Ipswich Town lost 2-1 at Portsmouth yesterday. Andy Warren looks at some of the events surrounding the game.

Job done

Ipswich Town lost this weekend but, thankfully, none of the Blues players followed in the footsteps of former England goalkeeper Joe Hart in the aftermath.

The Tottenham stopper was embarrassed on Thursday night as he posted ‘Job Done’ and a big green tick on Instagram, appearing to celebrate a 3-0 Spurs victory against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League. The only problem was, they actually lost and exited the competition as a result.

He later blamed the incident on an error by his ‘social media team’.

East Anglian Daily Times: Joe Hart apologised after this social media blunder this weekJoe Hart apologised after this social media blunder this week (Image: Joe Hart/Instagram)

You won’t be surprised to learn that Ipswich players don’t have people tweeting and posting on Instagram for them, with the Town squad capable of composing their own messages and realising when their team has won and lost.

That’s why the squad were almost silent in the hours after Saturday’s defeat, with Armando Dobra the only member of the team to post anything at all, sharing one of our images of him in action as he returned to the side after two months away.

Social media can be a murky world, especially for athletes in the heat of battle. Sometimes it pays to say nothing at all.

Take note, Mr Hart.

East Anglian Daily Times: Gwion Edwards covers his face in disbelief at the officials decision leading to the Portsmouth winnerGwion Edwards covers his face in disbelief at the officials decision leading to the Portsmouth winner (Image: Pagepix Ltd.07976 935738)

Record breakers

Heading into this game, it had remarkably been nearly two years since Portsmouth conceded the first goal in a match but came from behind a win, dating back to April 2019.

Town, on the other hand, did it just 19 days again when they recovered to win 2-1 at Accrington.

But the Blues helped their hosts end that record in this game, sadly.

Paul Cook’s men did the hard work, surviving the first 10 minutes before taking the lead, having conceded early in each of their last three away games, but Tom Naylor and Marcus Harness turned the game around for Danny Cowley’s side as they ended a long wait for a battle-back success.

Once Pompey had equalised, the Blues went into their shells and, quite honestly, there was only one side who looked like they could go on and claim a victory.

It wasn’t Ipswich.

East Anglian Daily Times: Ipswich Manager Paul Cook at PortsmouthIpswich Manager Paul Cook at Portsmouth (Image: Pagepix Ltd.07976 935738)

Revolving door

This game saw a battle of two No.18s on the touchline.

Cook is the 18th man to take permanent charge of Town in the club’s professional history, dating back to the 1930s. Seven of those have come in the last 15 years.

Cowley, on the other hand, is the 18th manager to on the Portsmouth tiller since the year 2000.

Quite the turnover.

You shall not pass

I’ve never witnessed this in the flesh before. I can’t even remember seeing it happen on TV, though it has certainly been done before.

When Alan Judge was lining up a free-kick, midway through the first half, Portsmouth took the belt and braces approach to setting up their defensive wall.

There was the traditional line of players but then, on the floor, appeared Andy Cannon as he lay along the base of the wall. It was obviously a ploy to stop the ball going under the shield as the rest of the players jumped.

East Anglian Daily Times: Alan Judge forces a save from the keeper with this free-kick during the first half at PortsmouthAlan Judge forces a save from the keeper with this free-kick during the first half at Portsmouth (Image: Pagepix Ltd.07976 935738)

Now, this is fraught with danger. What if the wall walks backwards slightly and trips over their own draught excluder? (This is what I declare this method to be officially called) And what if the line jump and all landed on Cannon, imprinting him with 10 sets of studs? That would hurt.

On this occasion it mattered little, as Judge bent it up and over the wall, forcing a save from Craig MacGillvray.

Full marks for ingenuity.

Play your cards right

Referee Alan Young was able to avoid taking centre stage in this game, unlike his last outing officiating he Blues.

He was the man in the middle when Town drew 0-0 with Wycombe in November 2019, a night where Ipswich were bizarrely denied a perfectly good Chambers goal, as well as a clear first-half penalty, before giving one away in just as unusual circumstances.

Paul Lambert labelled his display as ‘Mickey Mouse’ at full-time.

Young also handed out 11 yellow cards that night but restricted himself to just seven in this game, gushing forth a flurry of yellow during one second-half period where he struggled to keep his cards in his pocket.

Town weren’t happy in the build-up to the winning goal, though, insisting the ball went out of play on the near touchline. But replays showed Lee Brown kept it in and Cook rejected any opportunity to complain after the game.

Young can’t be held accountable this time.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Norwood opens the scoring at PortsmouthJames Norwood opens the scoring at Portsmouth (Image: Pagepix Ltd.07976 935738)

Fashion show

The return of the yellow socks with the Barcelona kit was a joy to behold. Given a second outing following their use in the drab 0-0 draw at AFC Wimbledon a year ago, they are the perfect finish to Town’s maroon look. Striking.

Last time they were worn with Town’s original maroon shorts but we also got another look at the navy pair first used at Bristol Rovers in September.

It’s certainly a good look.It must be said results haven't been great, though. That's just one (pretty miserable) point from their two outings.