Time to break the Hornets hoodoo
IT has been a week for revenge.
Nightmare performances against Peterborough and Burnley were avenged with Town fans enjoying back-to-back victories at Portman Road.
Now Ipswich must complete a hat-trick when they travel to Watford today and try to overcome their biggest jinx of all.
A grim 14 matches and eight years have passed since Town tasted victory over the Hornets.
And that record must be overcome if Paul Jewell’s men have any hopes of dramatically gatecrashing the play-off places.
While a last-ditch surge into the top six remains unlikely, a run of one defeat in 10 has left supporters daring to dream the impossible.
And midfielder Lee Bowyer, who returned to the side in Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over Burnley, believes the form of his team-mates suggest now is the time to break the hoodoo.
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Bowyer said: “I didn’t know it had been so long, but we will go there with confidence.
“The run we are in and the form we are showing, we need to go to Watford expecting to get all three points.”
A win for Ipswich would be the perfect fillip for another two home matches to follow – against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night and then Barnsley next Saturday.
A points haul of seven or more in the next three games could see the Blues firmly entrenched in the top ten and leave Town fans with an exciting end to the season.
Jewell played down the significance of the club’s run against Watford – a Dean Bowditch-inspired Ipswich recorded their last win way back in 2004.
The Blues boss said: “To be honest, I’m not a massive believer in all that stuff.
“It’s all about momentum. Sometimes there are periods when you think ‘will we ever win another game?’ And then there are sometimes you just can’t stop winning.”
- Follow @davegoods and @Stuart_Watson on Twitter and www.greenun24.co.uk for all the team news, reports and reaction from Vicarage Road this afternoon
