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Bristol City 1-0 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Saturday, 17th Mar 2018 17:20

Sub Milan Djuric netted the only goal in the 64th minute as the Blues fell to their first away defeat in six matches at a snowy and windy Ashton Gate. Djuric headed home Lloyd Kelly’s left-wing cross shortly after coming off the bench.

Martyn Waghorn, Cole Skuse, Callum Connolly and Adam Webster returned to the Town side with the Blues returning to their three-man backline.

Webster was on the left of skipper Luke Chambers and Cameron Carter-Vickers, while Jordan Spence and Jonas Knudsen were the wing-backs.

Skuse, facing his hometown club where he started his career, and Connolly were joined in central midfield by Grant Ward ahead of them behind strike pair Freddie Sears and Waghorn.

Bristol City made one change with central defender Nathan Baker missing out with a groin injury and Hordur Magnusson coming into the team.

As a flurry of pre-match snow died down, Bobby Reid hit the game’s first shot in the fourth minute but his low effort from 20 yards gave Bartosz Bialkowski no trouble.

Two minutes later, Knudsen won a corner on the Blues’ left and, after Waghorn’s flag-kick was cleared back out wide, Connolly curled a cross which the blustery wind took beyond his team-mates and wide.

On 12 Sears almost made of some hesitant wind-influenced defending by the Robins when Hordur Magnusson failed to deal with a Carter-Vickers ball over the top, however, Frank Fielding was off his line quickly to punch clear ahead of the Town striker.

Four minutes later, Jamie Paterson caught Waghorn with a high boot 20 yards. The Blues’ top scorer took the freekick himself but hit the wall. The loose ball fell to Knudsen 30 yards out but the Danish international’s strike flew well back into the stand behind the goal.

While the home side had had a lot of the ball early on, Town had looked more threatening, albeit without either keeper having made a serious save and with the windy conditions hampering both teams at times.

Sears and Knudsen looped over wind-assisted crosses from either flank on 15, but Town were unable to profit, the ball failing to fall to Connolly on the edge of the box after the Dane’s ball was half-cleared.


Bialkowski came out of his goal to head clear as Paterson chased a ball over the top on 34, before the snow began to fall much more heavily.

Neither side had particularly threatened after the quarter-hour mark but on 43 Sears and Waghorn carved out a crossing opportunity for Knudsen. His ball found his opposite wing-back Spence in the area but the former Robins’ loanee’s header looped over.

A minute later, with the snow thankfully subsiding a little, the Blues threatened again but Fielding claimed Connolly’s header across the six-yard box from Spence’s cross ahead of Sears who otherwise would have gratefully tapped home his first goal in 35 games.

Moments later the whistle went ending a half in which Town had had the better of the chances in very trying conditions, more due to the wind than the snow.

The home side had had plenty of the ball but without being able to make any headway against the Blues’ backline, while Town had created the better opportunities on the break - the wind perhaps having assisted them more than the opposition kicking the other way during the half - with Spence’s header the best chance created in open play.

A yellow ball was introduced for the second half although with the snow having ceased, if not the wind.

Ward’s 48th minute cross failed to find Waghorn with the Blues beginning the half on the front foot.

But the home side began to see most of the new ball, however, still without being able breakthrough the resolute Blues backline. On 56 the quiet Famara Diédhiou was replaced by Djuric.

A minute later, Kelly hit low effort from distance from out on the left which Bialkowski stopped confidently.

The Robins should have taken the lead right on the hour mark. Marlon Pack hit a shot from 25 yards which Bialkowski could only parry due to the wind. Sub Djuric was quickly on to the loose ball but somehow wafted over the bar as well as the Town keeper.

But the Bosnian quickly atoned for failing to take that chance. In the 64th minute Kelly was allowed time and space to cross from the left and Djuric got ahead of Webster to head to Bialkowski’s right and into the corner of the net from 10 yards.

The Robins were forced into a sub in the 71st minute, Magnusson having suffered a knock. Jens Hegeler replaced the Icelander.

Town might have equalised in the 76th minute. Waghorn fed Spence on the right and the ex-West Ham man sent over a deep cross which found Connolly unmarked at the far post. However, the on-loan Everton midfielder powered a header wide of goal which was cleared ahead of Sears at the far post.

