Ipswich Town beat Accrington Stanley 2-0 this afternoon. Andy Warren hands out his player ratings.
Tomas Holy
The big goalkeeper made a good save from Matt Butcher to his left before getting away with rocketing a clearance into Andre Dozzell’s stomach and seeing Colby Bishop poke the rebound wide of an empty net. He made another good save from Tariq Uwakwe’s free-kick and excellently claimed a low ball through traffic before the break. The goalkeeper made a few questionable decisions but you can’t fault his shot-stopping as he made an excellent save to his left to keep Seamus Conneely’s deflected effort out in the second period. He dealt with high balls well. 7
Luke Chambers
A very solid afternoon from the skipper as he won his headers, tackled well, kept possession and looked to move the ball forward. He tried to pass low into forwards but didn’t always have options and had to turn back during the first half and had an on-going battle with the officials throughout, which ultimately earned him a yellow card. 7
Toto Nsiala
Like his skipper, Nsiala put in another good performance in this game. We know what we’re going to get with him and it’s coming with greater consistency this season. His performance was a good one over the 90 minutes, including some big headers and clearances against a physical opponent. It’s not always conventional but it’s effective. 7
James Wilson
These ratings are becoming a little repetitive when it comes to Wilson, who once again put in a display where you get to the end of the game and come to the realisation that he’s performed excellently. His heading was excellent, as was his tackling and, as has often been the case so far this season, he made some really useful blocks. He’s understated but performing excellently. 8
Myles Kenlock
Another start for the left-back due to the continued absence of Stephen Ward, with the academy product handling the game well defensively without being able to get forward enough during the first period. Made a few good interceptions, was involved in the opening goal and grew in confidence throughout the game. 7
Andre Dozzell
The academy product was by no means poor in the opening period, but the Town midfield struggled to get on top of their opponents. He stepped things up a gear after the break and helped his side do the same, demanding the ball, being increasingly vocal and looking to make possession count. He was involved in the first goal and generally made Town tick in the second period. 7
Emyr Huws
Like the rest of the Town midfield he found things a little tough in the first half, not getting on the ball enough to make things happen. He improved after the break, helping Town move up the pitch before being replaced by Nolan with 20 minutes remaining. 6
Teddy Bishop
You can never fault Bishop’s effort or willingness to get on the ball to try and make things happen - qualities which were in evidence today - but the midfielder wasn’t able to drive forward with the ball at his feet anywhere near as often as he has during the early weeks of the season. He improved after the break and has clearly got a taste for goals, so nearly adding to his tally with a driven shot from outside the box which flee narrowly wide. Would have been screaming at team-mate Freddie Sears, had he not found the net for the second goal, with Bishop well placed for a tap-in. 6
Gwion Edwards
The Welshman was back on the right flank for this one, following his excellent display on the left last week, and looked the most likely to make things happen in the first half using his pace. His highlight was an excellent run which saw him nutmeg Callum Burgess before delivering a cross which Sears couldn’t convert. He switched to the left in the second and moved inside well to finish superbly with his right foot, finding the bottom corner back across the goalkeeper. That’s five for the season now. He’s clearly playing with confidence – long may it continue. 8
Freddie Sears
Back in the side on the left flank, Sears was the man who had Town’s best chances in the opening period. He was slipped in by Alan Judge before Toby Savin stopped his one-on-one, before he did well to remain patient and let Edwards’ cross fall to him before the Stanley keeper saved again. Made same clever runs to give his team-mates options as Town were penned in before moving into the middle in the second period where he was involved much more, playing the pass for Edwards to put Town ahead and then finishing superbly for his own strike. 7
Alan Judge
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Judge was named as the central striker in the absence of Oli Hawkins and Kayden Jackson, with the Irishman asked to contest a physical mismatch against the tough Accrington backline. While Ipswich didn’t get going as a team in the first-half, Judge had some good moments as he dropped deep and then looked to feed either Edwards or Skuse. If he had been lining up as his favoured No.10, rather than out of position, in this contest we would be talking about him having a good half He switched to the right flank for the second half and looked much more at home, laying on Sears’ goal. A good display. 7
Jon Nolan (for Huws, 74)
He only played for 15 minutes but was able to make a good impact during his time on the field, getting into the game quickly in important areas. He’ll be hopeful of starting on Tuesday night at Doncaster. 6
Keanan Bennetts (for Judge, 84)
His six minutes on the field saw him have two chances as the Accrington defence opened up, with the goalkeeper saving his stoppage time effort. He looked bright. n/a
Tyreece Simpson (for Sears, 90)
The young striker made it off the bench in stoppage time and could maybe have had a chance to shoot, but was unselfish and opted to pass instead. n/a
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