Ipswich Town: Karl Fuller on Blues after Brighton draw

In fact, I had not seen Town at Brighton since a trip to the Goldstone Ground in May 1989. That day, a Mich d’Avray goal saw Town win 1-0 but it was to no avail as we failed to reach the play-offs.

Some 25 years on, it is a much different Brighton and what a great away day it is.

Timelines in football always seem smaller than in other walks of life. 1997/98 still seems like yesterday to me.

Then, Town lost to Charlton in the play-offs, and Brighton finished in 91st place and just escaped dropping out of the league.

Aro Muric was superb at Brighton (Image: Ross Halls) They are now in their eighth season in the Premier League and are a force to be reckoned with. Outside of the big guns that should occupy the final top six places each season, the Seagulls can lay a firm claim to being one of the best of the rest.

I must admit, on our car journey down to the south coast I was taking a point as being an excellent result.

Joining me on our car journey was my son Craig, friends Paul and Alfie, and our driver Jason.

Much of our talk was about how another difficult game laid ahead of us. This evolved into our thoughts on the season. We all believe that we will have enough about us to survive.

But trying to pinpoint where enough wins will come from, is another matter. As the season unfolds, I think we will be in for a continued cracking ride and really must take things one game at a time.

But what about the afternoon ahead? With Manchester United already leaving the AMEX defeated, and Brighton securing a draw at Arsenal the week before, I expected the worst.

But that was tinged with belief that I have in our boys and thought that we could nick a point.

Axel Tuanzebe also impressed at the Amex (Image: Ross Halls) Brighton were excellent. Very strong and they will cause problems for many teams this season. They give their fans some lovely football to enjoy.

The first half saw many backs-to-the-wall moments. But to a man, we defended tremendously.

A superb double-save by Aro Muric was without a doubt the highlight. Overall, the Kosovan had an excellent game and showed he can command his area. He deserved the chants of ‘Muric, Muric, Muric’ that were sung to him.

Along with my own player of the match, Axel Tuanzebe, they were both imperious.

Town came into the game more in the second period and momentarily, I thought Liam Delap had scored. What a steal that would have been.

The final whistle brought great scenes in the away end. We may not have won, but it was yet another battle that we had survived with distinction.

Applauding Kieran Mckenna and our boys as they lined up in front of us was a proud moment. They had given their all and got a suitable reward.

There is a feeling that we need to pick up three points sooner rather than later. For more than one reason, which is an obvious fact. But let us not put too much pressure on that just yet.

We have had an intense first four games against real quality. We must remain patient.

Liam Delap hit the post at the end of another trademark rampage forward (Image: Ross Halls) Saturday’s trip to Southampton could be the ideal opportunity to notch up our first win of the season, but it is not a given.

As for the AMEX, it is an impressive stadium. It had a friendly appeal about it.

But the locals once inside continued to follow a trend of those other Premier League supporters we have shared games with thus far. They were quiet.

It made me appreciate even more how good the atmosphere is at Portman Road these days. Yes, we are  a promoted club still riding on the crest of a wave. But home and away, our fans have been impressive this season.

We know that we must be our 12th man, and we are certainly playing our part in this respect. Keep it up! 

Finally, this week, I must offer my best wishes to George Burley after news of his cancer diagnosis was announced last week.

We are all with you George and I wish you well in your ongoing treatment.