Five observations following Town’s 3-1 defeat at Leicester City
GREAT STRIKES… BUT
Bobby De Cordova-Reid broke the deadlock in the eighth minute with a fine swerving 30-yard strike. Abdul Fatawu then made it 2-0 just before half-time when scoring from well inside his own half.
Kieran McKenna’s verdict was that his team had ‘not done loads wrong’ in both incidences and that they were ‘just incredible bits of individual brilliance’. I don’t concur.
Marcelino Nunez was knocked off the ball too easily in the early build up to the opener. Nunez and Jack Clarke are then too slow to stop a final third pass, while Azor Matusiwa can arguably close down the shot with more conviction too.
It’s obviously a brilliant strike from Fatawu to lob Christian Walton, whose starting position wasn’t actually that far outside his own area. Before that, however, comes Dara O’Shea’s loose pass in the final third and Jaden Philogene and Jack Taylor both failing to stop Fatawu striding out.
Twice, attacks turned to goals against. The Blues have to be better at snuffing out counter pressure at source.
DECISIVE MOMENTS
I highlighted how Ipswich were top of the Championship’s ‘big chances missed’ table following Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Stoke. At a crucial stage of this game another was added to that unwanted collection.
After good work by Nunez down the inside left, a square pass left Clarke with a free shot at goal from near the penalty spot. Unfortunately, he fired straight at keeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Five minutes later, instead of being level at 1-1, the Blues found themselves 2-0 down when Fatawu channelled his inner David Beckham.
Then, seven minutes after the restart, Fatawu’s flip-flap skill sent Davis tumbling in the box and Ricardo Pereira put the ball on a plate for a simple Jordan Ayew finish.
Bad goals at bad times. The game was effectively dead. Which was frustrating given…
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
I’ve no doubt that something could still have been salvaged from 2-0.
Leicester came into this game having won just one home game since the end of August. They’d blown a two-goal lead at Bristol City in midweek. The atmosphere remained flat, even after a commanding lead was established. It felt like a crowd that could turn at the slightest set-back.
The game was drifting when Town got a goal back from nowhere in the 72nd minute. Credit to Jens Cajuste for jumping on Stolarczyk’s short pass out the back to score.
Ipswich, energy levels lifted by subs, confidence boosted by the goal, suddenly played with a bit of zip. More than 3,000 fans behind the goal being attacked made all the noise.
Sammie Szmodics, whose sharp display off the bench was a small positive to take from the afternoon, almost created chances for Darnell Furlong and Hirst, while Clarke saw a shot in the box blocked by a lunging Oliver Skipp.
Eventually, however, as it became clear that time was an enemy, the comeback fight gradually ran out of steam.
Town’s poor record at the King Power stadium continues. That’s now 12 games without a win (D5 L7) dating back to Boxing Day 2002.
SQUAD BALANCE
This squad cost around £130m in transfer fees to assemble. There’s still a question mark around how balanced it is though.
With Walle Egli out through illness, McKenna opted for left-sided specialist Clarke on the right (despite saying earlier in the campaign that he felt the attack wasn’t balanced with Clarke and Philogene in the same team). What Town really need on that right wing is a straight line speedster. Chieo Ogbene has been loaned out though and Kasey McAteer hasn’t pulled up any trees since his £11.5m switch from Leicester.
Azor Matusiwa was subbed in the second half, probably due to a combination of taking a heavy knock and also the fear of him picking up a 10th booking of the campaign and thus a two-game ban. With no like-for-like cover, the Blues were left with a midfield duo of 40-year-old Ashley Young – who has long been a full-back – and Cajuste. Then, after more changes were made, Szmodics had to drop into midfield. Neither are viable options in that role from the start.
Just as was the case with Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney back in October, it was hard to watch Leicester’s Jordan James and not wonder ‘what if’ regarding a summer target that was missed out on.
NEED A RUN…
That’s five defeats in 21 games. For context, Town lost just six on their way to promotion in 2023/24.
The Blues sit fifth in a congested Championship table. They are closer to 16th-place Derby (7pts) than second-place Middlesbrough (8pts).
Yet again, two steps forwards are followed by one back. This performance wasn’t as bad as that completely unacceptable one at Blackburn, but it can be grouped with a large number of wholly unconvincing ones.
We’re nearly at the halfway point now. Ipswich are the only side in the top seven not to have won three on the spin. To challenge for automatic promotion – which this expensively-assembled group should be doing in a pretty average division – then momentum will have to gather at some point. And right now it’s hard to say, with any real confidence, you can see that happening.
It’s good that a hectic spell of seven games in 22 days is over. It doesn’t get much easier though. The next five – three of which are on the road – come in the space of 16 days.
The pressure will be on to beat rock bottom Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday. After that comes quickfire festive trips to high-flying Millwall and Coventry, followed by early New Year matches against struggling duo Oxford (H) and Portsmouth (A).
One again, we ask ‘which way is this season heading?’ In all honesty, I’m really not sure.
