Sam Morsy has successfully completed his tightrope walk.
The Town skipper went nine games without a booking, culminating in Saturday’s victory over Shrewsbury, meaning any lingering threat of a two-game ban has passed.
Game 37 of Ipswich’s league season marked the final amnesty of the campaign but, had he been carded a 10th time before then, he would have missed two vital matches.
Such has been the skipper’s performance levels over the last few months, that would have been a real blow to an Ipswich side who must continuie to be winning machines between now and the end of the season if the campaign is to end in promotion.
Maybe less of a blow now Massimo Luongo and Dominic Ball are in the midfield picture, but a huge blow nonetheless. Kieran McKenna will not want to go into battle, in any game, without his inspirational skipper.
It turns out we needn’t have worried too much. While you always feared Morsy may be required to stick in a late foot and take the hit to break up a dangerous counter attack, there was never really a time you feared Morsy’s wonderfully aggressive approach to midfield play would end in trouble.
He’s proven himself to be a master of playing right on the limit but knowing exactly where the line is. We’ve seen it time and again in games where he’s picked up bookings but never felt in danger of turning that first yellow into a red - and we’ve seen it again over these last nine games.
The skipper has form for this, having gone 14 matches without a card in the exact same scenario, during a 2017/18 season which saw Morsy’s Wigan side win the League One title.
He knows what he’s doing and, it must be said, his level of performance has not been impacted in any way by the looming threat of a ban.
“That’s a big plus for us, there’s no doubt about it,” McKenna said after Morsy came through Saturday’s game. “Losing him for two games would have been a big negative.
“It’s good that he’s cleared that hurdle. He’s been playing with terrific discipline, authority, leadership, drive - everything that you’d want.
“Of course, you don’t want him to get to nine yellows in the first place, but he does play right on the edge so he’s always going to pick up some yellows. But I think he’s managed the situation very well and kept his performance levels really, really high.”
But it’s not only Morsy who deserves praise when it comes to disciplinary matters.
The Blues sit second in the fair play table, with only Peterborough holding a better record than Kieran McKenna’s disciplined Blues.
Their 62 yellow cards put them in the middle of the pack in that category, but the fact Town have not picked up a single red card this season means they have accrued only 62 disciplinary points, one yellow card behind Peterborough. Posh’s record is the best in the league.
Ipswich have only lost one player for one game to suspension in the league this season. That was Morsy missing the victory over Port Vale in October, having picked up his fifth yellow of the campaign.
While McKenna would never want to be without his skipper, Town won 3-2 on a night which could be seen as something of a blessing, at it proved a breakthrough evening for youngster Cameron Humphreys, who scored and performed superbly throughout.
It was a night which proved to us all that the teenager, with undoubted talent, could handle League One football. He’s gone on to play 17 league matches this season and, during a spell where Lee Evans, Ball and Panutche Camara were all injured, and before Luongo was up to speed, he was a vital member of the team.
Town have lost players to injury this season but avoiding suspensions, and always having key players available, has been a real strength for Town.
With the amnesty now passed, Morsy would need to pick up six more yellows in the final nine matches of the season to be in danger of suspension again, while no other Ipswich players are anywhere close to a ban.
The threshold now sits at 15 cards, which would earn a three-match suspension, with Wes Burns (six), Luke Woolfenden (five) and Marcus Harness (four) the next most-carded players in league matches for the Blues.
For the record, Accrington Stanley are the most ill-disciplined team in the league, having picked up five red cards and 86 yellows, combining for 111 disciplinary points.
Fleetwood, Shrewsbury, Forest Green and Cheltenham make up the rest of the top five, while Plymouth and Portsmouth are among a group of clubs to have picked up four red cards this season.
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