Ipswich Town’s unbeaten start to League One life continued this afternoon as the Blues secured a 1-0 victory from a hotly-contested game at Fleetwood.
Ipswich Town's unbeaten start to League One life continued this afternoon as the Blues secured a 1-0 victory from a hotly-contested game at Fleetwood.
The winner came from a familiar source as, just like against Tranmere a week ago, a Luke Garbutt free-kick, early in the second half, was spilled by the goalkeeper to give Kayden Jackson the chance to gobble up the rebound.
The goal takes Jackson to six for the season and clear of strike partner James Norwood, who limped out of this game in the second half, as the Blues' top scorer for the season.
But he should really have had two as, on 88 minutes, the forward pushed a penalty wide of the post after stuttering his run-up, having been felled in the box by Jimmy Dunne.
It was case of third time lucky for Ipswich in the penalty stakes after Jackson and Jon Nolan had earlier been chopped down in the area, with referee Carl Boyeson waving away the appeals despite them looking clear decisions to make.
The fiery contest included 10 bookings as the sides sitting first and third, heading into the game, went head-to-head and, after some nervy moments, six minutes of stoppage time and a second yellow card for James Wilson at the death, the points were heading to Suffolk.
The win extends the Blues' lead at the top of League One to four points, with Lambert's men also having a game in hand over Wycombe in second heading into an international break where the two would have met, were it not for Town's flurry of call-ups.
Lambert made just one change to his side following last weekend's victory over Tranmere, bringing Luke Woolfenden back into the side in place of Alan Judge, which allowed Cole Skuse to move into a true midfield role.
Both sides spent the opening exchanges feeling each other out, with Fleetwood having slightly the better of the play and appearing to match up the Blues' 3-5-2 system for much of the opening period.
The contest was a physical one, with Town striker James Norwood the first Blue in the book as he charged back to track Paul Coutts' run and brought them midfielder down with a lunging tackle.
The first Town opening came thanks to a raking Luke Woolfenden pass which sailed over the head of Lewie Coyle with pinpoint accuracy, dropping onto the boot of Luke Garbutt, who took the ball inside and dragged a shot just wide of the Fleetwood goal.
After Kane Vincent-Young was crowded out as he looked to work his way inside with his step-overs, just as he did to score against Tranmere a week ago, another excellent Garbutt delivery was headed over the bar by Norwood who couldn't quite adjust his body to meet the delivery cleanly enough to hit the target.
Luke Chambers was needed to stretch out a long leg to stop Ched Evans from threading his side through on Tomas Holy, with the Czech goalkeeper operating well inside his box to claim a corner before big centre-half Harry Souttar from steaming onto a header and finding the net.
Gwion Edwards replaced Vincent-Young at the break, with the former Colchester man surely picking up a knock, with the Welshman's first act to clear a dangerous free-kick into the box after James Wilson was booked for a foul on Wes Burns.
The corresponding corner saw Jackson race away, taking advantage of a loose Coyle touch, but the striker opted to square to Jon Nolan, who was unable to reach his pass, when he probably should have had an effort of his own.
But there was no stopping the striker just a few minutes later.
His opener came from a familiar source as, in a repeat of last week's second goal against Tranmere, a 25-yard Garbutt free-kick was spilled by goalkeeper Alex Cairns, allowing Jackson to follow up and find the net for his sixth of the season.
Nolan should surely have had a penalty when he was dragged down inside the box when looking to meet Norwood's cut-back, but referee Boyeson left Lambert and his staff incensed as he let play go on despite having an excellent view of the incident.
Evans fired a warning shot wide as substitute Paddy Madden's header caused trouble in the box, before Norwood was replaced by Danny Rowe.
There was another flashpoint as Edwards' late tackle on Coutts earned him a booking, while Danny Andrew was also cautioned for grabbing the Welshman by the scruff of the neck.
Then came the second penalty appeal of the afternoon.
This time it was Jackson who looked to have earned a spot kick as he jinked past Souttar and was crudely brought down. The striker didn't appeal, assuming the penalty had been awarded, but he and the rest of the Ipswich party were livid when it became clear the appeals had been waved away.
After Ashley Hunter's knockdown fell agonisingly ahead of Evans for the hosts, the Blues did finally have a penalty of their own when Jackson was felled by Dunne, who was booked, but the striker put his effort wide of the post.
Six minutes of added time came up on the board, with Wilson dismissed just a couple into that, but Ipswich did eventually hang on to win.
Fleetwood Town: Cairns; Coyle, Souttar, Dunne, Andrew; Coutts, Rossiter, Dempsey (Hunter 77); Burns, Morris (Madden 59), Evans
Subs: Gilks, Clarke, Biggins, Sowerby Sheron
Ipswich Town: Holy; Vincent-Young (Edwards 46), Chambers, Woolfenden, Wilson, Garbutt; Skuse, Downes, Nolan, Jackson (Huws 90), Norwood (Rowe 71)
Subs: Norris, Dozzell, Judge, Georgiou
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