Town Edging Ever Closer To Promotion

We drew but so too did the only two challengers for our play-off place so it was very much a case of maintaining the status quo in the promotion race as things stand.

Mick McCarthy said wisely before the game that it would be inviting problems if Town were to go to Molineux and play for a draw.

As he pointed out the Wolves supporters are a fickle lot and if they were to score first then we would have our backs to the wall.

If we started on the front foot however there was every chance we could silence the home fans with an early goal.

As it turned out the goal came midway through the first half for the blues and it was ex-Town defender Richard Stearman who headed into his own net thanks to a lot of encouragement from our very own Tommy Smith!

You could see that the Wolves players were visibly shaken by that goal and it took them until after the break to threaten the Ipswich goal – apart that is from a shot the grazed the Ipswich post just before the interval.

Wolves got back on level terms after 50 minutes through Benik Afobe, who guided the ball home from close range after a looping deflection fell into his path.

From that moment on Town defended masterfully and Christophe Berra was the stand out performer at the back with a series of crucial interventions when the pressure began to mount.

Our manager made just one change for this one, recalling Jay Tabb for Stephen Hunt but the Irishman did get a look in on 75 minutes when he replaced Teddy Bishop who had worked tirelessly for the cause, as did the whole team in truth.

Mick McCarthy will be content with this draw and the manner in which the Tractor Boys acquired it.

It was never going to be easy once Wolves got back into the match with 40 minutes still left on the clock but the home side looked nervous and their supporters were restless throughout this encounter, which to some extent played into the blues hands.

With just two games of the season remaining, Ipswich Town are in a good place and whether they make it to the play-off’s is now in their own hands.

Next up is Nottingham Forest at home next Saturday and with expectations high and the prospects of a big crowd in attendance, this is a game that just might just define our season.


Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich