Town Deserved More Than Another Score Draw

Ipswich Town may have had ten percent less possession last night but they had more shots on target and twice as many corners.

Over the 90 minutes, the Blues probably deserved to win last night at Portman Road but some poor refereeing, and some naive last minute defending, ensured we had to make do with a point.

Atdhe Nuhiu headed the 95th-minute equaliser to give Sheffield Wednesday a share of the spoils, when it looked as if the Tractor Boys had weathered the storm.

This was a bitter pill to swallow because if it had not been for some naivety from substitute Freddie Sears, who lost possession when he really should have kicked the ball to safety, the three points would have been ours.

For a few of minutes in those five minutes of added time, Ipswich were camped in the Wednesday half by the corner flag doing all the right things, and then a moment of madness, gave the visitors one last chance to break away and equalize and of course, as luck would have it, they duly obliged.

Referee Keith Stroud is a name that is often remembered for entirely the wrong reasons and last night was no exception.

For some inexplicable reason a horrendous high boot tore into the midriff of David McGoldrick after just four minutes of this live televised match, and as he went down in a heap, Stroud decided to wave play on. No problem there but it was what he did afterwards that aggrieved everyone. He did absolutely nothing!

The talk in the commentary box was about whether Dutchman Glenn Loovens would be shown a red but in the end he was not even given a card, to the clear amazement of all concerned.

Manager Mick McCarthy said afterwards that it outrageous that the Sheffield Wednesday captain got away with it. ‘ I think he will need surgery tomorrow (McGoldrick) and it`s an appalling challenge. He didn’t mean it, but if I sit here with a gun in my pocket and I kill you then I wouldn’t have meant it because I was just standing up.’

An early red card would have swung the game in the Blues favour but the four goals when they came, all occurred in the second half and this time it was Ipswich who had to suffer the ignominy of a late goal that meant that Town had to settle for a point.

In our last match against Hull City, which also incidentally ended in a 2-2 draw, it was our turn to steal the points with that late Jordan Spence strike so I guess what goes around comes around.

Town will now have to pick themselves up for their next game in a couple of days away to high flying Aston Villa but if you could bag their performance from last night and they could produce it again on Saturday, then few of us would be complaining – whatever the final outcome.



Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich