Ipswich Town came from behind to beat Shrewsbury 2-1 this afternoon. Andy Warren hands out his player grades.R
Tomas Holy
The vast majority of the Czech’s game was spent either rolling the ball to the feet of defenders or playing the ball on the floor with his own. He was able to deal with the two Shrewsbury shots from open play well enough and collected some tough low balls. He got something on Oliver Norburn’s penalty but couldn’t keep it out. With his feet he was up and down, with a few wayward balls when trying to switch it to the flanks. 5
Luke Chambers
Usually the skipper’s voice has boomed around empty football grounds this season but he seemed that little bit more subdued today. He defended well enough, getting Mark McGuinness out of trouble on a couple of occasions, but had very little impact going forward. 5
Mark McGuinness
Took a bang inside the opening 10 seconds before things got worse as he was found flat footed under a high ball forward before then clipping the heels of Shaun Whalley to give away as clear a penalty as you’ll see. He survived more penalty appeals after appearing to bring down Marc Pugh and had further awkward moments throughout the game as he was caught out of position on a number of occasions. 4
Toto Nsiala
The defender kept his place despite Luke Woolfenden returning to the side and had an up-and-down afternoon. In a defensive sense he was fine, winning his fair share of balls, but he had some moments to forget with ball at feet. One extremely nervous moment towards the end when he appeared to bring down Ryan Barnett inside the box. Thankfully the referee waved appeals away. 4
Stephen Ward
The Irishman won’t let you down at left-back but he still doesn’t seem to be quite up to speed following his Achilles trouble earlier in the season. He had some good defensive moments but found it hard to get beyond Freddie Sears down the left. 5
Brett McGavin
A shining light in an incredibly poor first half as he took control of things early and looked to move his side around the field. He seemed to be playing with an intensity higher than many of his team-mates and that served him well as he filled in for Andre Dozzell. Maybe tailed off a little as the game went on but that was maybe too be expected. 5
Jon Nolan
Sadly for the midfielder the game against his former club lasted a little over 20 minutes as he left the game holding his groin. He had a few neat touches prior to his departure, the best of them an angled ball into the box which nearly connected with Alan Judge. 5
Teddy Bishop
Like McGavin, Bishop was a rare bright spot during his time on the field as he, like he always does, looked to drive forward whenever he got the ball. It’s a quality lacking in many areas of Town’s side. So the fact he suffered any injury towards the end of the first half and didn’t ever fully recover before leaving the game soon after the restart was a real blow. It sounds as if he will be out for a while, sadly. 6
Alan Judge
The Irishman started this game with an excellent pass to try and get his side moving but things began to go wrong from that point, with plenty of loose balls and poor touches, without being able to influence the game in meaningful areas from his wide position. There were moments where he looked like making something, notably an impressive flicked pass through to Kayden Jackson, but it never happened regularly enough. His big chance saw him slide in at the far post and turn Freddie Sears’ cross against the woodwork from three yards out. Had he gone with his left foot, rather than his right, he would surely have scored. It was his shot at the end which ultimately brought Jack Lankester’s equaliser. 4
Freddie Sears
The forward was back in the side and started on the left wing, where he worked hard with little output during the first half. He beat his man on a couple of occasions to cross and was beaten out on others, with his last act before being replaced seeing him nip away and cross for Judge to hit the post. 4
Kayden Jackson
A start through the middle for the striker, who had some good moments running the channels and one shot down the throat of the keeper, while also finding himself a little isolated at times. Worked the ball towards goal for Judge’s chance before being replaced. 4
Jack Lankester (for Nolan, 22)
The youngster was into this game quicker than he probably imagined as he replaced Nolan and he quickly brought some invention to the Town attacking after being deployed as a No.10. His risky passes didn’t always come off but they looked the most likely to make something happen before he ultimately popped up with the winner. 6
Emyr Huws (for Bishop, 50)
The Welshman came into this game but, while moving the ball around well enough, wasn’t able to impact it high up the pitch. He may well be needed to start on Tuesday. 5
James Norwood (for Jackson, 66)
The former Tranmere man brings a little more bite in the final third but wasn’t able to offer much of a goal threat during his time on the field. He could well start on Tuesday night. 5
Keanan Bennetts (for Sears, 66)
Town needed something more from the wide areas when the Gladbach loanee was called upon from the bench and, while not having too many opportunities to run at his man, did produce the cross which Ethan Ebanks-Landell turned into his own net. 5
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