Freddie Sears’ penalty was the difference as Ipswich Town beat MK Dons 1-0 in their penultimate pre-season friendly of the summer this evening.
The forward, who started in a No.10 role having also played as a wide man during pre-season, confidently slotted home after Grant Ward was felled in the penalty area.
It was a comfortable evening for Ipswich, who kept the ball well and created more chances than they have in recent pre-season games.
New forward Ellis Harrison started the game just 24 hours after signing from Bristol Rovers and performed well as he led the Ipswich line ahead of Freddie Sears, with Gwion Edwards, Grant Ward pushing high ahead of Cole Skuse and Flynn Downes when the Blues had the ball.
Harrison had a first sight at goal in an Ipswich shirt inside three minutes, as he latched onto Ward’s ball before having a initial effort blocked, before then firing wide with his second attempt.
Sears had a shot blocked and fired an effort wide as he looked to get into the game from a slightly withdrawn forward role, before Harrison showcased his aerial ability with two bullet efforts which flew wide of the post. The Welshman then has a through-ball blocked as he latched onto a through-ball from captain Luke Chambers, during what was an impressive opening 45 minutes in an Ipswich shirt.
The Blues were ahead a little over 10-minutes into the second period, as Sears confidently slotted home the penalty after Ward had been dragged to the floor.
And that is how it stayed.
Paul Hurst’s men now have just one more warm-up game before they begin the real business of Championship football, with the dress rehearsal coming against West Ham at Portman Road on Saturday.
Ipswich Town: Bialkowski; Spence, Woolfenden, Chambers, Knudsen (Kenlock 58); Skuse (Dozzell 46), Downes, Edwards, Ward; Sears (Lankester 82) Harrison (Roberts 62)
Subs: Gerken, Emmanuel, Waghorn, Ndaba,
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