Ipswich Town 0-0 AFC Wimbledon: Blues pass 10 hours without a goal on another drab afternoon

The latest episode in the Blues’ ongoing endeavour to find the back of the net came in this afternoon’s 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon, following which Paul Cook’s men have now completed six successive games of football without troubling the scorers.

Four of those games ended in 0-0 draws, while the other two were 3-0 away defeats, one of which came at the hands of Wimbledon last week.

And in truth Ipswich were lucky not to lose this one, too, with David Cornell’s penalty save in the first half keeping the score level and the Welshman putting in an excellent display after replacing Tomas Holy between the sticks.

Ipswich keeper David Cornell saves a Joe Pigott penalty. (Image: Steve Waller)

Oli Hawkins, Aaron Drinan and Kayden Jackson were all tried in attack as Cook desperately searched for some kind of attacking threat, but it never really came.

There are just three more matches to play for the Blues this season, with the summer surely not coming soon enough for Cook and the thousands of supporters still watching on behind laptop screens.

Ipswich, for the record, are now six points off the play-off places ahead of matches with Swindon, Shrewsbury and Fleetwood to see out an increasingly miserable campaign.

Cook made three changes to his side as Oli Hawkins and Teddy Bishop replaced Kayden Jackson and Freddie Sears in attack, while Cornell came in for just a seventh league start for the club in place of Tomas Holy in goal.

Cornell was playing behind the central defensive pairing of Mark McGuinness and Luke Woolfenden, who were both needed to put in excellent blocks inside the opening few minutes of the game, as Wimbledon players found space inside the Town box.

Ipswich keeper David Cornell with an early second half save at the feet of Ayoub Assal. (Image: Steve Waller)

Town’s first chance came through a good move down the right flank, where Vincent-Young, Andre Dozzell and Hawkins combined to free Keanan Bennetts, who could only curl his cross harmlessly wide of the far post after advancing to the edge of the penalty area.

The Blues were living dangerously, though, with Jack Rudoni somehow placing the ball wide of the goal after becoming the latest Dons player to find space in the box, before Cornell superbly saved Luke O’Neill’s long-range effort.

The Town keeper stepped things up again a few minutes later as he left his legs behind to keep Pigott’s penalty out, following a tug in the box from Ward, before the Welshman was able to pounce on the rebound well.

Wimbledon continued to have the better of things, though, controlling much of the play before Gwion Edwards did well to win the ball back and then fire a shot over the top of the bar.

With Town’s goal drought approaching the 10-hour mark, Armando Dobra replaced Keanan Bennetts at the break, as the visitors started the half stronger again as Cornell was needed to dive in well at the feet of Ayoub Assal.

Town’s closest effort of the afternoon came as Pigott got in ahead of Hawkins and glanced a header off the top of his own crossbar, before Cole Skuse was brought off the bench in place of Bishop, a little after the hour mark.

Dobra was the first Town player to test Nikola Tzanev in the Wimbledon goal, with the Albanian youngster’s shot parried away, before Aaron Drinan was brought on for Hawkins.

Cornell saved Pigott’s free-kick well, before Town passed the 10-hour mark in their search for a goal, with Dobra the brightest spark as he twisted and turned in the final third in a bid to force a way through.

Kayden Jackson, summoned from the bench, forced a save from Tzanev, but that’s as good as it got as the Blues played out yet another goalless draw.

Nearly there.

Ipswich Town: Cornell; Vincent-Young, Woolfenden, McGuinness, Ward; Downes, Dozzell (Jackson, 77); Bishop (Skuse, 63), Edwards, Bennetts (Dobra, 46); Hawkins (Drinan, 68)

Subs: Holy, Chambers, Nsiala, Jackson

AFC Wimbledon: Tzanev, O'Neill (Alexander, 73); Nightingale, Heneghan, Guinness-Walker; Dobson, Woodyard, Rudoni, Assal (McLoughlin, 73), Longman, Pigott

Subs: Cox, Oksanen, Harrison, Kalambayi, Osew