Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa: Terry Hunt on the Blues

Yes, I know we haven’t got that first win, but it won’t be long if we keep producing performances like that. For goodness sake, we outplayed a Champions League team for pretty much the entire second half!

That’s now four draws in a row, we’re clear of the dreaded bottom three, and our self confidence is growing. So it should, because we look like we belong at this exalted level.

What a display from Liam Delap. Let’s be honest, when we bought him, it didn’t exactly get the pulse racing, did it?

All most of us knew about him was that he was Rory Delap’s son, and there were some supposedly witty comments about long throws, his father’s speciality.

Liam Delap was brilliant against Villa (Image: Steve Waller) But what an impact he’s made. That fantastic solo effort against Fulham, which he almost repeated at Brighton, and then two goals against Villa. The second in particular was a fantastic finish. We’ve got ourselves a really good one there.

What impressed me most against Villa was our will to win. Lesser teams could have started feeling sorry for themselves after conceding two pretty poor goals.

But we scared the living daylights out of Villa in the second half. It was reminiscent of our promotion seasons, with us dominating the ball, Leif Davis flying down the left and Sam Morsy running things in central midfield.

Villa’s World Cup winning keeper was certainly busier than Muric, and we won no fewer than ten corners. The visitors, on the other hand, didn’t manage a single one.

If we can play with that level of intensity, then our first win won’t be far away. No doubt the national pundits will bang on about the promoted teams not having a win between them but they always overlook our incredibly tough start. Liverpool, Man City and Villa in the first six matches.

For me, the period between now and Christmas will be absolutely crucial. Our fixture list includes several games against teams who play their football on the same planet as us. The likes of Leicester, Wolves, Bournemouth and Everton.

Kalvin Phillips and Jacob Greaves after full-time yesterday. Town are now entering a key run of games against sides around them (Image: Steve Waller) It’s absolutely vital that we pick up points in those matches. It’s great to get unexpected points against the likes of Villa and Brighton, but we have to play with the same level of intensity against the lesser lights.

Of course we are by no means the finished product. Both the goals we conceded against Villa were sloppy, demonstrating yet again that you don’t get away with mistakes at this level.

We also seem to be picking up more than our fair share of yellow cards, which will become an issue when players start serving suspensions.

Part of the issue here is that we’re a bit naive, being tempted into challenges that we simply shouldn’t make. Part of the learning curve.

The other aspect of this, I’m afraid, can only be described as “us and them.” While our players are in the book at the drop of a hat, our more established Premier League opponents simply get away with it.

I really don’t like whingeing, but some of the Villa players were serial offenders and escaped punishment, whereas Sam Morsy was booked for his first foul.

Wes Burns with a late effort yesterday (Image: Steve Waller) I sometimes think refs should book Morsy in the tunnel before the game to save themselves the bother later. Seriously though, our Captain Fantastic is already only one yellow from a ban.

I’ll be honest - I was really worried before yesterday's game. Could we really live with Villa? At times in the first half, it looked like my fears were justified. But that second half was superb, we were certainly the better side and could have won it.

Well played, Town. As I said at the beginning, I’m proud of you, and I know there are thousands who feel the same way.

Off to West Ham next Saturday. That first win isn’t far away.