Ipswich Town 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk: Stuart Watson's verdict

A DECENT SCALP 

Shakhtar Donetsk recently won a record 15th Ukrainian title as part of a domestic double. 

They beat Barcelona 1-0 in the group stages of the Champions League last season before exiting the Europa League to Marseille. 

They came into this game having already played pre-season friendlies against the likes of FK Sarajevo, Hadjuk Split and Besiktas. 

"You don't go in with massively high expectations for a game like this because we've had a really hard training week in the heat (of Austria), we're playing against an excellent side who competed in the Champions League and who are five friendlies in,” said Blues boss Kieran McKenna, when previewing the game at the picturesque Sportzentrum Landskron in Villach. 

"It'll be about sharing the minutes across the group that's here and trying to see some of the things we've been working on in training.” 

For Town to win this game 1-0 is therefore a nice early confidence-booster as they prepare for the Premier League season.   

Luke Woolfenden (right) high fives George Hirst following Ipswich Town's 1-0 friendly win against Shakhtar Donetsk. (Image: Avni Retkoceri)

MIXING IT UP 

Shakhtar are managed by Marino Pusic. The Bosnian-Croat assisted new Liverpool boss Arne Slot at both AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord in Holland. 

Given Town start life back in the top-tier with the visit of Liverpool on August 17, was this fixture handpicked to give them a feel for Slot’s style of play? Quite possibly. 

Shakhtar played with a 4-2-3-1 system and there was evidence, at times, of Slot’s renowned 'vertical, fast and risky’ approach. 

Tactically, Ipswich had to mix up their out of possession game in this match. 

Whenever they sensed the opposition was having a slight lull, they collectively moved up the field and pressed high in numbers. A fine example was in the 15th minute when Sam Morsy opted to break out of his sitting role, win the ball with typical aggression in the final third and start a move which ultimately finished with a Conor Chaplin shot being blocked. 

There were also phases of the game when, sensing the tide was turning, the Blues dropped into an organised mid-to-low block. In those moments it became about limiting spaces and enjoying the art of heading, blocking and intercepting. 

Getting stuck in either of those approaches for two long can be fatal. Ipswich’s players showed in this game that they have an innate sense of game state.

Sam Morsy scored Ipswich Town's winning goal in the 38th minute. (Image: Contributed)

SUPER SKIPPER 

Town did have two or three big scares in this game. 

During a difficult start, they were fortunate that a tight offside call saw Lassina Traore’s tap-in chalked off. 

Midway through the first half, Davis was left breathing a sigh of relief when, following his loose back header, Oleksandr Zubkov’s lob over Walton came back off the crossbar. 

Then, in the 78th minute, there was a let off when Brazilian striker Eguinaldo lifted the ball over the bar from near the penalty spot after Shakhtar got in down the left. 

Overall though, I think the Blues just about deserved to win this match. 

I’ve mentioned the chance for Chaplin. On top of that, Massimo Luongo saw a shot cleared off the line after he’d seized upon a loose pass. Liam Delap (who I'll come on to) had a couple of openings too.

The winning goal, scored in the 38th minute, originated from an opposition error. Why the Shakhtar player decided to send a free-kick from the right-back position into his own box is anyone’s guess. Credit to the alert Wes Burns for getting his head on the ball though and then, while on the deck, fashioning a lay-off. From there, super skipper Morsy arrived to send a crisp first time shot into the bottom left corner from the edge of the ‘D’. 

He may be 33 in September, but there’s no doubting that Morsy is still the standard-setting, beating heart of this side. I hope a new contract gets announced sooner rather than later. He deserves it. 

THE NEW BOYS 

Ben Johnson was the only one of Town’s five summer signings to start this match. The right-back, snapped up on a free transfer after his contract at West Ham expired, had an encouraging hour on the field. 

The first thing I noticed was that the 24-year-old has a natural athleticism. If there’s the slightest hint of a loose touch a few yards away, he’s instantly charging to engage his opponent. There were a couple of quick turns of pace to stick with a winger running in behind, as well as an impressive spring at the back post to win a defensive header. This is someone who’s going to add dynamism to the Town team. 

Jacob Greaves replaced Cameron Burgess in the left-sided centre-back role at the break. One of his first passes was loose, but he quickly settled. The former Hull City man attacked a high, swirling Chaplin corner with his head at one end, used the ball simply when he had it and expertly shielded an attacker away from goal to snuff out one dangerous moment. Burgess’ impressive first half performance was a reminder that the £15m man can’t just expect to walk into this team though. 

Delap replaced George Hirst in the No.9 role on the hour and looked very much up for it. The £15m signing from Man City picked up a booking within seconds of coming on the field for clattering into a defender with his boot raised.  

The powerful England Under-21 international continued to put himself about, backing into defenders to win fouls, dropping into pockets of space to link play and also running in behind. He went close with an inventive near post flick, following a driving run and cross from Elkan Baggott, and fired too close to the keeper from the edge of the box after some neat footwork to create the opening. This was an encouraging first outing in a Town shirt. 

Aro Muric, who only linked up with his new team-mates on Wednesday after completing an £8m switch from Burnley, remained an unused sub. Walton had a solid match as the starting goalkeeper, while Cieran Slicker produced two fine stops in the second half. 

Omari Hutchinson also didn’t get on the field. It's understood the 20-year-old is fit, but that McKenna wants to manage the 20-year-old's workload at present after an intense first season in senior football.

Marcus Harness, Leif Davis and George Hirst all started in the Austrian rain. (Image: Avni Retkoceri)

SHARING THE MINUTES 

The starting XI was Walton; Johnson, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Taylor; Burns, Chaplin, Harness, Hirst.  

There is obviously a lot of ingrained chemistry in that team and it showed, with no deviation from the shape and patterns of play we’ve come to know and love. 

Walton looked to play short passes where possible, Davis covered the whole of the left side, while Marcus Harness tucked inside from the left wing. 

It’s clear Ipswich aren’t going to rip up what’s got them to the Premier League for a more pragmatic approach.   

McKenna ended up using 23 different players in this match. 

Four changes came on at the break, five more came on the hour, with three others happening late on. 

It was good to see academy graduates Ryan Carr, Finley Barbrook, Leon Ayinde, Osman Foyo and Jesse Nwabueze get some game time.  

Chaplin, who said following promotion that he was ‘looking to get fitter than ever before’, played more minutes than anyone else – 86.  

Nathan Broadhead and Cameron Humphreys both missed out through injuries, with the former needing to see a specialist for his unspecified issue. Axel Tuanzebe was absent due to personal reasons, while Harry Clarke (Achilles) and Ali Al-Hamadi are still recovering following recent surgeries.  

Town are next in action when they host German club Fortuna Dusseldorf, at Portman Road, on Saturday (3pm).