Stu says: Seven observations following Town's 2-1 win at Morecambe

IN A SCRAP

Morecambe are bottom of the table. They are a club up for sale. They came into this game without eight senior players unavailable through injury, suspension or personal reasons. Derek Adams was only able to name five subs.

Were the Shrimps feeling sorry for themselves? Not a chance. They were fired up.

To a man they pressed quickly and aggressively. They hunted in packs. Everything was a fight ball. Ipswich simply couldn't settle or get any rhythm going.

Then the hosts went and broke the deadlock.

Christian Walton's poor pass out from the back went straight to former Blues winger Dylan Connolly in space. He drove forwards and forced Sam Morsy into a foul.

A clipped dead ball into the area, a flick on from the foot of Liam Shaw and Kieran Phillips shot high into the net on the run. Offside? It looked tight. A move off the training pitch or pure fluke? Possibly the latter.

It mattered not. Ipswich found themselves behind with 34 minutes played and facing a major test of character.

TACTICAL SWITCH

Kieran McKenna admitted afterwards that Morecambe's man-for-man press was not what he had planned for.

After going 1-0 down, he tweaked the top end of his team. Tyreece John-Jules, having started as the inside left No.10, went further forwards to play as the central striker. Kayden Jackson, who had begun as the No.9, moved out to the right. Kyle Edwards shifted from the right wing to the left.

"We had to make some adjustments because the game wasn't going our way," said the Blues boss.

Edwards, making his first league start in almost 10 months, immediately began to get more joy on the other side. It was his run and cross which led to Lee Evans' bouncing shot coming back off the post not long before the interval.

Moments later, Conor Chaplin's low shot from 20 yards flew narrowly wide.

The tide was turning.

RAISING THE TEMPO

'Well, well, well' said the man on the public address system as the players headed down the tunnel for half-time. Morecambe fans, who had arrived expecting the worst, looked at each other with looks of disbelief.

Their well-rested and wounded team had raised their game. Ipswich, at the end of a physical and emotionally draining week, were below-par. It was the perfect storm for a shock result.

"In the dressing room the boys were calm, had belief, knew we had to up it and knew we had to be crisper and cleaner on the ball to break the pressure," said McKenna.

And that's exactly what happened.

Within seconds, Edwards had curled a shot against the far post. Moments later, Chaplin's searching cross from the right was headed against the bar by defender Love.

Not long after that, Evans' low shot forced Connor Ripley into a smart save down low at the near post - Town's first shot on target. A couple of minutes later, Janoi Donacien's cross was headed behind for the Blues' first corner of the match.

BREAKTHROUGH!

One of Town's biggest Achilles heels last season was set-pieces. They just didn't threaten from them.

There's been a major improvement on that front this season. Goals from defenders have still been in short supply though.

That's why it was so good to see George Edmundson meet Leif Davis' corner delivery on the run and produce a deft first-time finish across the keeper.

A couple of days earlier the centre-back had been bemoaning how low his shooting stats were on FIFA23. Point made.

TALE OF TWO PENALTIES

Just seven days earlier, after Portsmouth had been awarded two penalties at Portman Road, McKenna had bemoaned the fact that it had been an age since his side had been given a spot-kick.

Going into this match, the last time Town had one was in the 4-0 win at Gillingham way back on January 8.

Thirty-six games later and two arrived in the space of just seven minutes.

Edwards was tripped by Farrend Rawson after darting inside. Nailed on penalty. Chaplin stepped up, but his poor effort was fallen upon by Ripley.

The man who called upon Morecambe to be 'brutal, nasty and horrible' in the build-up had received plenty of stick from the travelling Town fans during the first half. He enjoyed his moment.

Referee Thomas Kirk, in charge of a League One game for only the third time, was soon pointing to the spot again after Jacob Bedeau dived in on Kayden Jackson. Again, pretty clear cut.

Lee Evans took it upon himself to grab the ball. Pressure? What pressure? The Welshman slammed the ball past the despairing dive of Ripley.

SEEING IT OUT

Morecambe, with nothing to lose, launched a bit of an aerial bombardment in response.

There was a heart in mouth moment when Cole Stockton shrugged off the attentions of Donacien in the box and stabbed a shot just wide.

Town were also fortunate when Rawson headed straight into Walton's arms after some pretty slack marking at a corner.

Ipswich engaged game management mode after those two warning shots though and expertly saw out the win.

Richard Keogh, having waited patiently for his league debut, was exceptional. His vast Championship experience was clear to see. He read danger, headed balls away and was ultra calm in possession.

McKenna described his performance as 'colossal'.

A BIG WEEK

It's often said that the best teams find a way to win when not at their best. Ipswich did just that here.

In the space of eight days the Blues have shown they can win different types of games.

Can they beat a promotion rival in a topsy-turvy match? Yes.

Can they be patient and break down a team that parks the bus? Yes.

Can they stand up to a physical challenge and come from behind? Yes.

Having gone the whole of last season without winning three league games in a row, the Blues have managed that twice already a quarter of the way into this campaign.

Comparing fixtures on a like-for-like basis, Ipswich are already a staggering 25 points up on last season.

It's all going rather well, isn't it?