In this regular feature, we take a look at what happened on this day in Ipswich Town’s history, selecting one particular year, this time from 13 years ago when Jim Magilton’s men went goal crazy against Coventry City
Jim Magilton’s Ipswich Town returned to top form against visiting Coventry City, on September 22, 2007, to continue their early season goal-gluts in the Championship.
Town had thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 on the opening day, but had been walloped themselves 4-0 away at champions-elect West Brom the weekend before the Sky Blues visited Portman Road for a Saturday tea-time kick-off.
All in all, it was to be a campaign of scoring goals for fun, but also leaking goals by the bucketful, the latter costing Town a play-off berth – they ended up finishing just one point and a couple of places outside the top six.
In fact, only the top two of West Brom and Stoke City scored more goals than Town’s 65 from 24 Championship fixtures,while Magilton’s men had the joint poorest defensive record of all the top 10 teams.
Coventry were never at the races against rampant Town, in front of the Sky TV cameras.
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Centre-half Jason de Vos scored one of his only two goals for the season, while Pablo Couago netted a brace and Jon Walters added the other.
Walters was to end up the season’s top scorer with 13 goals, just in front of Counago (12), a summer signing from Malaga, and Alan Lee (12).
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Iain Dowie’s Coventry were soon trailing, De Vos climbing highest to head home Owen Garvan’s 10th minute free-kick.
Counago doubled the lead on 24 minutes, after outwitting two defenders inside box, and Walters netted the third with a thunderous header from Gary Roberts’ 40th minute cross.
Jay Tabb, a future Ipswich player, went very close to pulling a goal back for Coventry early in the second period, but it was all over as a contest by the 57th minute as Counago buried a loose ball after Lee’s header had been blocked by keeper Konstantopoulos.
The visitors bagged a 70th minute consolation through Stephen Hughes’ superb 30-yard shot.
In the final analysis, Coventry finished just one point and one place above the relegation zone, with the trio of Colchester United, Scunthorpe United and Leicester City suffering relegation into League One.
IPSWICH: Alexander, Wright, de Vos, Bruce (sub Casement, 78), Harding, Gavin, Miller, Roberts (sub Peters, 74), Walters, Counago (sub Clarke, 88), Lee. Unused subs: Legwinski, Supple.
Attendance: 18,840
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