Ipswich Town won 3-0 at Shrewsbury Town yesterday afternoon. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
BIG CALL AGAINST
In the end it didn't matter one jot. But at the time we didn't know that would be the case.
With just six minutes on the clock, a well-weighted Sam Morsy pass over the top saw Kane Vincent-Young break the offside trap and leave keeper Marco Marosi stumbling with a good first touch. However, just as the trigger was being pulled to shoot into an unguarded net, defender Tom Flanagan crashed through the back of the Town attacker with a two-footed, scissored tackle.
Did he get a slither of ball? I'm not sure. And even if he did it was man first, ball second. Referee Neil Hair, a late replacement for this fixture, was unmoved though.
Either side of that incident, Ipswich struggled to find a rhythm. There were a string of loose passes. Sam Morsy was booked for a frustrated late trip. Might this be one of those days? Such fears were quickly quelled.
TY TAKES HIS CHANCE
Tyreece John-Jules broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with a goal born out of graft and guile.
First, the Arsenal loanee charged back to rob Shrews skipper Luke Leahy on the blindside. Then he turned, drove forwards, sat down Chey Dunkley with a body feint and coolly passed the ball into the bottom corner.
The 21-year-old, who replaced Freddie Ladapo in the starting XI as Town's central striker, had scored a vitally-important opener on his full league debut for the Blues.
Not only that, his movement and first touch was impressive throughout.
When subbed in the 74th minute, Town's travelling fans stood to warmly applaud the youngster's efforts.
"He was ready for it," said Kieran McKenna. "We wanted to be patient with him, we've had to hold the reins back a little bit because of the way he finished last season (injured at Sheffield Wednesday). We were determined not to push him too fast too soon and increase the chances of him having an issue.
"But he's worked hard behind the scenes and he deserved his chance today. His all-around game was good and he got the reward of the goal."
On the decision to deploy John-Jules as the central striker rather than as one of the two deeper lying forwards, McKenna explained: "That was where he was more natural as a young player. We have a lot of them. Conor Chaplin was a striker right though his career and he still tells me he's a number nine! Tyreece, I think, would tell you he's a number nine. Obviously we have Freddie (Ladapo) and Jacko (Kayden Jackson) who both consider themselves number nines.
"Versatility is very important. We know Tyreece can play in different roles. He's very good between the lines but he's also capable of playing back to goal and a bit higher up. We thought today, with the way they are set up defensively, having a number nine who dropped in more, played a little bit deeper and took the ball between the lines would suit the game plan well. I thought he did that very well and also showed he can compete with the centre-halves."
RIGHTING A WRONG
Town went into the break ahead. They hadn't hit top gear, but they were also clearly in the box seat. Shrewsbury had offered very little in attack.
Mind you, that had been the case at Montgomery Waters Meadow back in April. Then Cameron Burgess was dismissed for a wild lunge on the keeper and Shaun Whalley equalised late on with a bolt from the blue.
McKenna revealed afterwards that his players referenced that game at half-time. Within seven minutes of the restart, a patient, probing move ended with Conor Chaplin finding the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
That was effectively game, set and match. Confident Ipswich cruised towards the finishing line, keeping the ball, toying with the hosts and finally adding a far-from-flattering third in stoppage-time when substitute Jackson diverted in after Morsy's shot had been blocked on the line.
On a fixture-for-fixture basis, Town are already 11 points up on last season.
Bolton at home: 5-2 to 1-1. Newly-promoted side away early on (Cheltenham/Forest Green): 1-2 to 2-1.MK Dons at home: 2-2 to 3-0. Burton away: 1-2 to 1-0. Shrewsbury away: 1-1 to 3-0.
"We do make those sort of references because one of our key principles is to look for continuous improvement," said McKenna.
"That might come in a lot of different areas, not just on match days.
"But when you have a match where you felt you could have done something better previously, especially one from the back end of last season, like Shrewsbury was, it's an easy reference for us to make.
"It's not something we over emphasise, but the players are aware of those little things and it was them at half-time who were really clear that '1-0 isn't enough, we can't sit on this, we have to push hard, keep our concentration go for the second goal'."
LEFT-HAND LINK-UP
For the second successive game, Wes Burns had to sit out with a groin strain.
Last season, Ipswich would have struggled without their top-scoring talismanic right wing-back.
Now, however, with a significantly upgraded left side, the Blues have far more balance.
Leif Davis, back in the team for Greg Leigh, picked up where he left off against MK Dons. Game-by-game we're starting to see just why the Blues paid a seven-figure fee for his signature this summer.
Athletic and direct, he linked up nicely with Marcus Harness and John-Jules in the final third. It was his square pass which set up Chaplin for the killer second. He was involved in the build-up to the third too.
DEPTH MATTERS
Shrewsbury looked like a team that had run out of gas at the end of a week which had seen them win 2-1 at Wycombe and draw 0-0 at home to Derby.
Steve Cotterill had named just six players on his bench in midweek and used none of them. He then selected the same starting XI again for this game.
McKenna, by contrast, was able to keep his team fresh through some carefully thought out rotation.
After the 3-0 home win against MK Dons, there were three changes for the 1-0 win at Burton. Then there were five alterations for this match.
It was no surprise to see Chaplin and Davis return to the team in place of Sone Aluko and Greg Leigh. It wasn't a huge shock to see Kane Vincent-Young replace Jackson on the right either, given the latter had just completed his first 90 minutes in more than five months.
What was less expected was the John-Jules for Ladapo change and Burgess coming in for George Edmundson at the back.
"It's all things considered," explained the Blues boss. "It was about freshness, who is training well behind the scenes, the game plan, what we wanted from each position.
"We're confident in the squad and that all the boys know their jobs and are ready to help the team whenever called upon."
Jackson, Ladapo, Aluko and Kyle Edwards all stepped off the bench late on to keep Town's energy levels high to the end. Shrewsbury's tired players looked utterly demoralised by the end.
Unlike the Paul Lambert era, this no longer resembles rotation for the sake of rotation. It's calculated. This squad depth and genuine unity for the cause could well be Town's biggest weapon this season.
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