Just back from the game and a bit pissed off as the Narch train was delayed for an hour. CYL was in the station with the two Korean girls that usually attend away matches getting a train to London which seemed a bit strange as he wasn't going back with the team.
So the game...
Decent first half and we had the better chances but shooting was erratic. We came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but the rest was pretty dour.
Lonners gave away a stupid penalty (although in mitigation he seemed to slip and fall into their striker) and Ipswich were on top for 10 minutes or so after they scored.Then we got back into it but it was messy and didn't really threaten again.
Our back four were all excellent throughout and Knight was probably our best player. Our problem was the midfield who collectively were incapable of offering anything of note in the final third.
Pratley and Medo played well, but Spearing was poor especially his distribution. Trotter came on but didn't show much - neither did Eagles.
The key difference for me was that Ipswich closed us down quickly whereas we gave them far too much time on the ball.
Up front, Juke worked hard but never really got a shooting chance and there was never enough support around him.
Interestingly, the disgruntled fans directed their anger at Gartside and at the players but not Freedman at the end of the game.
After all the kerfuffle about not getting a left back I don't see that as the problem - Ream was great.
Bottom line for me is that our midfield just isn't up to it. Not enough work rate in either closing down when out of possession or making runs forward and finding space when we had the ball.
Not sure if Trotter is the answer as he wasn't on long enough to get a real good look, but I am convinced that we need more pace, power, and above all effort in midfield.
Moritz might have made the difference but frankly without midfield runners finding space it would have been a thankless task.
My day was made complete by a trainload of jubilant Ipswich fans who were convinced they are heading for the playoffs, but they were lucky today as our back four kept them well under control and only a stupid penalty gave them the points.