Ipswich Town beat Hull City 3-0 at Portman Road last night. Stuart Watson reflects on the action.
TO HULL AND BACK
Let me take you back to back to Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Ipswich 0 Hull City 3. An attendance of 13,031. Town had failed to score at home for a fifth successive game. Under pressure boss Mick McCarthy kept his players on the field for a seige mentality themed team chat.
Afterwards I wrote: "For a long time at Portman Road the atmosphere has been flat and apathetic. Last night, for the first proper time, there was an outpouring of anger. Boy did it get toxic.
"It was the culmination of 17 frustrating years in the Championship, many years of cup and East Anglian derby disappointment, and at least 24 months of largely forgettable football dished up on Suffolk soil."
Town lost 3-0 at home to Hull again on a November night in 2020. This time that sobering result came in League One (in front of an empty stadium during Covid protocols).
Last night's scoreline, therefore, provided neat shorthand for the phoenix from the flames rise that this club has enjoyed over the last two years.
Kieran McKenna's well-drilled men played some scintillating front foot football. They oozed chemistry and confidence. They carved open and shut out a team that came into the match unbeaten in eight. A bumper midweek crowd of 27,070, who feel so connected to this special group, soaked it all up.
We've come a long, long way together, through the hard times and the good. I have to celebrate you, baby. I have to praise you like I should.
GOALS, GOALS, GOALS!
Since drawing 0-0 at Bristol Rovers back on Valentine's Day, Town have now scored in 28 consecutive matches across all competitions.
Incredibly, they've also now bagged at least two goals in 16 straight home games (F53 A14).
These latest three were all very easy on the eye.
A crisp and purposeful move through the thirds led to Leif Davis' crossfield pass being cleverly dummied by Conor Chaplin. Wes Burns subsequently supplied the hammer finish to set the tone in the fifth minute.
Davis, a constant outlet on the left, further added to his frankly ridiculous assists tally when rolling the ball inside with precision ahead of Chaplin's exquisite curling finish for 2-0 just before the break.
MORE: Alex Jones' Town player ratings following 3-0 win against Hull
George Hirst, whose pace, strength, pressing and control at the tip of the attack shouldn't go unrecognised, then ran the channel to set up Harness for 3-0 on 65 minutes. It made for a stress-free finish.
With Burns and Harness both opening their accounts for the season, it means that Ipswich already have 15 different goalscorers across all competitions.
"We’ve developed as a team to try and have different threats," said McKenna. "We play through the pitch, are able to play in behind, try to combine centrally and be a threat from crosses as well.
“We need to keep working on different variations because, as we saw on Saturday (in a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield) and as we’ll probably see next Saturday again (at home to Preston), teams are going to set up to try and stop us and try and deal with our threats."
WHAT DEPTH!
We knew influential skipper Sam Morsy would replace the injured Lee Evans in midfield after serving a one-game ban at Huddersfield. It also wasn't a major shock to see Brandon Williams, whose late goal salvaged a point in West Yorkshire, come in for Harry Clarke at right-back.
What was a little more surprising to see was George Edmundson and Marcus Harness in the starting XI, those two coming in for Cameron Burgess and Omari Hutchinson. It was no knock on the men dropped though, rather an expression of complete trust in those that could provide fresh legs and different attributes.
The promoted duo - making their first league starts since February 4 and April 10 respectively - picked up where they'd left off against Wolves in the Carabao Cup a week earlier. Edmundson, quick and strong, was a rock at the back. Harness, master of the chop back, had a big hand in two goals and scored himself. Manchester United loanee Williams, full of drive and aggression, was among the top performers on the night too.
Asked if Burgess was injured, McKenna explained: "No, Cameron’s fine, I just wanted to put George in tonight. We thought he’s been training really well, has played really well in the cup competitions and I thought his qualities tonight against Liam Delap would be really important. There are not many more powerful runners than George, so we put him up against one of the more powerful runners in the league.
“We thought some of their pressing angles would possibly open up some passes for him as well, for a right-footer. Cameron’s been excellent, but it was just a selection tonight. And, as you’ve seen, we’re not tending to put a centre-half on the bench very often. They all understand that that’s the plan.”
The man management and detailed coaching that goes into this group means everyone is able to seamlessly slot in when called upon. It's rotation with a purpose, rather than the random team selector that seemed to be the case during the Paul Lambert era. That, as much as anything, gives hope that this flying start can be maintained.
STICKING WITH VAZ
The fit-again Christian Walton was named among the subs. Vaclav Hladky, rightly in my opinion, kept his place between the sticks.
The Czech custodian, boosted by a show of faith from his manager, continued his fine form. There might not have been any spectacular saves this time, but his ability on the ball again showed him to be a vital cog in the wheel.
Town's second goal originated from the 32-year-old coolly sending two attackers to the shops with a feint and pass up the line. The third goal started from a good Hladky ball into the channel too.
"Vaz has performed so well in the start of the season and he’s in such a rhythm,” explained McKenna.
"Christian’s an outstanding keeper, has been a big part of this team and is going to continue to be a big, big part of the group, but he’s only been back training a couple of days.
“It’s great to have him back in the squad, but Vaz was always going to stay in the team tonight and build on the work that he’s been doing.”
Perfect. @edsheeran | #itfc pic.twitter.com/JFURJDz4A4
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) October 3, 2023
ENJOY THE RIDE
Ed Sheeran came into the dressing room afterwards to lead a singalong, rather aptly, of his global hit 'Perfect'.
It's the sort of thing that Roy Keane would take a fairly dim view on, you'd imagine. 'Look at them, it's 10 games and they're celebrating like that'.
That's not how I see it. I just see a tightly bonded group enjoying the moment. Rightly so. These are special times and they should be cherished. And anyway, this humble and hard-working squad has proven time and time again that their feet will stay firmly on the floor.
Ipswich have taken 25 points from a possible 30. It's the best ever start made by a newly-promoted Championship club. Indeed, only two teams in Championship history have ever had more points on the board by this stage. A nice little nine point cushion to seventh has opened up.
Time to get excited? You bet it is! Otherwise what's the point? Ipswich Town are the envy of almost every football fan across the pyramid right now. We've waited a long time for this. Keep soaking it all in.
Three more sleeps until high-flying Preston come to Portman Road. Bring it on.
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