2 days Ago
Last Thursday evening, Mark Ashton and Kieran McKenna delivered another of their uplifting interviews. The club have a knack of producing these just at the right time. Beautifully orchestrated by Matt Holland, it was a reminder of our club’s journey and where we really are at right now.
On the back of four successive league defeats, it served as a rallying cry ahead of the game at Aston Villa. Ashton spoke of unity and staying as ‘one’ to have a ‘right swing at this.’ Against mounting odds.
Saturday was us as one. That was us ‘Running Towards Adversity’ right there. Nobody stopped, including our fans, who were so magnificently loud throughout the entire game.
Play like that for the rest of the season and we will give ourselves a fighting chance. For the first time this season, our starting line-up did not contain a single player who played in League One for Town. Axel Tuanzebe sees red at Villa (Image: Ross Halls) With seven players missing from our squad at kick-off, our chances of pulling off a result against an exceptionally good Villa side diminished further when we lost Julio Enciso.
Factor in Axel Tuanzebe’s red card, it looked a real concern at the interval. On that note, I have lost all hope in the standard of officiating. It has not improved at all on our journey from League One, through the Championship, and into the Premier League.
Rob Jones could not wait to brandish a yellow card at Tuanzebe. The ball was won and there was no foul. Villa’s John McGinn was certainly putting in much firmer challenges that were deemed acceptable.
I have no complaint about the second yellow that Tuanzebe received. The damage was then done. Liam Delap scored his third goal against Villa this season to finish off an exquisite move and suddenly we could start dreaming of achieving mission impossible.
Alex Palmer's save was sensational (Image: PA Sport) Then, step forward Alex Palmer. He had already made at least three noteworthy saves to keep us in the game by the time injury time came around. And then that worldie he made to deny Morgan Rogers was perhaps the best save I have ever seen made by an Ipswich goalkeeper.
His Premier League debut will live long in the memory. It made watching Match of the Day something to look forward to that night. In his post-match interview with commentator Steve Wilson, Palmer confirmed he would also be watching by way of celebrating his debut.
Cue analyser Joe Hart’s second error of the season (at least) when reflecting on Town. Remember, on the opening weekend of the season, Hart said that we had not lost at home all last season (forgetting the defeat to Leeds). This time, he referred to Christian Walton as Simon Walton.
Simon was of course a Town player on loan from Charlton back in 2006/07. But he was a midfielder – not a goalkeeper! The perils of being little old Ipswich in the Premier League where due attention to analysis is not required hey, Joe? Our FA Cup draw was not too kind was it. Away at Nottingham Forest instantly reminded me of my first trip there back in January 1989 when we lost 3-0 in the FA Cup.
Alex Palmer had a Premier League debut to remember (Image: Ross Halls) We also lost 3-0 in a third-round tie there in January 1997. Our only other FA Cup action at the City Ground came in March 1981 with it ending in a 3-3 thriller. Town won the replay 1-0.
That was a quarter-final tie. This game will be screened live on ITV4 - home of our infamous defeat at Barrow and a 3-0 Monday night win at Bracknell Town, both FA Cup matches. It is Tottenham up next on Saturday and a chance for us to repeat a feat we achieved in our last season in the Premier League before this one.
On our way to relegation in 2001/02, Tottenham were one of only two teams that we doubled that season (Derby County being the other). Just like this season, we won 2-1 away before Christmas with goals from Alun Armstrong and Finidi George. It was the same scoreline at Portman Road in January 2002 with our goals coming from John McGreal and Marcus Bent.
Another 2-1 win on Saturday will do fine!.
