After such a fabulous team performance on Tuesday night at Portman Road, I did not expect to see the very same side perform so badly today.
I was not the only one. Manager Paul Cook said afterwards that he did not anticipate such a collective no-show, and I think this is the view held by most Town supporters.
“It was an absolutely shocking performance. I didn’t see it coming. I thought we took the lead against the run of play. Accrington had so much more hunger and desire, which I knew they’d have, and you’d expect our quality to come through. At no point in the game did that happen”, Cook solemnly explained to the press corps afterwards.
And where did it all go wrong? Perhaps the question we should be asking is when did it ever go right! The home side wanted this more than the Blues, and in the end, they were more than deserving of the three points. Only Macauley Bonne and Janoi Donacien stood out, and the rest were largely absent without leave.
It is hard to understand why this occurred? After the 6-0 thrashing of Doncaster Rovers, one would have expected Town to go into this one on the front foot but instead, they were bossed around by the home side who harried and harassed the Town defence for long periods. This became especially apparent in the second half, after Accrington levelled the match on 50 minutes, through a neat finish by Colby Bishop. It was a clever move and Hladky was not at fault.
The game was turned on its head when Harry Pell scored the winner for Accrington Stanley with 11 minutes to go, and although Cook brought on Edwards, Harper and Norwood, they made very little impression and the visitors never looked like stealing a point – although Norwood received his obligatory yellow card.
Another Macauley Bonne goal had put the Blues in front on 38 minutes, after an incisive move by the Blues but although they went in at half-time with a narrow lead, the goal came against the run of play and Ipswich were lucky to go in at the break in front.
This was a hugely disappointing result and performance from the Town squad, and it must seriously worry the manager and his staff. The fact that the home side did not feel the need to bring on any substitutes, is testimony to Town’s lack of a serious goal threat throughout.
Accrington Stanley: Savin; Sherring, Nottingham, Amankwah; Hamilton, Butcher, Pell, Conneely (captain), McConville, Morgan, Bishop
Substitutes: Trafford, O’Sullivan, Leigh, Mansell, Nolan, Clark, Malcolm
Ipswich Town: Hladky; Donacien, Edmundson, Burgess, Penney; Morsy (captain), Evans (Norwood, 81); Burns, Celina (Harper, 64), Fraser (Edwards, 64); Bonne
Substitutes: Holy, Nsiala, Aluko, Chaplin
Attendance: 2,600
The referee was Martin Coy from County Durham.
846 Ipswich travelling Blue Army fans were in attendance)
