Ipswich Town drew 2-2 with Barnsley at Portman Road yesterday. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
THE RED WALL
There's so much to say about this game, but I'm going to kick off by saying that I don't think Ipswich were anywhere near their 'A' game.
The Blues started off okay - no more, no less. Sam Morsy almost found Conor Chaplin the box with a clever reverse pass early on, then there was a little spell of pressure around the 10 minute mark when Janoi Donacien and Luke Woolfenden put dangerous balls into the box.
Very quickly, however, things went a bit flat.
Barnsley came to Suffolk with a far more conservative game plan than previous visitors Milton Keynes. Michael Duff, just like he had done with Cheltenham back in February, set his side up to sit deep. Out of possession, the Tykes had a flat back five with a bank of four sat just in front of them.
Coupled with that, Ipswich's intensity and tempo wasn't quite at its previous levels.
Lee Evans had all the time in the world to sit deep and ping crossfield passes. What the Blues lacked was a defender breaking out into space and giving an extra body in attack. Morsy buzzed about, but wasn't able to provide his usual central thrust on the ball. Wes Burns, back in the team following a two-game injury absence, didn't have the room to isolate his direct opponent.
Town were barely able to get the front three of Chaplin, Tyreece John-Jules and Freddie Ladapo in the game. It took them 27 minutes to produce their first attempt on goal...
FINDING A WAY
Thankfully, that first attempt on goal went in.
Burns' driving run through the middle drew a foul and Chaplin, ushering would-be takers Evans and Leif Davis away, expertly curled the dead ball beyond goalkeeper Bradley Collins' despairing dive.
Ipswich had found a way to score at a difficult time in the game.
After being quickly pegged back (more on that in a minute), the struggles to break down a red wall continued. Barnsley grew in belief at the start of the second half and had two big chances to take the lead as Mads Anderson headed narrowly wide at a corner and Clarke Oduor fired into the side-netting.
Once again, however, Ipswich found a way to score at a difficult time in the game.
It was a more direct approach which led to the 70th minute breakthrough. Christian Walton's long kick out to the right was headed on by Janoi Donacien, Chaplin quickly slid Burns away up the right and, exploiting the space created by Donacien's supporting run, the Welshman drifted inside and picked out Morsy for a coolly taken first time finish into the bottom corner. The Blues' skipper showed great awareness to let the ball run across his body and open up the angle for the left-footed shot.
For all the talk about James Norwood's return to Portman Road (he came on as a 65th minute sub and got booked), it was two Ipswich players who scored against their former employers.
Twice Town had gone themselves out of a sticky spot. Twice, frustratingly, they quickly got themselves back in one.
SOFT GOALS AGAINST
Barnsley boss Duff quipped afterwards that his team had scored two headed goals from a combined height of four feet off the ground.
Five minutes after the opener, 5ft 9in forward Will Aitchison was left unmarked in the box to stoop and nod home a deep cross from the right. Ipswich had more than enough bodies in the box to deal with the danger given the ball had not long previously cannoned into a defensive wall.
Five minutes after Town reclaimed the lead, 5ft 6in wing-back Callum Styles was left unmarked on the penalty spot to head in a high outswinging corner from the left. He didn't even have to jump.
They were both really soft goals to concede.
THE STEVE SHOW
I hate talking about referees. It's boring. It's not what we watch football to discuss. Sadly though, for the second weekend running, it's impossible not too.
At Shrewsbury, Neil Hair ignoring Tom Flanagan blatantly scything down Kane Vincent-Young with a two-footed tackle from behind in the box became a footnote after Ipswich went on to win 3-0.
In this game, Stephen Martin inexplicably ruling out a Town goal, just moments after Morsy had made it 2-1, ended up having a huge impact on the result.
After Kayden Jackson flicked on a long ball, Marcus Harness hustled his way between two defenders and slid the ball beyond the advanced keeper. I've watched it back dozens of times and simply can't see a foul. If anything, it's Harness who is impeded. Even the person behind Barnsley's official social media account wrote they'd struggled to see why it had been chalked off.
Yes, Ipswich weren't at their best in this game. Yes, they conceded two poor goals. But they were denied a perfectly legitimate goal which would have given them a 3-1 lead. Barnsley, I doubt, would have come back from that.
Blues boss Kieran McKenna didn't hold back in his post-match press conference. He says Martin was 'much too keen to be involved in the game throughout', made 'so many bizarre decisions' and that 'it was as almost as if he was trying to make big decisions against the home team and against the crowd'. He added that the authorities need to look at appointing referees with 'the experience and the personality' to deal with big crowds at Portman Road.
Martin's no rookie though. He's been an EFL referee for a decade and has taken charge of more than 150 Championship games.
STILL UNBEATEN
Town pushed hard for a winner during eight minutes of stoppage-time. George Edmundson headed against the post at a corner, Kane Vincent-Young's central header was clawed around the post by Collins, while Sone Aluko's volley was blocked on the line at the very death.
A fifth straight league win, something Town haven't achieved since 2003, wasn't to be though.
Ipswich can rightly feel a major sense of injustice. But they also need to look at themselves in the mirror too.
I can't help feel like this was a missed opportunity. Seven of this Barnsley team had played in a Carabao Cup tie at Leeds just two-and-a-half days earlier. The Tykes came into this game with key trio Michal Helik, Nicky Cadden and Herbie Kane all injured then then saw two more players, Jordan Helliwell and top scorer Josh Benson, limp off in the first half. Their away record is abysmal (22 defeats in 29 on the road going into this fixture).
McKenna's right to be fuming with the referee. But I think, respectfully, he also slightly over-egged how well his side played. Maybe the strong words about Mr Martin were a calculated deflection technique picked up from former mentor Jose Mourinho. Or maybe it was just some pent up frustrations he's had about the level of third-tier refereeing coming out after six months of biting his lip.
Ipswich, still unbeaten at the start of this League One campaign, lest we forget, now need to use this game as motivational fuel for the weeks and months ahead.
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