Town dropped points and conceded in League One for the first time this season as they drew 1-1 away against the MK Dons having ended the game with 10 men after sub Flynn Downes was forced off with an injury. Jon Nolan gave Town the lead in the seventh minute, Daniel Harvie scored a deserved leveller for the home side five minutes after the break and the Blues, who drop to third, held on for a point.

Town boss Paul Lambert named the same team which beat Rochdale 2-0 at Portman Road last weekend, while Kayden Jackson and Alan Judge returned to the 18 after injury.

Tomas Holy continued in goal behind a back four of - from the right - skipper Luke Chambers, Toto Nsiala, James Wilson and Stephen Ward.

In midfield Andre Dozzell was joined by Nolan and Teddy Bishop, while Oli Hawkins was the central striker with Gwion Edwards to his right and Freddie Sears to his left.

Jackson, who had been sidelined with a groin injury since pre-season, was on the bench for the first time this season where he was joined by Judge, who missed the last two matches due to a hamstring problem.

Luke Woolfenden, who has also been out with a groin injury, was initially named among the subs in error, and was at the ground, before the club issued a correction and included Emyr Huws instead.

MK Dons boss Russell Martin made five changes to the team which lost 2-0 at Crewe last week with veteran centre-half Richard Keogh, who the Blues were keen on in the summer, and Scott Fraser making their full debuts for the club.

George Williams returned from injury to make his first appearance of the season, while David Kasumu and Harvie also came into the XI.

The first chance of the game, played on a very wet pitch but with the rain having stopped, fell to the home side in the sixth minute, a loose ball dropping to Keogh in the area following a corner but the Irish international scuffed to Holy.

Within a minute, the Blues were in front. After Hawkins picked up a loose pass from Keogh on the right, Edwards crossed and Sears sent it back in from the left, past Bishop as he and a defender tussled.

Edwards, who had made his way to the edge of the six-yard box, sought to chest it down and it fell to Nolan, who hit into the ground and past home keeper Lee Nicholls for his third goal of the season, already one more than he scored in 2019/20.

Town were close to making it 2-0 in the 18th minute when Wilson intercepted a pass on halfway and brought it forward before playing it Sears to his left. The former West Ham man cut in and hit a curling shot which flew just past Nicholls’s left post.

The Blues were forced into a change in the 22nd minute when Ward, who had undergone treatment for an achilles problem after the Town goal, made his way off with Myles Kenlock taking over and making his first league appearance of the season.

The home side were seeing most of the ball but without looking threatening, while the Blues appeared potentially more dangerous every time they broke, usually through Sears.

On 26 Dozzell played a looping ball over the top for Hawkins, who took it down but shot deep into the empty stand behind the goal.

However, it was the Dons who were seeing virtually all of the ball but with the Town backline resolute and Holy not forced into a save.

There was a big scare for the Blues in the 33rd minute when Kenlock’s loose pass back to Holy from the right played Carlton Morris in on goal. However, as the keeper advanced, Chambers slid in superbly to send the ball behind. From the corner, Keogh’s looping header was claimed by Holy.

In the 36th minute Harvie was probably lucky to see only a yellow card after kicking out at Chambers with the ball long gone.

Play continued and home skipper Lewington prevented Nsiala from putting it out of play for the Blues captain to receive treatment before referee David Rock stopped play, liaised with his fourth official, cautioned Harvie and awarded Town a belated free-kick.

That stoppage and a subsequent interruption for a Dons injury briefly knocked the home side off their stride and the Blues began to see more of the ball, albeit in their own half of the field.

In five minutes of injury time, Nsiala blocked from Joe Mason on the edge of the box with the Dons again dominating possession.

Just before the whistle, the former Wolves, Cardiff and Plymouth man should have levelled. Having been played in behind the Town backline on the left of the box the forward hit a low shot which the advancing Holy saved with his feet, much to the frustration of home manager Martin on the touchline.

That was the final chance of a half in which the Dons had had the lion’s share of the possession but had been unable to create a really serious chance until Mason’s effort just before the end.

Having got their noses in front early on through Nolan, as they did in the corresponding fixture last season, Town seemed not unhappy allowing the Dons the ball and attempting to break on them, which might well have led to a second goal through Sears.

The second half began in a similar manner to the end of the first period with the home side seeing most of the ball.

On 50 Fraser claimed he had been fouled as he scraped a shot wide under pressure but referee Rock waved away the somewhat ambitious protests.

The Dons had been pressing and in the 55th minute they equalised. Chambers slipped as Lasse Sorensen crossed from the right and Harvie had time to curl a shot past the advancing Holy, the first goal the Blues have conceded in the league this season and the first the Czech keeper has let in in all competitions.

Town immediately swapped Sears and Bishop for Judge and Downes, changes which were being prepared prior to the goal.

In the 58th minute Edwards broke away down the right, cleverly beat his man with a flick then sent in a cross which Hawkins was unable to get enough on and Williams cleared.

Having made their switches of personnel, the Blues started to see more of the ball than earlier in the half. On 62 Edwards robbed a defender of the ball in his own area but referee Rock harshly awarded a free-kick.

Two minutes later, Downes was booked for a foul on Morris and underwent treatment for a knock picked up in the incident.

The substitute was clearly in trouble due to the injury, hobbling around during the next passage of play before requiring the attention physio Matt Byard again and eventually making his way off. With Town having already made all their subs, they were forced to continue with 10 men.

In the 70th minute, Holy failed to deal with a cross from the right and the ball was played back in from the left and turned goalwards by Morris, fortunately straight at the Town keeper. Either side of him and it would have been 2-1 to the home team.

Two minutes later, the Czech keeper was unable to hold on to a Fraser shot but came off his line quickly to block Callum Brittain’s rebound with his chest.

The 10-man Blues were finding it tough to get out of their own half but on 77 Edwards played a ball forward down the left for Hawkins, who did well to get away from two men but was pulled back by Kasumu, who was booked.

A minute later, Edwards outpaced Williams down the Town left but failed to find Judge with his low cross towards the far post. In the 79th minute the Dons replaced Sorensen for Regan Poole, then five minutes later Sam Nombe took over from Morris.

With two minutes remaining Holy, not having his best day for the Blues, seemed to leave a Williams cross from the right but it struck Harvie on his midriff and bounced behind.

Soon after the former Gills man and Kenlock appeared to miscommunicate as a ball was played into the area from deep but the full-back was able to clear.

The Blues backline remained resilient during five minutes of injury time to see out the draw.

Town will ultimately be happy to have gained a point against an MK Dons side better than their disappointing start to the season had suggested and having played the last 22 minutes with 10 men following Downes’s injury.

The Dons, who perhaps surprisingly drop to the bottom of the table, will feel that having deservedly got on terms - they had started the second half much the better team - and given the extra man, the game was there for the taking.

The Blues were only briefly in control following the substitutions but Downes’s swift exit handed the impetus back to the home side.

In addition to the first dropped points of the season and a disappointing overall display, Town leave Stadium MK with Downes and Ward, one of the early season’s best performers both having suffered knocks.

Town are down to third in the table behind new leaders Lincoln and Hull City, now the only two sides in the division with 100 per cent records.

MK Dons: Nicholls, Williams, Lewington (c), Keogh, Kasumu, Morris (Nombe 84), Fraser, Sorensen (Poole 79), Mason, Harvie, Brittain. Unused: Walker, Cargill, O’Hora, Houghton, Sorinola.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Nsiala, Wilson, Ward (Kenlock 22), Dozzell, Nolan, Bishop (Downes 55), Edwards, Sears (Judge 55), Hawkins. Unused: Cornell, Huws, Lankester, Jackson. Referee: David Rock (Hertfordshire).

Photo: PagePix

bobble added 09:54 - Oct 4 has anyone considered that with only a handful of games played ,we might be worse than the team we drew with away ?
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ArnieM added 09:57 - Oct 4 You could say that of Judge ( more do tbh coz he normally upsets everyone else's play ad he goes wandering and doesn't stick to his job ). Sears is just flaky in his finishing , and whilst agree Jackson might be better ( if played wide) but he's certainly not a lone striker . So what does Lambert do , change the system?
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bernie added 10:39 - Oct 4 Kenlock is not good enough as simple as that , he hasn't improved at all he's not good enough to even be a squad player. Sorry
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dirtydingusmagee added 11:27 - Oct 4 poor result im afraid, too many things that were same as last season , i know it was a point away [some would say thats good] but we should have got three points there . We may have a big squad, but we do not have a strong squad, too many injury prone players and liabilities , FOUR GAMES IN and ''key players'' out of action , We struggled last season [and season before] with lack of goals, and few opportunities created,. Things need to change.

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spanishblue added 12:03 - Oct 4 was i the only one listening to MK Dons commentary on my iptv HARVIE should of been sent off for the foul on Chambers,they were amazed he stayed on.BUT once Ward went off oh dear.Did we just self destruct out there
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 12:28 - Oct 4 No one has said we missed Chambers when he was injured, but I suspect we did.
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Marinersnose added 12:35 - Oct 4 The positive is that we got a point away from home to keep our unbeaten record intact. Having watched the game it was clear that MK were very good with their ball retention and moved it around quickly on the grass. Ipswich really struggled to get a foothold in the game and then Nolan made a great late run to put us one up completely against the run of play. We had a brief spell of domination when Sears should've added a second, we then disappeared from the game getting deeper and deeper as the game progressed. Ward was a huge loss to the team as Kenlock really struggled throughout. Holy made some decent saves but missed crosses and dropped a simple shot to an MK attacker but recovered his mistake well. He does not fill me with any confidence and his hoofball in the second half contributed to our demise as route one became our fallback tactic. My worry is that this second half reminded me of the latter end of last season where we forgot how to keep it on the grass. Both centre backs were solid although neither are comfortable with their distribution. Edwards was woeful and only came to life late on with a decent run, however his decision making again let him down in the end. For me Edwards is a good option from the bench but not good enough to start if this club wants promotion. Hawkins did well with little support but I imagine he's in the treatment room today with a sore neck after so many high balls. I praised PL for previous substitutions but today he got it wrong. Judge made very little impact and Downes again entered the fray like an angry man and has ultimately caused himself an apparent nasty injury. He is probably our strongest player but he's clearly showing petulance and unnecessary aggression when introduced. PL needs to have a rethink as to what is his strongest eleven and ensure that they play to a system come what may regardless of the opposition. Long ball football is not the way forward. We move on. COYB

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martin587 added 12:40 - Oct 4 In my honest opinion we were very lucky to get a point.Not at our best today and when Kenlock replaced Ward we became very vulnerable to say the least.I don't like to single players out but Kenlock has not improved on the previous seasons and is a weak link and I fear this standard of football is too high for him.Shame we have a break now as when this happens we loose momentum but on the flip side it will help our terrible injury list.

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Bert added 13:22 - Oct 4 One poor performance and the negativity flows. We all know it was a poor performance today but it's about time Bluearmy 81 woke up to the fact that this is 2020 not 2000 ! As for now telling us that fans of other clubs think Ipswich fans are so accepting of Evans, that certainly smacks of fake news and desperately making things up that cannot be evidenced. Move on BA81, you do not invest financially or emotionally in the club, you look back and not forwards and your only mission in life appears to be spreading your hatred of Evans. Move on man, there are lots of reasons why we are in league one, lots of good things have happened this season and lots of true Ipswich supporters are very, very balanced in their view of things. So sad that someone lives a life based on waiting for opportunities to be negative and so backward thinking.

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bluelodgeblue added 13:35 - Oct 4 Such a disappointing performance especially bearing in mind we were top , no goals conceded and 3 wins on the trot, and playing the bottom team yet the team didn't look motivated??? Worrying very worrying!
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Bluearmy_81 added 14:20 - Oct 4 Hi Bert, thanks for your comments. It's not about being negative for the sake of it, it's about being realistic. We are sh ite. Worse than anyone can ever remember. Is being a good fan accepting that? Not calling for change, not demanding better? Not for me, sorry. No evidence that fans accept Evans?! Really?! The evidence is the fact that no efforts have been made by fans to express our dissatisfaction and to put him under any pressure to shape up. So so poor. I would say ME is 85%responsible for us being in league 1. What do you see as the other factors and how responsible would you say he is? Remember he's been our owner for the last 13 years... 🤔😂🤣 Again you're mind reading, I don't wait for opportunities to be negative, I want Town to get promotion this season as much as any fan. I'm just not pretending that no great change since last season is going to magically mean a change in fortunes this...

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blueboy1981 added 15:40 - Oct 4 Reality is something the same old don't like on here - but the fact is we have probably the strongest squad in this League this season in terms of numbers and names - problem being it is grossly unbalanced once again. More than adequate in some areas, and more than weak in others. Until Lambert addresses this, we go nowhere. And we yet again appear to have injury, upon injury, upon injury. WHY ? Nothing has changed there either .... !! - and the season has only just begun.

