Mick McCarthy Blameless In Defeat

Manager Mick McCarthy said afterwards that Bristol City deserved this victory but the manner of it, suggests that had it not been for some cruel luck, the Blues might have got something from the game.

McCarthy’s plans were in ruins even before a ball had been kicked, when Tom Adeyemi was forced out of the action in the warm up.

This meant that 17 years old Tristan Nydam started but they are hardly the same type of player and all the good work done in training on set pieces and the like, were no longer entirely valid.

Nydam said afterwards that because of the suddenness of his introduction, he did not even have time to get nervous!

Then of course on two minutes, a wicked deflection off the young kids face gave keeper Bartosz Bialkowski no chance and it was all uphill after that for the Blues.

The temptation is of course to start blaming manager Mick McCarthy for this defeat but I don’t think that would be fair. He played the side we all wanted him to play and if it had not been for some cruel luck and poor refereeing, we might have got something from the game.

Going a goal down so early at Portman Road did Town no favours and it gave our visitors the impetus they needed to attack us almost at will. The Blues struggled to impose themselves on their opponents and when the second one went in, it looked as if there was no way back but Martyn Waghorn had other ideas and smashed the ball home from close range four minutes before the interval.

The referee Simon Hooper was poor throughout and this just added to the fans frustrations. Bristol City were content to defend more fiercely in the second half and rely on counter-attacks but the whole team had a fluidity that was lacking from the home side.

The injury to David McGoldrick is serious cause for concern however and if there is one criticism that is justified, it is that McCarthy still persists with playing Freddie Sears down the flanks.

The result was never really in doubt, once another wicked deflection gave Bristol City a two goal cushion again but there were mitigating circumstances for this defeat so we should not be overly critical.

Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich