Is This The Turning Point For Town?

Two wins from two games is always cause for optimism but after the run we had been on, they were both vital victories.

In the cold light of day we have to question whether it was the weakness of the opposition that gave us the impetus or whether we have at long last got our mojo back?

Certainly Daryl Murphy will be feeling a lot better as he joins up with the Irish for their crucial play-off with Bosnia Herzegovina and bagging a hat-trick was something that even he did not expect!

In fact, it was the first three goal haul from an Ipswich Town player since Connor Wickham in 2011 and of course Radio Suffolk’s man behind the mic Alex Mathie, scored a treble against Norwich on my birthday in 1998 that will live long in the memory.

That was not the only hat-trick from the Scotsman though. He also scored three for the blues in the season before against Sunderland, when he was the club’s joint top scorer with nineteen goals along with Ian Marshall I seem to recall.

Anyway, if you really want to go way back in time then we should remember Trevor Whymark scoring a fabulous four against West Bromwich Albion in 1976 which will certainly take some beating!

But hat-tricks are a rare thing and before this, Daryl ‘no-goals’ Murphy had drawn a complete blank this season.

How rewarding it must be for him and the club that he is finally off the mark and now that he is, I fully expect him to score regularly from now to the end of our campaign.

The win at Rotherham was not just about Murphy though because everybody chipped in with either goals, or sound judgement.

Apart from two lapses of concentration when the game was all but won, the defence performed well and in fairness Dean Gerken was blameless for the two wonder-strikes that threatened to get The Millers back on track.

The midfield looked good again, with Jonathan Douglas even wading in with a goal of his own and Kevin Bru and Cole Skuse were all over the park, as they tore into a disheartened Rotherham defence.

Our attack got the support it needed from midfield too and Brett Pitman and Freddie Sears never stopped running for the cause.

Th size of the victory will do the world of good for team spirit and I fully expect that when the Tractor Boys return to Portman Road to face Wolves in a couple of weeks they will again be up to the task, as our season is finally reborn!


Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich