Ipswich Town drew 2-2 at home to Aston Villa yesterday. Stuart Watson reflects on the action...
FORTRESS PORTMAN ROAD
'We always back ourselves at Portman Road' enthused Blues boss Kieran McKenna afterwards.
Since a 1-0 League One defeat to Cambridge United in April 2022, Ipswich Town have lost just two out of 51 home league games.
When Lincoln left Suffolk with a 1-0 win in October 2022, the Blues finished the game with 76% possession, 33 shots and 14 corners. That (like the FA Cup loss to Maidstone) was a bit of a freak result.
Liverpool may have won 2-0 on the opening day of this campaign, but they knew they'd very much been in a game.
With a capacity crowd giving fervent backing, this is not a ground any team will relish coming to this season.
NO ROOM FOR ERROR
Mistakes you might have got away with in the Championship get ruthlessly punished at this level. Town discovered that at Man City during a mad five-minute spell, and they were provided a reminder of that fact when Villa levelled in the 15th minute.
The visitors still had plenty of work to do when Jacob Greaves' clearance went straight to Morgan Rogers in a crowded box. The England Under-21 international exchanged passes with Ollie Watkins though and reversed a pass into the bottom corner.
"There's a mistake for the first goal - we're going to make them. Everyone's human, everyone's trying their best," said McKenna. "The ruthlessness of the execution to punish you when you a make a mistake at this level is really high.
"When we make those it's important as a team that we collectively keep going. The pleasing thing is we managed to do that."
In the early season defeats to Liverpool and Man City, I wrote about Town needing to learn lessons in game management. At this level, the first thought after conceding needs to be about being compact, not chasing it. Just stay in the game.
In this one, the Blues possibly went too far the other way. When the game went to 1-1, McKenna's men increasingly dropped into a low block. Out of possession, the shape could best be described as a 5-3-2.
Villa increasingly controlled possession. Eventually that told when Leon Bailey's cross was nodded home by Watkins to turn the game on its head.
"First half we were compact in our shape, but a little bit passive in getting out to the ball and everybody stepping on," reflected McKenna.
"Aston Villa were able to circulate the ball a little bit easier than we would want in a home game."
That was something Town got to grips with after the restart. Finding the correct balance between staying organised and getting in the opposition's faces remains a learning curve.
DELAP DELIGHT!
Liam Delap scored 12 goals in 68 Championship appearances. He's already bagged three in six Premier League outings for Town.
The 21-year-old took his eighth minute opener smartly on the run, meeting Jack Clarke's cut-back to fire inside the near post.
His roof raising leveller in the second half came after a trademark powerful run and stepover that bamboozled Diego Carlos.
Oozing confidence, he nearly repeated the feat against Carlos later in the game. His link play was much improved in this one too.
"He and his family should be proud," said McKenna. "He's still very young. It's a lot to be leading the line week-in, week-out in the Premier League at his age.
"There is more consistency to come in his game and I still think he can improve a lot physically, mentally, technically and tactically. There is still some real growth to come, so to do what he's done in his first handful of Premier League games is great."
COULD HAVE BEEN MORE
Are there enough goals in this team?
That was the big question after Town failed to sign another striker in the closing stages of deadline day and found themselves bottom of the pile in terms of shots on goal after five matches. McKenna, however, insisted his team weren't far away.
He was right. Town scored two and could easily have had more.
Jack Clarke headed narrowly over at 1-1, while Emiliano Martinez made two outstanding saves to deny Kalvin Philips and Delap just before the break. In the second half, Leif Davis fired into the side-netting and Pau Torres had to make a lunging block on Wes Burns as the Blues pushed hard at the end.
Just like the Fulham home game, Ipswich - who forced 10 corners - looked the team far more likely to win it.
Sam Morsy walked a real disciplinary tightrope in this game.
The combative Town skipper gave away a couple of fouls in quick succession midway through the first half when snapping at the heels of Watkins and Youri Tielemans.
His booking finally came in first half stoppage-time when bundling into Morgan Rogers from behind. Four yellows in six games already puts him one away from a one-game suspension.
After referee Stuart Attwell let play go on a couple of times early in the second half, Morsy was vocal in his protests for a prolonged period. The Blues skipper went on to run clumsily into the heels of Tielemans and stand on the foot of Jaden Philogene. He could easily have seen red.
Had the Blues been reduced to 10 with more than half an hour to go, this game could very well have turned out differently.
ANOTHER STEP FORWARDS
A first Premier League goal courtesy of Sammie Szmodics at Man City. Tick.
A first Premier League point courtesy of a 1-1 home draw against Fulham. Tick.
A first Premier League clean sheet and away point courtesy of a 0-0 at Brighton. Tick.
A first comeback point, courtesy of Sam Morsy's last-gasp leveller at Southampton. Tick.
A first two-goal performance and point against a team who finished in the top-half of the Premier League last season. Tick.
All things considered, Town are building into this season very nicely indeed.
The next achievement to unlock is a victory. This next block of games - West Ham (a), Everton (h), Brentford (a) and Leicester (home) - represents a good opportunity to do so.
For me, Leif Davis was Town's best player in this game.
He defended strongly against Leon Bailey and created plenty of openings from set-pieces and open play. Highlights included a defence-splitting pass for Delap's one-v-one chance and a delightful cushioned pass into the path of Jack Clarke (who looked really dangerous on his full Town/Premier League debut).
Can England, really short of left-back options, ignore him for much longer?
"That's for Lee Carsley to judge at the moment," said McKenna. "I think Leif's strengths are easy to see. I thought today was probably his best performance. He wasn't happy himself with his level last week (at Southampton).
"He's got fantastic attributes as an attacking left-back who can cover distances down the line and deliver really good balls to forward players, both to feet and from crosses. His defensive game is improving.
"He's in a great place in his career. He's 24, playing his first season in the Premier League and picking up good experience every week. I'm sure he'll show his quality over the course of the season."
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