FIRST teamers Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Josh Carson got the goals as Ipswich Town drew 2-2 with Chelsea in a reserve team friendly in this afternoon.

Playing at the Premier League club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey, Emmanuel-Thomas gave the Blues an early lead in front of watching first team boss Paul Jewell.

However, the hosts soon showed their quality as two super finishes from Romelu Lukaku and Philipp Prosenik turned the score on its head.

Carson rounded off a good move to pull Town level early in the second-half though, while Jack Ainsley almost won it for Blues when he hit the post from Emmanuel-Thomas’ cross.

“It was a great work out for the boys against a Chelsea side that had three of four players who have played for their first-team,” Town coach Sean McCarthy told the club website.

“We were unlucky to go in 2-1 down at the break. They caught us on the break with some quality play and quality finishes as well. They probably only had three chances and scored with two of them. That’s the difference at that level.

“We stuck at it though, got level and could have won it at the end when Jack hit the post.

“That’s Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham we have played now and they are great games for us to have. We ended the match with six youth team players on the pitch and they will learn from that experience.

“JET (Emmanuel-Thomas) worked hard on and off the ball, Luke Hyam did well in midfield and Tommy (Smith) and Jack (Ainsley) were solid at the back so, all in all, we got a lot out of the 90 minutes.”