Ipswich Town 1-1 Cheltenham Town - Half-Time Saturday, 12th Nov 2022 15:59 Luke Woolfenden gave the Blues the lead but Ryan Broom levelled for Cheltenham to leave the scoreline 1-1 at half-time at Portman Road. Cameron Humphreys, Marcus Harness and Freddie Ladapo came into the Town team, Kieran McKenna having made three changes from the side which drew 4-4 at Charlton in the Blues’ last League One game a fortnight ago. Dominic Ball and Tyreece John-Jules dropped out of the 18 and Kayden Jackson to the bench. John-Jules missed the FA Cup tie at Bracknell on Monday with a knock, while Ball also appears to be among those McKenna said was suffering from either injury or illness at yesterday’s press conference. Humphreys joined skipper Sam Morsy in the centre of midfield with Harness alongside Conor Chaplin as one of the number 10s behind lone central striker Ladapo, while Panutche Camara was among the subs. Cheltenham made four changes with Charlie Raglan, Elliott Bonds, Daniel Nlundulu and Christian Norton in for Daniel Adshead and George Lloyd, who were on the bench, and Caleb Taylor and Ryan Jackson, who were injured. Following the Last Post and a fly past with the match Town’s Remembrance Day fixture, the game got under way with Cheltenham setting out their stall early on with five at the back behind a four-man midfield. Morsy shot wide from distance in the sixth minute but home fans, who included US owners Mark Detmer and Brett Johnson, didn’t have to wait too long for a goal. From the first corner on the left, Leif Davis’s ball into the box was flicked on by Wes Burns and Woolfenden turned home at the far post from a couple of feet. The centre-half, who became a father just over a week ago, celebrated his first goal of the season by sucking his thumb with the ball stuffed up his shirt in front of fans in the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand. Town thought they’d gone 2-0 in front in the 15th minute when, after Janoi Donacien had brought the ball forward from deep on the right, Harness smashed a shot from the edge of the box off the underside of the bar. The Blues claimed it crossed the line as it bounced down - and they appeared to have a decent case - but referee Geoff Eltringham felt otherwise. In the aftermath Chaplin took a kick to the head inside the box but again referee Eltringham ruled against the Blues. Town threatened again moments later, Davis crossing from the left and first Chaplin and then Burns saw strikes blocked. The Blues were forced into a change in the 17th minute when Donacien made way for Kane Vincent-Young, the star man for Town in the FA Cup victory at Bracknell on Monday. The former Colchester full-back wasn’t far away from scoring Town’s second of the afternoon in the 20th minute, forcing Robins keeper Luke Southwood into a save at his near post with a shot from the right of the area. The Blues continued to win frequent corners and a minute later the ball ran loose in the box from a Davis flag-kick from the right but was cleared before a Town player could seize on it. On 23 a Morsy shot was deflected over and from that corner Chaplin struck another effort, which was forced wide. From that flag-kick, George Edmundson stooped to flick across goal at the near post and Southwood did well to palm his header wide. The game had resembled an attack-v-defence training exercise for the most part but in the 28th minute Cheltenham threatened for the first time, Broom crossing from the right and Vincent-Young nodding behind at the far post. But normal service soon resumed and the Blues almost scored their second in the 32nd minute. Humphreys crossed from the left, Ladapo pressured Southwood into an error and Chaplin looked set to hook the loose ball home until Lewis Freestone hit it against the Blues forward and it ricocheted over. Within a minute, Burns crossed from the right to Davis beyond the far post and the former Leeds man headed back but well over the bar. A second Town goal had seemed only a matter of time but in the 34th minute Cheltenham equalised. Broom was allowed acres of space on the right and James Olayinka played it into his path and the Welshman shot low from an angle between keeper Christian Walton and his post. Having scored what had been an unlikely leveller, two minutes later Cheltenham weren’t too far away from going in front. After Town had failed to clear their lines, Broom worked himself space on the right and fed Liam Sercombe, whose low ball across the box was only just too far in front of Daniel Nlundulu at the far post. The Blues started to regain their composure following the shock of conceding and in the 39th minute Davis flicked a header wide from a Burns cross from the right. Robins keeper Southwood took an age over taking the goal-kick and referee Eltringham acted decisively by showing the game’s first yellow card. Town should have regained their lead in the 43rd minute. Harness took his time before crossing low into the box from the right. Southwood failed to gather it and the ball fell to Humphreys six yards out, but the youngster shot straight at the keeper, who somehow held on. That was the last chance of a first half which had been dominated by the Blues as the 69-31 possession percentage indicates and in which Town had created more than enough opportunities to have put the game to bed. However, they had never looked entirely comfortable on the rare occasions when Cheltenham had the ball in their final third with the visitors’ goal another bad one from a Town perspective. Town: Walton, Donacien (Vincent-Young 17), Woolfenden, Edmundson, Burns, Humphreys, Morsy (c), Davis, Chaplin, Harness, Ladapo. Subs: Hladky, Burgess, Keogh, Camara, Edwards, Jackson. Cheltenham: Southwood, Long (c), Williams, Raglan, Freestone, Sercombe, Nlundulu, Bonds, Norton, Broom, Olayinka. Subs: MacDonald, Bradbury, Brown, Chapman, Adshead, Hutchinson, Lloyd. Referee: Geoff Eltringham (County Durham).
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