Ward curled a freekick well over after Connolly had been fouled on 79 with the Blues beginning to make more of an impact going forward. On 82 Fielding only just managed to paw an inswinging Waghorn corner from the right away from his line.

Town swapped Ward for Bersant Celina a minute later, while the Robins switched Paterson for Gary O’Neil.

Soon after, Korey Smith was shown the game’s first yellow card for pulling back Sears, then on 87 Knudsen joined him after a clash of heads with Eros Pisano, who made an awful lot of the collision.

Early in six minutes of injury time Waghorn headed well wide and the Blues, with Celina having made an impact from the bench, continued to send crosses into the box but without the ball falling kindly.

Morris took over from Sears for the final couple of minutes and more balls were sent into the Bristol City box in the final moments but without Town testing Fielding, who had had a quiet second half, and eventually the referee’s whistle confirmed the Blues’ first away defeat in six.

On balance, Town would have deserved a point but as in so many similarly evenly-balanced games this season the one really clear-cut chance was created and taken by the opposition, although Kelly was given far too much time to send in the cross and Webster will feel he ought to have done better.

At the other end, the Blues, who are now without a goal in their last three matches, failed to carve out a real chance other than Connolly’s header across the face.

The defeat sees Town stay 12th going into the international break with a visit to Birmingham following the two-week hiatus, while the Robins move up to seventh, nine points ahead of the Blues, only a point off the play-offs.

Bristol City: Fielding, Pisano, Wright (c), Magnusson (Hegeler 71), Kelly, Brownhill, Pack, Smith, Paterson (O’Neil 83), Diédhiou (Djuric 56), Reid. Unused: Wollacott, Kent, Walsh, Diony.

Town: Bialkowski, Carter-Vickers, Chambers (c), Webster, Spence, Skuse, Connolly, Ward (Celina 83), Knudsen, Sears (Morris 90), Waghorn. Unused: M Crowe, Hyam, Gleeson, Drinan, Kenlock. Referee: Darren England (South Yorkshire). Att: 21,509 (Town: 1,066).


Photo: Pagepix



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Esseeja added 17:21 - Mar 17
Oh my god. my club....
14

norfolkbluey added 17:23 - Mar 17
Another nail. Please
12

dukey44 added 17:24 - Mar 17
Haha please some tell me why this manager Mick mcarttosh should stay now?
9

DurhamTownFan added 17:25 - Mar 17
Nothing changes really. Not thrashed so some can say we did alright, but wholly uninspiring again.

Actually agreed with the star earlier who compared this period with MMS end at wolves. They ended up going down twice after he left! Before you say: oh so they should have kept him maybe he laid the ground for that demise?
23

Northstandveteran added 17:26 - Mar 17
Just listened to the full time report on final score

They didn't mention Ipswich once.......😂
12

jas0999 added 17:28 - Mar 17
Sounds like another poor game where we offered very little and no doubt MM would have gladly taken a nil nil beforehand. Enough is surely enough. Nothing to play for. International Break a good time to change manager so remaining eight games can be used to assess the squad and plan for what needs to be a very busy Summer of players leaving and new signings.

In last 19 games we have scored just 12 goals. It's terrible.

What gets me is the owner doesn't seem to care. We have heard nothing from him, whilst MM still does his best to fuel a fire with the fans. I've said it before, but this club used to be proud, full of tradition and known as a footballing side. The owners were available and tried their best. The managers had respect for the fans. Sadly, this is no longer the case under Evans. The club is in a sorry mess. Shameful.
49

TimmyH added 17:28 - Mar 17
To be honest all a bit fed up with this club at present and I couldn't care less if we won drew or lost but again see it's another 'blankety blank'. Let's face it we're not going anywhere this season (surprise). Well done to the away support though must of been doubly painful in the cold.

What I care about is if McCarthy is leaving, sort it out Milne and let us know!!!
34

HerefordBoy added 17:30 - Mar 17
Was at the game today...

