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This was not a game to write home about, Sheffield United were not exactly setting the league on fire and on paper should have been there for the taking. Town rarely played any of the structured football they are capable of against an average side. After trailing at half time to a recently goal-shy James Beattie strike, perhaps surprisingly Town got back on level terms with an Alan Lee effort.

Unfortunately our man at the match, Dec, has had an attack of apathy after watching last nights uninspiring game and so a we'll spare you a full match report this time (send us your own report, if you'd like).

Definitely 2 points dropped at home, which sees us slide out of the top 6, just hanging on to 7th place by the skin of our teeth (thanks Southampton for taking a point at Wolves).

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Blackpool gave Town a run for their money not so long ago in the away fixture but started this game missing a key player in defence, and with Ipswich wanting to both bounce back from the previous home game as well as build on successive away wins they were expecting a tough test. As it happened the Tractor Boys looked comfortable throughout although at times didn't actually hit full pace.

Jim Magilton decided to stick with the side that won at Palace in midweek, meaning Velice Sumulikoski started a home game for the first time and Pablo Counago dropped to the bench. Jon Walters partnered Alan Lee in attack, and Richard Naylor was included at the back. Things quickly got worse for Blackpool as the game got underway, as they lost 2 more defenders through injury forcing some early substitutions.

This probably started the alarm bells ringing for the visitors who looked more and more defensive as the half wore on, having made an attempt to begin the game at pace, playing us at our own game. Town were on top from the early stages, and quite soon settled into a pattern where we had at least half-chance after half-chance, with some clear cut chances thrown in. Jon Walters was first to test the Blackpool keeper, running in from outside the box and coshing a low one across the goal which Rachubka palmed away. Walters then fluffed the return off a one-two with Alan Lee who delivered a perfect ball to his feet just 8 yards out, but Walters miskicked and keeper and defender cleared easily.

David Norris was lively in the midfield and tried his luck in the box with a headed effort from 15 yards, but his effort went narrowly wide of the far post. Then it was Alan Lee's turn to have a go as he rattled the bar at the Greene King Stand end with a volley from just inside the box, the ball bouncing back down into play but safety too. Between these periods of good pressure for Town, the game was often a little flat, and after half an hour there was a brief stoppage and this seemed to kill the momentum for us. In the final 5 minutes of the half, Blackpool found legs and pushed a bit more.

After half time things were quite similar to the passage of play that saw our best chances in the first. This time though we made a couple of them count. The opener was a superb effort, Sumulikoski brought the ball out of defence after a Blackpool attack broke down, and slotted forward to Walters who evaded the attentions of a couple of defenders to get the ball in the box before passing back to Miller. Miller then slotted the ball over to Lee, who with his back to goal himself, laid it off to Shumi who absolutely belted the ball into the roof of the net off the inside of the post. He seemed pretty pleased with himself, and after receiving the congrats from his team mates, ran over for high fives with the bench.

Tommy Miller had a good game, apart from his shooting, and he blasted a good chance set up from Walters straight at the keeper soon after. But Walters himself doubled the score when he chased a cleared ball deep into the opposition's half and shrugged off the large defender to muscle through and shoot past the keeper. If any 2 players deserved to score today, it was Walters and Shumi.

We should have mopped up the points beyond doubt with a few of the chances we missed, but we couldn't, and Blackpool pulled from the hat what thankfully turned out to be a consolation, thanks to some poor officiating. The goal was perfectly legal, but Town will feel more than a little duped into conceding this one in the 89th. Alan Quinn went in to challenge for the ball and the Blackpool player got their first, his kick cannoning off Quinn's boot and forward to Paul Dickov. The Blackpool frontman would've been offside had the ball been played forward by one of his own players, but it wasn't. This didn't stop the linesman flagging furiously, and every player except Dickov stopped playing. Even Bywater only made a slight gesture in attempt to save as Dickov rounded him and placed the ball in the net. Fair play to him, all this was behind his back and he was unaware that all in the ground thought he was looking like an idiot. The ref though, had seen how the ball came to be at Dickov's feet, and knew it wasn't offside, and he spoke with the lino briefly, then gave the goal. Unfair, sure, but what to do? Sack the linesman probably. Bottom line is harsh, but reads "play to the whistle".

A good three points easily won despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise. Signs are that the strikers are starting to get some form back, as they're getting the chances again at least. On another day this could've been 6 nil, but we'd still have only got 3 points.

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This was certainly not the fixture we were after in order to bounce back from a disappointing display against Watford, but Town stepped up and delivered a good performance away from home, bagging all 3 points too. Danny Haynes had been omitted from the team right up until the last moment when Alan Quinn unselfishly turned his ankle in the warm up, leaving Jim to pick a last minute replacement. Kind of typical that Haynes then scored the winner.

Richard Naylor made a welcome return at the back, and put in a fine battling display typical of the old Naylor we know at the expense of David Wright. It was Naylor who was instrumental in this win, clearing off the line at one end of the pitch in the first half, before sort of scoring at the other. Sort of, as it was his volleyed effort that thumped into Haynes's head before looping into the net. Haynes of course claimed the goal, although it hardly proved a point on his selection for the match as he knew nothing about it. But hey, right time right place and all that, and it was the match winner.

The midfield had a different look from the off with Velice Sumulikoski starting for Town for the first time, Danny Haynes and Tommy Miller alongside David Norris. Owen Garvan had to sit this one out on the bench. Jon Walters and Alan Lee were paired up front with Pablo Counago as a sub. The Macedonian 'Shumi', was at full pace for the entire match, a real non-stop performance, chasing every ball. He's looking better all the time. Miller had a good game perhaps rising to the challenge of having all those new faces in the centre of the park.

The front two were a threat all night, although not getting a goal between them they looked comfortable and made the Palace defence work hard throughout. Pablo came on for the last 5 for Lee, and faced a tired defence but did not have enough time to carve out too many chances.

All in all this was a well earned win, an intelligent performance that ground down Palace and latterly frustrated them right to the final whistle. There were few threats from the home side that weren't dealt with easily, the Naylor clearance probably their best effort. We remain in the play-off positions and look well placed fixture wise to push to at least cement that or even flirt with the top two. If we can only get that dodgy home form sorted...

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We did it! Amazing, an away win after 11 months of waiting. And no more fitting place to end the run than at the place it started, Hillsborough. The game was won with a brace from the Alans - Quinn and Lee, either side of the break.

Jim gave debuts to some of the new faces he'd brought to Portman Road in the last few days, David Norris and Stephen Bywater started while Velice Sumulikoski began his Town career on the bench. Almost new face Alan Quinn also started his first away game for Town. This of course meant that there would be casualties amongst the regulars, Danny Haynes dropped to the bench along with Alan Lee, and Gary Roberts was nowhere to be seen. No Neil Alexander of course who signed for Rangers and in fact made his debut as a late sub this weekend.

Town looked bright throughout this match, the new signings all looked enthusiastic and solid. Alan Quinn looked like a very positive player with a good touch and was keen to break forward. David Norris looked like a quality player and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet, he was pulled back by Owls keeper Grant having jinxed around him with the ball. He did his best to stay on his feet and score but didn't hit the target, at which point the ref should have blown. His failure to go down perhaps illustrates the honesty of our new midfielder. Velice Sumulikoski got a quarter of an hour in the second half when he replaced Owen Garvan, he was solid enough and as with Quinn pushed forward eagerly. He will hopefully adapt to the English game easily and quickly.

At the back Steven Bywater was never in trouble and seemed commanding of his back four when he needed to be. Also it was good to see that he and Alex Bruce never even laid a finger on each other for the entire match!

The injection of new players into the team at short notice did not upset the apple cart too much all things considered. Perhaps expectedly, there was not the fluidity that we sometimes see from Town, although this is usually reserved for home games. We were however, a solid and attacking unit which given time should only improve as players get used to one another. The existing players appeared to be boosted by the new faces, one or two will need to make sure they keep it up or be at risk of losing out altogether. Healthy competition as they say.

The opening goal came from Alan Quinn after just 4 minutes, the ex-Owl following up some excellent persistence from Jon Walters on the left. He laid the ball back to Quinn who then rifled in a rising shot from 25 yards to beat Grant. The lead lasted less than 10 minutes however, when Wednesday had a shot well blocked from a corner, the rebound found Marcus Tudgay lurking just outside the box who did well to punt it first time through a mass of bodies.

As we quite often see at home, Town did not let this set-back put them off their stride and continued to push. It wasn't until 20 minutes from time though that Town regained the lead. Alan Lee had replaced a struggling Pablo Counago just 5 minutes before the visitors won a corner. This was cleared but only to Alex Bruce, worked his defender and got space to put in a deep cross left to right which was met by the head of Quinn. The ball back into the middle was strange, heading down and bouncing up towards Lee who, with his back to goal flicked the ball over his shoulder into the net from 8 yards, a kind of untidy overhead kick. You could sense the euphoria, and then the relief 20 minutes later as at last the final whistle came and gave Town their first away win of the season.

The signs are all good with the new guys making very obvious impact, and maybe with the away hoodoo now broken we can start picking up enough points on the road to cement our place in the top 6, a place regained with this result and held onto thanks to some other fortuitous results.

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This one started out so well, we ran Stoke ragged in the early stages, but it all went downhill from there. The equaliser triggered a Stoke wake-up and from that point both sides struggled to dominate, and the second half was more than disappointing. At least we were treated to a fantastic opening spell.

The line-up looked more like a side Jim would've picked earlier in the season with Alan Lee returning up front with Pablo Counago, and Jason De Vos back in after a knock meaning Fabian Wilnis made way. Jon Walters played in the left of midfield. The pace at which Town started also was reminiscent of one of our stronger early season performances, but unlike many of those games we never made it count and as it tailed off we were punished for it overall.

Danny Haynes had one of his better days, running rings round the opposition out on the right and carving out chances for himself and others, and to cap it all he scored a superb goal. He showed his intent in the first few minutes, after racing away down the wing he appeared to cross the ball which soared high over the keeper towards the far top corner from an acute deep angle, the keeper just tipping it over. Cross or shot?

Stoke had their chances in the opening stages but were not as tidy as Town in their build up. They were boisterous from the start without being nasty, and certainly had a physical presence which they used to their advantage.

I took just 18 minutes for Town to unlock the Stoke defence, with Alan Lee feeding Danny Haynes out wide towards the edge of the box. The ball tempted the defender out towards it but Haynes just beat him to it and nicked it around him neatly, this left him free to lash home a shot across goal which went in off the far post, a really sturdy finish.

The same player almost doubled the lead a few minutes later but this time keeper Simonsen was equal to it. As efforts came in from Owen Garvan and Alan Lee to name but two, it looked like we had settled ourselves and has Stoke on the ropes, but instead we faded, sat back thinking we had it in the bag maybe and allowed Stoke back into it.

It was around the half hour mark when the visitors got back on terms. Former Town man Ricardo Fuller was put through wide of goal but just 10 yards out, and he hit a very hard and low shot through Neil Alexander and in at he far post. It hadn't been coming, although there had been several warnings that might've encouraged the Town defence to get an earlier foot in.

Stoke were obviously lifted by this and finished the half in postitive fashion. After the break Town made efforts to rediscover the rhythm that had been lost in the closing stages on the first half, but Stoke defended solidly. A Tommy Miller free kick never really caused trouble, but Ipswich came really close to regaining the lead from the not-as-unlikely-as-before-but-still-unlikely source of David Wright, who walloped a 25+ yards effort narrowly over the bar.

We soon began to resort to the long ball over top, which given Pablo's height was perhaps a little hopeful. Alan Lee was barely noticable after the break and so it seemed unlikely that he would be gathering such balls. Town had spells of play that almost sparked us back into life, but frustratingly the ball always seemed to be a yard beyond our feet, or the defender would intercept in the nick of time, that sort of thing. Pablo had a shout for a penalty turned down when he was clearly held with 2 arms around his neck a couple of yards from goal. One of those days.

A crucial point of the game came with 20 minutes left, when Ricardo Fuller broke free of all around him and found himself one on one with the keeper. Alexander came out to meet him and as Fuller tapped the ball around him, the Town keeper kept his composure and dived perfectly gathering the ball with 2 hands at arms length. Fuller should have done better, but the timing from Alexander was spot on. At this point I think I realised I'd be happy with a point.

Points of note then, Danny Haynes had a blistering show, really hit the ground running and kept going until the end. Sito was again excellent bar the odd lapse, perhaps exposed once or twice by Haynes not tracking back. Neil Alexander made some good stops and denying Fuller through that brilliant save was itself worthy of the point we took.

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Town can consider themselves hard done by after a great performance against one of the Premier League’s best away sides was spoilt [once again] by a very poor refereeing decision. Liam Trotter was sent to the dressing room for nothing more than a hard challenge midway through the first half, a moment that tarnished what was proving to be an exciting cup tie.

Pompey looked strong, they did not stoop to weakening their team beyond recognition, their African stars were present as Portsmouth would lose them to the Africa Nations Cup after this match anyway, so nothing to lose. Town are obviously not in a position to do so anyway, but were forced into changes by illness and injury. The most notable and concerning change was Jon Walters missing out altogether. Jaime Peters joined the party on the bench alongside long term absentee Richard Naylor. Fabian Wilnis started and as Jason De Vos was injured, he was handed the Captain’s armband. Billy Clarke started the game alongside Pablo Counago.

Pompey’s composure and class was quite clear from the outset, they did most things well and looked like a threat whenever they broke forward. Thankfully their shooting seemed more than a little off today, and in fact overall they didn’t seem 100% interested in the game, not in an arrogant way but maybe minds elsewhere. For the opening stages, we largely matched them shot for shot.

It took less than 25 minutes for the game to be ruined by referee Mark Halsey, and in spectacularly mad fashion. Liam Trotter who had been having a steady game, challenged Pedro Medes in the wide midfield. The tackle looked hard, and Mendes appeared to get to the ball first, but it didn’t look malicious let alone two footed. Halsey called over Trotter and gave him a talking to, no other players got involved in what looked like a normal challenge, and perhaps a booking. But after an age during which he obviously consulted someone via his earpiece, Halsey reached for his back pocket and showed a red card. Ipswich players and fans alike were stunned, as was Liam Trotter. It was clear that Halsey was going to give a yellow, and in fact Trotter himself confirms that this is what the ref told him, but something changed his mind. A moment later Mendes, who had obviously been recovering from some sort of multiple gunshot wound, sprang to his feet and received pats on the back from team mates. Premier League football had come to Portman Road.

The whole incident just served to spur Town on. The game was still well balanced and both sides had chances, with Town having an Pablo effort cleared off the line. It was good to see that Ipswich kept their tails up, and at half time were still very clearly in with a shout.

After the break we saw David Nugent come on for the theatrical Pedro Mendes who had been constantly booed by the home fans after the sending off. “Oh no, he hasn’t failed to score at Portman Road in 5 or so previous visits, he’s bound to… yes, one nil”. We’d had a chance saved at the other end, but just 5 minutes into the half Nugent broke through the middle after a huge punt forward. Clearly onside, the Ipswich back line faltered arms aloft before giving chase. Despite being bustled by Alex Bruce, Nugent knocked the ball past Neil Alexander from 15 yards to score what would be the only goal of the game.

Pompey now enjoyed a more buoyant spell with 2 or 3 good shots, one cannoning off the bar beyond a stranded Alexander. Town did keep at it and showed great character to keep up the pressure on the visitors, but they were now getting some of their best chances of the game and only their poor finishing really kept them from scoring again. The most glaring miss came as former Blue Herman Hreidarsson crossed right across goal, and with not a defender in sight Utaka jumped to tap home from 3 yards but completely missed the ball.

This almost proved costly as Town upped their tempo in the final 20 minutes and carved out good chances for themselves. David James was now the busiest Pompey player, and he made 3 or 4 fantastic saves. Alan Lee came on for Gavin Williams ten minutes from the end, added a bit more muscle in the final push for an equaliser and he got in a powerful header that James stopped. Jaime Peters had replaced Billy Clarke slightly earlier and had added some pace on the left which gave Portsmouth some trouble.

Danny Haynes was also running on all cylinders and was proving a handful for the visitors. He managed a couple of cracking efforts, the last being our final chance to pull anything out of the hat, when late sub Richard Naylor laid off the ball to nearby Haynes on the edge of the box who lashed in a goal bound shot. It looked to be going inside the post but James dived full stretch to save the low level effort to cap a great performance from him.

Had the game finished with the same score line with both sides having 11 players on the pitch, I might have felt comfortable with this result and still pleased with the performance from Town. But after the ridiculous red card handed Portsmouth the advantage, it all seems a little sour. Who knows how the game might have panned out? One thing though, the ref has once again played far too great a part in our downfall in the FA Cup. It was a really poor showing from a “Premier League Ref” and I hope he is man enough to admit the mistake. I hope the matter is probed further too, and that we find out exactly what the conversation was over his head set. But on both points, I doubt it.

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Town put their Christmas blues behind them and came up with a great display of what they are capable of on the pitch, and against the league leaders too. West Brom are most peoples tip for the title, and therefore presumed a very tough cookie even with our fantastic home record. It was business as usual for Town at home however, and the 2 nil score line was well deserved.

Luis Castro Sito was back in the side after his short spell out with concussion. He was straight back into his recent form though, and completed the whole game with a very good shout for man of the match. Alongside him, Alex Bruce was fit again. Alan Lee was rested for most of the game, sitting it out on the bench until the latter stages. Jonathan Walters and Pablo Couñago paired up at the front with Liam Trotter earning himself a start. Tommy Miller found himself suspended; Gavin Williams was slotted into the midfield once again.

It looked bad for Ipswich from the off as West Brom came at us as expected, and came close to scoring. Most of the first 10 minutes was in the visitors favour. But we eventually settled and play balanced out, and we were far more creative than we had seen at Leicester and Coventry. Town had a guilt edged chance to take the lead within the first quarter of an hour after Walters was clean through onto a ball from Pablo. Advancing into the box he looked sure to score, but very un-Walters like he blazed over from 15 yards.

Town were easily equal to the Baggies now, and it was end to end stuff, both sides having good chances on goal. Liam Trotter was getting involved with some nifty exchanges from the midfield up to Pablo, and got into shooting situations himself. Gavin Williams had been putting himself about in the middle of the park, but continually gave the ball away after doing the hard work, which was earning him a bit of negative attention from the crowd.

Another excellent chance passed without reward as Town found themselves with 3 men in space on the edge of the West Brom area. With Walters and Pablo closer in on goal and virtually unmarked either side of him, Danny Haynes chose to shoot from outside the box, with his effort rising over the bar as we all seemed to know it would!

Very soon after the Baggies missed a sitter, with Ishmael Miller finding himself free of the attentions of the defence wide of the back post but unable to direct a powerful header on target, although only narrowly over the bar.

The best effort of the half went to Pablo though, who carved out a chance for himself left of goal then unleashed a curling effort towards the far post. Keeper Dean Kiely was beaten but the ball frustratingly rebounded off the inside of the post before being cleared. Pablo was really running on all cylinders now, chasing everything that was remotely near him and skipping over challenges with the ball at his feet.

Town had several good chances that were in fairness mainly well defended by West Brom, although a few were narrowly off target. The Baggies had a few good efforts that reminded us who we were playing, Kevin Phillips rattling the bar with a long range effort.

Both teams restarted after the break at a similar pace, however Town soon established more of an attacking pattern and were creating more of the chances. West Brom continued to look threatening but were becoming wasteful. It seemed that chance after chance was going begging for Town and as the game wore on it began to look like “one of those games”.

It wasn’t until 15 minutes from time that we finally unlocked the Baggies defence, but the goal was worth waiting for. David Wright played the ball out of defence and to Jon Walters who in turn fed Liam Trotter wide left. Trotter galloped forward and sent in a cross from a deep position which was met by Wright following up the move at the near post. His header beat the keeper for what must be one of the most satisfying goals all season, a cracker.

Just a few minutes later Town almost doubled their lead after Sito tricked around a player in his own half then sprinted into the oppositions half. He rounded another before taking the ball on into the box and knocking it back to Pablo in the centre who’s shot was saved. Sito was close in at this point and was surprised by the rebound which the keeper was able to gather. A goal for Sito would’ve been the icing on the cake.

Alan Lee came on shortly before Ipswich wrapped up the points. Town were awarded a free kick a good 25 yards or more out and left of the area. Gavin Williams consulted closely with Jason De Vos over the ball as the ref marched out the ten yards, before sending in a decent delivery to the back post which was met by De Vos who headed home. Straight off the training ground by the looks of it.

Late sub Billy Clarke almost got a third for us as he was sent clear but his touch was too close to the advancing Kiely who got something on it and leapt to his feet to catch the looping rebound.

This was a truly fantastic result, one of our best performances of the season, in a game where keeping a clean sheet was itself an achievement. Two very good goals to claim the points, and results elsewhere having been kind to us over our Christmas blip, we are now back in the top 6. Will steer clear of the subject of away form for a fortnight or so. I will give the ref a mention, who was absolutely dreadful in his inconsistency and lack of grip on the game.

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