers defend their box vigorously, forcing Ipswich wide by sitting narrow in order to protect their territory.
That frustrated Town, whose attempts to work the ball from the flanks more-often-than-not ended with balls being cleared by a packed Rovers backline.
Town lacked tempo, drive and variety but did create openings, without overly testing home keeper Balcombe.
Freddie Ladapo showed some neat touches but was isolated for long spells, with the attacking trio behind him of Wes Burns, Sone Aluko and Marcus Harness not connecting with him or creating anywhere near as often as Ipswich needed. The central midfield duo of Sam Morsy and Humphreys sat too deep, with Rovers happy for them to move the ball into tight wide areas.
The hosts sparked into life on a few occasions, though, particularly on the counter through Aaron Collins or down the Ipswich left flank, where James Gibbons, Antony Evans and Harry Anderson caused Davis some problems.
The Town defence just about did enough to keep the Gas out, avoiding disaster at one big hearts in mouths moment in the second half.
Christian Walton dropped a routine ball into the box at the feet of Scott Sinclair, whose hook towards goal was cleared off his own post by Luke Woolfenden. The Town defender celebrated his intervention by grabbing the woodwork and shaking it violently.
But for a couple of inches, things could have been a lot worse for Town.
The cavalry
McKenna looked to inject some life into his side from the bench, bringing on five players in the second half.
Among those introduced were January signings George Hirst, Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke, who cost Ipswich several million pounds to bring in during the window, as well as top scorer Conor Chaplin.
Whether those players should have been starting a game where Ipswich desperately needed a win is a matter for debate, but they were all on the pitch, as well as Kyle Edwards, as Town chased a winner.
Broadhead led the charge, having three chances as he worked the pitch in search of openings, while both Clarke and Hirst had shots saved at the near post.
It never really felt like a winner was coming, though, with the 1,200 traveling supporters frustrated at the final whistle, at which point some entered into a frank exchange of views with skipper Morsy.
A late winner wouldn’t have made us reflect on this game as a vintage Ipswich performance. This was a long way from that. But it would have altered the mood significantly.
Dirty dozen
Speaking after the game, McKenna discussed how, in isolation, a draw at Bristol Rovers is a decent result.
And he’s right. It’s not a disaster to draw at Rovers, a team who had lost five in a row but at one point found themselves right on the cusp of the play-off places, possessing a side who are more than capable of matching anyone in the league on their day.
The trouble is we can’t think about these games in isolation anymore. It's too late for that. They’re part of a bigger picture which is becoming more and more clear but less and less pleasurable.
McKenna acknowledged that, too.
Town have drawn 12 matches this season, with only Lincoln sharing the points more often across League One, having done so 14 times.
For context, leaders Plymouth have drawn seven matches with Sheffield Wednesday in second and third-placed Bolton held eight times each. Derby, in fifth, have drawn nine games and Barnsley, who hold the final play-off place, only five.
McKenna has repeatedly said draws are largely worthless in the grand scheme of a 46-game league season and, again, he’s right.
But what Town’s dirty dozen does highlight is how repeatedly ending on the wrong end of fine-margin affairs is causing Ipswich significant trouble as they bid to escape the third tier.
Drawing games they needed, and in some cases did enough, to win is the difference between Town and those at the top of the table right now.
Déjà vu?
Anyone who has been with Ipswich Town throughout their League One ‘journey’ can be forgiven for feeling like they’ve been here before. It’s only natural.
The best comparison is, perhaps, Town’s very first season at this level when they came firing out the starting blocks under Paul Lambert and still found themselves right at the top of the table in January of 2020.
Back then Ipswich weren’t playing well and were stumbling through the campaign, struggling for wins but still maintaining their position in the table thanks to a rapid start and teams around them having played fewer games. That was until their poor form caught up with them and they were swallowed up by the in-form teams below them.
They were ninth by the time Covid halted the season and 11th once the points-per-game formula was applied.
Fast forward to 2023 and Ipswich have slipped to fourth, are eight points off the top two and have been caught by the pack below, having won only four of their last 15 games. They are in danger of being swallowed up again if things don't improve.
Now, this Ipswich side and its staff have presented enough evidence for us to be sure the class of 2022/23 are better-equipped than Lambert’s men were. That surely can’t be denied, even though this prolonged run of form is a real cause for concern.
They simply must prove it, though. Town’s next four games see them face Forest Green, MK Dons, Burton and Accrington. They’re all in the bottom six and are opponents Ipswich must beat.
Town need runs of wins. Not just to remain in any kind of race for automatic promotion, but simply to convince us they are the team we thought, and continue to think, they are.
There’s no better chance than this.
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