Ipswich Town won 2-0 at Derby County yesterday afternoon. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
FIRED UP DRAGONS
Nathan Broadhead and Wes Burns played like men with springs in their steps following an uplifting week away with Wales.
Broadhead, fresh from scoring on his international debut in Croatia, had an air of arrogance from the off.
When midfielders got touch tight, he evaded them with neat footwork and strength. Fearful defenders were left backing off as he repeatedly drove forwards with intent.
The 24-year-old's pinpoint crossfield pass in the build-up to the opener was sublime. His mesmerising run into the box a few minutes later created panic in the Rams’ backline and intensified the growing anxiety in the stands.
Burns, meanwhile, played a major part in both counter-attack goals.
His headed assist for Conor Chaplin required both power and precision to find the gap. And it was an electric turn of pace and shot which led to George Hirst’s rebound finish for the killer second.
COUNTER PUNCHES
Carefully worked cut-backs and set-pieces have been Ipswich's most favoured routes to goal this season. These two, however, were classic counters.
There was just 14 seconds and five touches of the ball between Christian Walton confidently plucking a high corner delivery out of the air and Chaplin having the ball in the back of the net.
Town's second, just like their first at Bolton, started after Burns seized on a deep loose ball and set off at speed.
Sam Morsy's first-time left-footed pass into the channel was perfectly-weighted, Burns blazed away from Eiran Cashin to shoot and the rebound was expertly finished by George Hirst.
From interception to back of the net was six touches in 16 seconds this time.
FOOTBALL KARMA
Derby were rocking at 1-0 down. Every misplaced place pass was met with howls of frustration from the home fans inside a packed Pride Park.
Credit to Paul Warne’s men, therefore, for regrouping and turning the tide.
The Rams finished the first half on top and they really should have drawn level seconds before the interval when David McGoldrick headed a golden back post chance into the side-netting.
Derby then picked off where they left off after the restart and had the ball in the net when Eiran Cashin headed home a corner on the run.
There’s still some confusion as to why referee Anthony Backhouse chalked that off. A push on keeper Christian Walton? There didn’t look to be much of an infringement there. McGoldrick flicking a leg at the ball from an offside position is another potential explanation.
No doubt about it, Ipswich got away with one. But then again there was plenty of credit in the bank when it comes to the ‘luck evens itself out over the course of the season’ rule.
Marcus Harness’ disallowed goal against Barnsley. Michael Smith’s offside equaliser for Sheffield Wednesday. Several penalty appeals ignored (there was a big one later in this game when Chaplin appeared to be bundled over from behind). Several deflected goals against.
Finally, some of these fine margins moments are starting to tip Town’s way.
FOX IN THE BOX
George Hirst had a lot to do when Burns’ lung-busting run and shot was kept out by keeper Joe Wildsmith’s legs.
The way he ran away from goal, swiveled and smashed the ball into the top corner was top drawer.
That’s three in three for the Leicester loanee now.
The goal capped another outstanding performance leading the line. He pressed tirelessly, battled centre-halves, won headed knock downs, ran off the shoulder and produced some deft link-up play.
It won’t be long until the chants of ‘sign him up’ are heard.
EMOTIONAL CONTROL
When Ipswich twice let a two-goal lead slip at Charlton last October, Kieran McKenna talked about his team getting caught up in the emotions of the game.
The way Town dealt with that element of this intense, high stakes game showed how far they have come this season.
Blues players didn’t lose their heads when some strong tackles and desperate off-the-ball tugs looked to disrupt their early dominance.
They kept their cool when the sizeable home support was whipped into a frenzy by that disallowed goal.
And they didn’t lose focus after that joyous second goal went in either. The game management for the final 21 minutes of play (including the stoppage-time) was excellent.
I particularly enjoyed Chaplin’s charge back and perfectly-timed slide tackle in the latter stages. You could see how much the team wanted to preserve this remarkable clean sheet run.
SQUAD STRENGTH
Leif Davis missed this game due to a hamstring problem.
McKenna is hopeful the 10-assist left-back will be okay to return to action when Wycombe visit Portman Road on Friday.
If he’s not though, Greg Leigh has proven he is a more than capable stand-in.
The Jamaican international had a tough task on his hands dealing with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, but in the main he did enough to quell the threat.
This was a reminder of how crucial Town’s squad depth could be during a busy run-in.
JUGGERNAUNT MOMENTUM
Ipswich Town have now scored 20 goals without reply. That's seven wins in a row. It’s eight successive clean sheets.
Now stop and give that last paragraph a read back. Read it twice if you like. Those are remarkable stats. Very few teams in world football will boast that sort of run this season.
The Blues are a juggernaut. Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, continue to crumble.
Less than 11 weeks ago, a top-two finish looked gone. Town are now two points off the top with a game in hand to come.
Yes, automatic promotion is now officially in Ipswich’s hands. And this doesn’t look like a group that is ready to take their foot off the gas any time soon.
Three of the next four games are at Portman Road. After that it's Peterborough and Barnsley away. Eight games to go. Bring. It. On.
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