I think that Ipswich Town should play in white shirts and black shorts more often! The last time they wore it was against Portsmouth away and they won 0-4, and last night against Wycombe Wanderers away, they did much the same again! Another big away win and against one of the league leaders!
It was a master class in finishing once more, and against a side who had previously won every home league game this season. Other clubs will sit up and take not after this great victory.
It was not, of course, all plain sailing and the first 20 minutes belonged to the home side who put Town under considerable pressure and scored in the process, after several close-calls from free-kicks and corners. At this stage, the Blues were rocking and manager Paul Cook was chomping at the bit in the dugout. He was going redder and redder in the face, and not just because of the weather!
The equaliser when it came – just ten minutes after the Chairmen had scored, was splendidly executed. Sam Morsy was the provider as he jinxed his way to the edge of the box before laying it off to Bersant Celina who did the rest with a stunning 25-yard strike. He played from the start last night, and seemed determined to keep his place, with some intelligent running and passing, and with that instinctive eye for goal! He has been out of sorts of late but last night he was back to his very best!
The whole side played well yesterday evening and although Kane Vincent-Young started rather nervously, he grew into the game and gained in confidence in the process. It is good to have him back on board because he has not played since that horror show against Bolton at Portman Road when he was yellow-carded, conceded a penalty and was substituted after just 21 minutes!
The master class in finishing continued after the break. Top scorer Macauley Bonne was back on the scoresheet with his 11th goal of the season, after David Stockdale’s attempted clearance. It was a sublime bit of skill from the forward to swivel with his back to the goal, control the ball with his left, and then smash it home with his right from close range.
The goal-scoring spree continued courtesy of Wes Burns, as Kane Vincent-young guided the ball into his path before he unleashed an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net.
The home side rallied a bit after that and came close to scoring themselves. Keeper Christian Walton reacted superbly to get down to his right to save sharply from a Stewart header. Then a goalmouth melee occurred, when the ball bobbled back and forth like a pinball machine in the Town penalty area, but some solid defending kept the hosts at bay.
And then we had that icing on the cake moment. Celina’s second goal deep in stoppage time secured Ipswich’s third win in four as he raced paced the keeper on the halfway line and expertly ran the ball into an empty net. Job done boys, and now Town are up to ninth in the League One table.
Very pleasing result. Very pleasing score.
This season will doubtless be a roller coaster of a ride as PC said.
But, we are now an exciting team to watch and support.
Highest scorers in League 1 although our defense is still a bit suspect at times!
In some ways, the Blues remind me of Peterborough in recent seasons – lots of goals at both ends but lethal when they click.
The upcoming games with Rotherham, Oxford and Sunderland will be interesting!
The following few matches will be vital in terms of the progress made before Christmas Richard. If we were to sneak into those play-off places before Christmas, then it would be a great incentive to aim for those automatic places next year because it is still within our reach. Town are playing some exciting football and technically way above what you would expect at this level, as Wes Burns alluded to recently. I still think it will take until Santa Day before we truly gel as a team but in the meantime, roll on the roller coaster!
Yes we are starting to add battleing qualities to our undoubted creativity. I think one of the turning points was the unfortunate injury to young Coulson who in my opinion is a bit too small for a fullback. Wycombe are a big strong physical team and Burgess definitely made a big difference when he came on. Cook could recall Donasien and switch KVY to left back where he played several times for Colchester or do we keep the same team . There’s bound to be plenty of changes for the Oldham game as it’s important to keep squad players match fit and other players fresh that’s the way it is nowadays.
Indeed it is, Keith. The squad system demands flexibility, and in the modern game, there is no alternative to it.