Town Show Signs Of Attacking Flair!

Until Tom Lawrence got booked he looked a real threat going forward against Villa but I do think because of the amount of niggly fouls he had accumulated and that yellow card he received that it was wise for manager Mick McCarthy to take him off when he did after 60 minutes because the last thing Town needed was to see red in an evenly fought contest.

Although the game lacked goalmouth action for the most part, when our manager brought on Luke Varney and Leon Best, suddenly the blues looked a real threat and it was just a pity that he left it until the 87th minute to bring these two strikers on.

I feel sure that he had been a bit braver and introduced them about ten minutes earlier we could have ended up with all three points in the end.

Everything started to happen in the dying embers of the game and when the officials told us that we had an extra eight minutes to play, it seemed to galvanise the team even more!

Sears came close on more than one occasion and with almost the last kick of the game struck a post and both Leon Best And Cole Skuse had efforts cleared off the line so it was all hands to the pump for the away side, as Villa hung on for a priceless draw.

Perhaps the game – or indeed the result did not live up to expectations but we were playing a club that has splashed the cash having been relegated from the Premier last season and have the strength in depth to get much closer to the top as the season progresses.

From an Ipswich Town perspective the most encouraging aspect had to be our greater attacking threat and another outstanding display from Adam Webster at the back who saved Luke Chambers blushes.

Leon Best looked a handful when he was introduced and if he can regain full fitness then I think he has what it takes with the right kind of application to force his way into the side.

Tom Lawrence too looked impressive and Freddie Sears showed real signs that he is getting back to his very best as well.

In a few short weeks our squad will be boosted also hopefully by the return to the squad of Jonny Williams so there are some encouraging signs because at the moment our main problem appears to be a lack of goals.

Next up is Leeds United away and just our luck that we play them just when they have found some form it seems.

Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich