Fw: [itfc] The View from Churchmans

[Eric Piazzoni]

~PZ

*Sent from my phone...please ignore typos*

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Rand <chris...@gmail.com>
Sender: itfc-b...@debaser.org
Date: Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:59:29
To: Ipswich Mailing List<it...@debaser.org>
Subject: [itfc] The View from Churchmans

Ipswich Town 3 Cardiff City 0

A really satisfying victory. The score might have flattered Town in
terms of the relative quality of the teams, but it was deserved in
terms of sheer effort. And in the context of what’s been happening so
far this season, perhaps even more satisfying than the first four-win
sequence in the league for over 7 years was the first appearance of
back-to-back clean sheets since September. Just as the result of the
previous midfield lethargy turned out to be lurking in the reserves
all along, so we may find the same to have been the case in central
defence. Until these last two games, Smith and Delaney hadn’t been
paired up since the 5-2 defeat by Southampton, but even Hunter and
Beattie might have struggled that night. And as with Drury and Hyam,
you suspect that Jewell wouldn’t have chosen this pairing either,
unless it had been forced on him.

What’s great to see is the enthusiasm running right through the team
at the moment. I guess it’s contagious, although we can only guess
where it’s come from. And the success is built on confidence: Town
were overrun for the first 20 minutes of this match, but after Martin
had taken his chance excellently for a slightly undeserved 1-0 lead,
spirits soared, and the home team never looked back. Individual
performances actually got the North Stand chanting players’ names,
something we’ve heard only vary rarely in the past few years. It was
great to watch.

Overall Town performance:
8/10 – Great passing and movement, wonderfully committed tackling, and
thoroughly professional throughout.

Opposition quality:
7/10 – Their finishing wasn’t good enough, and they understandably
took their foot off the throttle later on, but definitely one of the
better sides seen at Portman Road this season.

Referee:
7/10 – The talking point will obviously be the Lee-Barrett yellow
card, but we see too many by-the-book sendings-off these days, and it
was good to see a ref using some common sense in the case of what I
believe was an unavoidable foul (which I appreciate still warrants a
red card, regardless of intent) by declaring that the covering
defender would have prevented it from being an “obvious goalscoring
opportunity”.

Match excitement:
7/10 – Fine entertainment.

Opposition supporters:
6/10 – Only 300 or so, but made their presence heard.

Player ratings, as ever 1 to 5 for each of effort/achievement…

LEE-BARRETT 5 (4/1) was a complete liability in the first half, with a
succession of potentially catastrophic blunders, but pulled himself
together commendably as the game wore on.

EDWARDS 6 (3/3) rarely filled you with confidence, but an extra point
for his role in the immaculate second goal; SMITH 8 (4/4) is just
getting better and better, barely putting a foot wrong; DELANEY 8
(4/4) looks a real tower of strength at the moment; and CRESSWELL 8
(4/4) was excellent at both ends of the pitch.

MURPHY 8 (4/4) had one of his best games ever in a Town shirt,
combining tremendously with Cresswell; DRURY 8 (4/4) absolutely
controlled the match in the first half, winning everything and
covering the whole pitch; HYAM 6 (3/3) was quieter but, as usual, read
the game beautifully to always be in the right place; and
EMMANUEL-THOMAS 6 (3/3) had another game of unpredictable extremes,
bringing out the best from the wags in the stands.

MARTIN 9 (4/5) had a superb match, linking play and proving a real
handful for the opposing defence throughout, and being rewarded with
two excellently-taken goals; and CHOPRA 8 (4/4) matched Martin for
effort, even when asked to play a more isolated role when Town started
to play deeper.

Substitutes: SCOTLAND got through a lot in just 9 minutes; BULLARD and
LEADBITTER didn’t really get a chance.

--
regards
Chris Rand
Cherry Hinton Blue
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