Ipswich Town lost 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers this afternoon. Andy Warren hands out his player ratings.
Christian Walton
In what could be his final Ipswich outing, the Brighton loanee showed his worth as he flew to his right to tip a Dion Charles shot away, before being booked for sliding out of his box with the ball in his arms. He was wrong-footed for the first Bolton goal, spilling into the path of Kieran Lee, before being sold short by George Edmundson for the second. 5
Janoi Donacien
Started the game well, defending solidly and managing to move upfield with the ball at feet, but those opportunities became fewer and fewer as the first half went on, at a time when Town’s defenders got themselves in a bit of a muddle. Appealed for an offside which wasn’t there after he and the rest of the Ipswich defence reacted slowly for the first goal, before giving the ball away at the start of the move which led to the second. 5
Luke Woolfenden
Like the rest of the Ipswich backline, the academy product had some challenges in the opening period, as they were dragged out of position and stretched, though he was able to make an excellent recovery tackle to stop Lee getting a clear path to Walton’s goal. He made some good defensive headers with Town under pressure, too. He possibly had Ipswich’s best chance of the day, but could only head straight at James Trafford. 6
George Edmundson
So often Town’s picture of consistency, the former Rangers man had a few more difficult moments in the first half than we’ve been used to, as the Ipswich defence were pulled out of position. He made a couple of good recovery tackles to remove danger. But the big error came in the second, as he woefully under-hit a back-pass which left Walton exposed for the second goal. He’s been brilliant this season. This was an off day. 4
Wes Burns
Again used as a wing-back here but didn’t have the chances to attack his man as we’re used to seeing him have. When he did, he wasn’t able to get past cleanly and threaten. Was part of the Ipswich line who didn’t react quickly enough to stop Lee turning the opener home. Plenty of effort but, on this occasion, not the output to match. 5
Matt Penney
Was up and down during his 70 minutes on the field but wasn’t able to cleanly cross the ball on enough occasions as he was shackled. Errors crept in during the second half before he was replaced. 4
Sam Morsy
The skipper saw plenty of the ball early on in this game and, as he drove towards the box on several occasions, it looked like Ipswich were picking up where they left off. Sadly, though, they saw less and less of the ball in attacking areas as the first half ended. Morsy got on the ball more in the second period and advanced it into dangerous areas, but didn’t always have the attacking movement ahead of him. 6
Lee Evans
The Welshman was as bright as any Ipswich player in the opening 20 minutes of the game, playing on instinct and popping off one-touch passes. Lost his way as the first half went on and forced the issue a little much at time, but moved it well after the break. 6
Sone Aluko
Saw plenty of the ball inside the opening 15 minutes, taking an early shot and looking to pull the strings from a central position, but as the first half went on he drifted to the periphery of the game. Shot wide to start the second half, before having another effort deflected wide by Ricardo Santos. He’s been excellent of late and he showed flashes of the reasons why, but wasn’t able to meet his high standards here. 5
James Norwood
The in-form striker couldn’t continue his scoring streak in this game, failing to net when starting a league game for the first time since May. He worked hard throughout but wasn’t able to get on the ball in dangerous areas, with his best opening coming when a Lee Evans corner hit him on the shins inside the six-yard box. He wouldn’t have seen that ball coming until the final split second. 4
Macauley Bonne
Fresh from having his loan from QPR locked in for the rest of the season, Bonne started brightly and continued to work hard throughout the 90 minutes while having few sights of goal. Gained praise from his manager for how he led the line in the second period particularly. 6
Bersant Celina (for Norwood, 70)
Back in the side for the first time since the start of November, the attacker looked keen to impress and was a threatening figure during his time on the field. 6
Kane Vincent-Young (for Penney, 70)
The full-back made his first appearance under McKenna and was able to approach the box on a handful of occasions, without being able to force the issue. 5
Conor Chaplin (for Aluko, 82)
On for the final few minutes of this game but wasn’t able to help his side claw their way back into it. n/a
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