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Bert added 15:45 - Oct 4 Happy to oblige BA81. Everything you say is exaggerated with little factual content. You don't have a clue what fans actually do to make their views known. Bad managers, wrong decisions, a lack of investment, poor tactics etc have all contributed to us being in league one. Evans must take his fair share of blame for that but it's happened. Why not for once say well done, the club has bought in some useful players, we are not at undue risk of going under because we have an owner who understands his obligations, we have not lost this season, we have some decent players and yes, other clubs still regard ITFC as a well run club. Those of us who have a balanced view about things will always demand better but I'm sorry to say that your positioning of things and your posts lack any invention, lack factual content, lack balance and are simply one way rants. Trump behaves like that, do you really want to be thought of like that ? I'm sure you don't so just reflect a bit on what you say and how it comes across and you might find that we end up somewhere in the middle in agreement!!

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blueboy1981 added 15:59 - Oct 4 Bluearmy 81 - I think you need to spend a bit of your time in the real world of Football today. In this crazy current situation it is likely that if it continues without support in presence or funding, many Clubs will go to the wall. Our saving grace may well prove to be that we have Marcus Evans - that's the real world of TODAY !
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Bluearmy_81 added 16:04 - Oct 4 Bad managers (Evans fault), lack of investment (Evans fault.) Ward seems OK, Hawkins goal record speaks for itself. You're easily pleased! No idea how good Bennetts is. Fans think of us as a well run club?! Are you serious?!! I think most fans look on us with pity. We are not at risk of going under?! Good god man so existence will do? Could be worse could be Bury?! 😂 Unbelievable

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Bluearmy_81 added 16:05 - Oct 4 Thank god we have Evans!! Month python stuff. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.
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Bert added 17:40 - Oct 4 Oh dear BA81, you listen to nothing, learn nothing and just like Trump you think you are right while all around you the real world says something different and acts differently. Evans is here full stop, that is the world in which we comment upon not some delusional false world of yours. We cannot change Evans and at this moment in time not many would. We have a decent squad, we should be capable of promotion yet it does not always look like that on the field. That's what fans should comment upon but of course BA81 doesn't live here so he has no stake in the community yet blathers on like a broken record. His views are therefore of little or no relevance.🥃

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therein61 added 18:14 - Oct 4 Nice one "northstandveteran" Luv it
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Bluearmy_81 added 19:07 - Oct 4 Bert, that's just like, your opinion man... 😂 Unlike Trump I don't lie, I say it as it is and deal in facts. Worst finish in 60+ years, fact. Lambert given 5 year contracts, inexplicably, fact. Lambert fails yet gets kept on, fact. Chronic under investment over years leads us to have a league 1 quality squad which is where we then end up the next season, fact. Bafflingly some 'fans' have endless patience for this, don't seem capable of being critical or engendering pride and demanding better, fact. All very puzzling from up here where fans don't hopelessly acquiesce at any available opportunity like 18 century serfs...

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Northstandveteran added 19:17 - Oct 4 You line 'em up Therein, I'll knock 'em down. Thanks for taking it the way it was intended 👏 Nice one.
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Bert added 19:57 - Oct 4 As I said BA 81, you reinforce with your posts that you don't listen or reflect so you really are stuck in a time warp of your own choice. There is little point trying to get you to understand that we of course know the facts but we move on from that rather than bore fans about something we have no control over. Your posts do not engender pride they do the opposite and reflect very badly on you as a person. Nothing more to say to someone who really doesn't want to listen or reflect.

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rabbit added 20:10 - Oct 4 The poroblem is Bluearmy_81 you tell lies, that is why you cannot engage in rational debate, hate people from Suffolk despise ITFC supporters, keyboard warrior man up up and do something. Sorry I forgot. You just don't turn up!!!
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Bluearmy_81 added 20:15 - Oct 4 Thankfully your opinion of me Bert is of zero value so it really is of no importance to me but thanks for yoyr views all the same. One could argue that it is this passive, apathetic, acquiescent stance that has contributed to Towns current pitiful state. That you think the way forward is more of the same is mind boggling. Beatties BP alludes to similar in his earlier post, fans being content with Evans 'doing a job', you using phrases like 'we move on,' it really is opposite of passionate, committed 'fan'atical support IMHO but of course we all have our own point of view which we are entitled to. Atb

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