Thought that on the whole the performance was okay and I think that Bristol will be counting themselves lucky this evening that they took all three points. I think on another day in a couple of situations the ball may have fell a bit more kindly and perhaps the game goes differently but that's football at the end of the day.

Just to mention aswell that I Thought the crowd stuck with the lads for the whole game today - worth a mention!

Onto Birmingham...
16

Spanishblueblood added 17:34 - Mar 17
Losing 1 nil and Mick leaves it until the 94th minute to bring on Morris and expects what from him exactly, to change the game in 1 minute ffs! Its p1$$ poor management imo and shows our manager really does not have a clue
30

yungblue added 17:35 - Mar 17
Another exciting day as a Town fan. The abismal state of this club is scary.

MM post match presser, we blinked first... nothing in it... right game... happy with the performance... lads gave me everything.
10

midastouch added 17:35 - Mar 17
Oh dear! Our stock continues to plummet!

So boring and predictable!

Mick seems to be determined to go down with the ship while Marcus Heavens seemed deaf, dumb and blind to the fans' constant SOS calls.
I fear we're going to need our life jackets for the rest of this season and probably for the next few in front of us unless we can find a willing miracle worker!

Very sad times to be a Town supporter as Evans and McCarthy seem to have sucked the soul out of our Club. :-(
38

martin587 added 17:35 - Mar 17
Well to be honest I could never see us winning this match.Very little passion,and the effort was minimal to say the least.we defended ok in the first half but offered very little up front which left our strikers chasing shadows.
I cannot see anything changing now as there is nothing to play for and very few players who offer much hope.Perhaps when the young lads are back next season then things MAY change in midfield.🤞.Very good support today.Now thawing out on a horrid drive back to Southend.
Sorry to sound fed up but performances like this don't help.😒
33

TimmyH added 17:37 - Mar 17
See the mighyt Hull which Mick was bigging up on Tuesday night after the game was savaged by Birmingham today - so they weren't as good as you thought then Mick? - maybe just maybe we were cr ap?
46

prebbs007 added 17:39 - Mar 17
That really good team full of premiership quality Hull City gad a great result today !!!

Why oh why are you still here you dinosaur tw&t ???????
18

brittaniaman added 17:40 - Mar 17
Birmingham 3 Hull 0 I remember Dino saying that Hull were a good team just because they had just beaten us by the same score ???? it is ironic that Birmingham is our next game and away !!!!
Deal with it Dino !!!!!!
25

BluePatriot added 17:41 - Mar 17
Poor Defending when it matters
Nothing threatening up front
Why not try more youngsters
12

blue75 added 17:41 - Mar 17
Well done to the 1066 who made the trip in this weather hope you all get home safe and sound.
32

Swn98 added 17:42 - Mar 17
abismal ?
-15

Gforce added 17:42 - Mar 17
We should change our name to Ipswich Nil.
I'm no statistician,but our goals scored on average per season under McCarthy
must be the worst in the clubs history.
13

jas0999 added 17:46 - Mar 17
... on another note 21K at Bristol today. Helped by out excellent support. I hope Evans is taking note. We can barely attract ten thousand.
30

Umros added 17:50 - Mar 17
Ipswich Town 0
6

Lightningboy added 17:52 - Mar 17
The club feels like it's on death row.

No enthusiasm,no belief,no style,a manager who only cares about his own ego & an owner who's never understood the club's history or supporters.

Saturday evening and I should be feeling angry or depressed at losing but I like probably many others feel absolutely nothing.

Cheers Mick..Cheers Marcus..hope you're both proud of yourselves.

😞
41

blueysbighoof added 17:52 - Mar 17
To be fair they've got a really good squad, spent a few quid, in an around top six all season, lads worked hard, everyone put a shift in, one mistake, YAWN, sorry mick, you've won alright...just do what you want I just don't care anymore.

Light clicks off, door shuts...
20

Dissboyitfc added 17:54 - Mar 17
Just listened to McCarthy post match, OMG he still thinks he is brilliant, cant believe the ignorance of the man. Worst town manager ever, cant stand him anymore!!!!
32

dusty added 17:55 - Mar 17
On to Birmingham and GARY MONK! Another opportunity allowed to pass.
15


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