Town Up To Seventh After Important Home Win

Martyn Waghorn, David McGoldrick, Callum Connolly, Adam Webster and Jordan Spence all returned to the Town side for this one and it was a game that Ipswich really had to win.

The first half was a drab affair although in terms of possession Preston were on top. They had the best chance too when Ben Person tried to pass the ball home from close range only for Town keeper Bartosz Bialkowski to save the day with a tremendous stop.

This was a stop-start affair with lots of aerial duels and lots of head injuries but in the end, the player that had to leave the field was Cole Skuse who made way for Kevin Bru after 30 minutes to the obvious dismay of manager Mick McCarthy.

The game continued to be a rugged affair but finally came to life when Town were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box on the stroke of half time.

To the surprise of many it was Martyn Waghorn who stepped up to take it and not as expected free kick specialist Bersant Celina.

It turned out to be a good move because Waghorn evaded the wall and left the Preston keeper glued to his line as the ball screamed into the visitors net.

The second half was much better and Town increased their lead after 49 minutes when David McGoldrick got on the scoresheet. Jordan Spence provided the cross for Didz to head home emphatically to the delight of the home fans.

Arguably the icing on the cake was the third goal after 64 minutes, when Bersant Celina linked up with Jordan Spence and smashed the ball home off the underside of the bar to give Town a convincing win against a defensively weakened Preston North End.


Ipswich Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers (captain), Webster, Knudsen, Skuse (Bru 31), Connolly (Ward 66), Waghorn, McGoldrick, Celina, Garner.

Substitutes : Gerken, Iorfa, Sears, Nydam, Bru, Kenlock.


Preston North End: Maxwell, Fisher (Vermijl 37), Huntington (c), Boyle, O`Connor, Welsh (Gallagher 70, Barkhuizen, Pearson, Browne, Johnson (Harrop 63).


Substitutes: Hudson, Horgan, Harrop Gallagher, Mavididi, Robinson.

Match Referee: Andy Madley from West Yorkshire.



Attendance : 14,390