Lee Martin got Ipswich Town off to a flying start but the Blues were made to pay for a dire second half display as Southend United fought back for a 1-1 friendly draw at Roots Hall.
Tamas Priskin was the most notable absentee from manager Paul Jewell’s lineup, the Hungarian left out of the squad altogether after taking a knock in training. New defender Ivar Ingimarsson also missed out once again, but Grant Leadbitter was restored to the midfield alongside Lee Bowyer. Meanwhile Michael Chopra began as a lone striker as Jewell opted for 4-5-1 for the first time this summer, meaning Luke Hyam was drafted in to fill the holding midfield role.
Bowyer sent a header across goal from a Josh Carson cross while Ryan Hall threatened from a free-kick for the hosts in the early exchanges. However, the game was brought to life just short of the quarter-hour by a spark of magic from Lee Martin, the midfielder cutting inside and firing a superb drive into the top corner to give Town a 1-0 lead.
Leadbitter struck wide from distance and Southend defender Bilel Mohsni thwarted Bowyer’s attempt to lob keeper Glenn Morris as the Blues threatened a second. They were somewhat halted on 25 minutes however when star striker Chopra, who appeared to have twisted his ankle earlier in the half, was taken off as a precaution to be replaced by Jason Scotland.
As the match drew towards the interval, Martin fired over before Carson and Damien Delaney headed off target. At the other end, Mohsni missed a great chance to convert from Hall’s delivery after Marton Fulop had failed to reach it, then Anthony Grant struck wide just before the half-time whistle.
Blues keeper Fulop was called into action soon after the restart, Tommy Smith playing a poor pass back to put in Mohsni – who was now playing a forward role for the hosts – but Fulop did just enough to divert the ball wide. The Hungarian was involved again a minute later, diving low to deny Grant.
Southend came very close to an equaliser on 62 minutes when Mohsni’s header found the bar. However, the League One side deservedly found a breakthrough just four minutes later, Sean Clohessy’s cross nodded home by Neil Harris to make it 1-1.
Town had made a number of substitutions shortly before the equaliser, Jack Ainsley, Andy Drury and Colin Healy coming on for Bowyer, Hyam and Carlos Edwards. Scotland was then denied by Morris before Nathan Ellington joined the action in place of Carson.
Southend star Mohsni was booked after disputes with a number of Town players before he was substituted as the match took a somewhat bad-tempered turn. However, the Blues were struggling to make any real impact in the last ten minutes, substitutes Healy and Ellington both failing to score before the final whistle confirmed a second successive friendly draw for Jewell’s side.
Whilst pre-season results should never be taken too seriously, Town’s second half performance in particular was a major disappointment for Jewell following a decent enough first half. The Ipswich boss will be hopeful of bringing in some more new faces in the very near future as the new season draws ever closer, with just two weeks and two pre-season matches left for the first team before the Blues kick off against Bristol City on 6 August.
Ipswich: Fulop, Edwards (Ainsley 63), Smith, Delaney, Kennedy, Martin, Leadbitter, Hyam (Drury 65), Bowyer (Healy 65), Carson (Ellington 72), Chopra (Scotland 25) – Not used: Lee-Barrett, Cresswell.
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