Paul Hurst’s wait for a first Ipswich Town win goes on following tonight’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Derby County.
The Blues lost at Pride Park for the first time in nearly 12 years as goals from Joe Ledley and former Ipswich loanee Tom Lawrence ensured the visitors left with nothing.
Hurst’s men struggled to keep the ball in midfield and left strikers Ellis Harrison and Kayden Jackson isolated in the lone forward role during their shifts on the pitch, resulting in little action for Rams goalkeeper Scott Carson.
It’s now just two points from four Championship games so far for Hurst, with his next chance to pick up the illusive first victory coming at boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
A fast start has been a notable feature of the Blues under Paul Hurst, but it was not in evidence on this occasion.
It was Derby who looked the more likely to make things happy in the early stages, with the Rams’ midfield retaining the ball better and feeding Mason Bennett and Tom Lawrence in wide areas. The best they produced, though, was a blocked Lawrence free-kick and a flashed shot from David Nugent which flew past the post.
Ipswich were finding it harder to keep the ball and harder still to bring Ellis Harrison into the game as the Welshman once again toiled in attack during the first period, with Grant Ward proving the best offensive outlet for the Blues. Indeed, the former Tottenham man was the only Ipswich player to test Scott Carson in the Ipswich goal, as his shot skipped up off the turf and was collected by the former England international.
The visitors came more into the contest as the half went on, with neither side able to break the deadlock before the break, with the pattern continuing after the interval.
However, it was the Rams who took the lead as a half-cleared corner fell to the feet of Wales international Ledley, who fired his shot home into the top corner from the edge of the box.
It was soon 2-0, with a familiar face on the scoresheet as Lawrence first won a free-kick off of Toto Nsiala on the edge of the box, before rifling his set-piece past a wrong-footed Bartosz Bialkowski in the Ipswich goal. The Pole got a hand to the ball but it wasn’t strong enough to keep it out.
Hurst brought Kayden Jackson into the game and try and drag his side back into the contest, but the Blues were unable to harness the pace of the lightning-quick 24-year-old as they fell to defeat.
Derby County: Carson; Bogle, Keogh, Tomori, Forsyth; Bryson, Evans (Ledley 27), Mount; Bennett (Jozefzoon 69), Lawrence, Nugent (Marriott 77)
Subs: Roos, Wisdom, Lowe, Ledley, Waghorn,
Ipswich Town: Bialkowski; Donacien, Chambers, Nsiala, Knudsen; Chalobah, Skuse (Downes 55), Nolan; Ward, Edwards (Roberts 75), Harrison (Jackson 63)
Subs: Gerken, Spence, Kenlock, Downes, Sears
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here