Ipswich Town were beaten 2-0 by Crawley Town this evening. Andy Warren hands out his player grades.
David Cornell
The 29-year-old captained the side and played some good early balls from the back before being beaten for the opening goal and then, having had little else to do, seeing Brian Galach fire excellently into his bottom corner for his and Crawley’s second. Was vocal throughout, encouraging his young players. 6
Dylan Crowe
The 19-year-old England youth international has had to wait longer than many expected for his Town debut but showed some good early touches as he got up and down the right flank. Was maybe a little narrow for opening goal, as Ipswich allowed a cross, but responded well in the second half. 6
Levi Andoh
The Amsterdam-born defender was signed last year and has performed well in the Under 23s, prior to winning a debut. He looked nervous early on often opting to play the ball back to Cornell, but also made some timely interceptions during his first appearance and grew in confidence as this match went on as he defended well. 7
Corrie Ndaba
The young Irishman would perhaps have hoped for more minutes in the first-team by this point in the season, having impressed during the summer. He was a senior member of this side but found things a little tough during the first half, getting rolled by Ricardo German early and misplacing a few passes. He did make some good interceptions, though. 6
Tommy Smith
A first start for the 18-year-old and some solid moments at the back without being able to get forward on too many occasions. He will benefit from this experience. 6
Zanda Siziba
The 17-year-old has played much of his football on the wing but was used as the deepest of three midfielders in this one and gave the ball away a few times early on, as Ipswich struggled to get a foothold in midfield. It’s clear he’s a talented young player, though and he improved as the match went on. 6
Allan Viral
The teenage Frenchman was making his full debut and showed some really nice touches, but like his midfield team-mates then found it hard to move the ball into Tyreece Simpson and build attacks before he was replaced. 6
Liam Gibbs
The midfielder was perhaps the standout young player in the previous EFL Trophy game against Peterborough, making Town’s second goal, and showed why he’s so highly-rated again in this one. His touch is good, he has the right ideas and looks to move forward. 6
Ross Crane
Crane was picked up from non-league side Bury Town in the summer and was making his first start in this game, having come off the bench against Gillingham. He had some tricky moments as he showed good touch to beat a man and reach the box, without being over to force an effort on goal, and perhaps looked the most likely Town player to make something happen before he was withdrawn. 7
Keanan Bennetts
The Borussia Monchengladbach loanee was one of just two survivors from the weekend FA Cup game and, like in the Portsmouth clash, had some moments where he was able to get on the ball and drive towards goal and also had penalty appeals waved away as his cross appeared to be handled. Town would perhaps have wanted more from him in a game like this. 5
Tyreece Simpson
The physical striker didn’t see an awful lot of the ball in this game and at times had to feed off scraps. We’ve seen how effective he can be in previous games, though and will have benefitted from another 90 minutes. 6
Zak Brown (for Crane, 68)
This was a debut for Brown, who has impressed during Under 23 football over the last two seasons. He threatened early with a cross before also having a shot just wide during a 20-minute cameo in which he looked like he could potentially find a route back into the game. 7
Jack Manly (for Viral, 68)
The young attacker’s introduction means he’s now the second-youngest player in the club’s history, only behind Connor Wickham. He was bright, played with purpose and looked to move forward when possible during his 20 minutes on the field. 6
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