Ipswich Town 0-0 Bristol City - Half-Time Tuesday, 5th Mar 2024 21:00 The Blues and Bristol City remain locked at 0-0 at half-time at Portman Road. Town boss Kieran McKenna made two changes from the team which won 2-0 at Plymouth on Saturday with Massimo Luongo and Marcus Harness returning to the XI. Luongo, who missed the trip to Devon having been ill, came in in central midfield for Lewis Travis, who dropped to the bench, while Harness replaced Jeremy Sarmiento, who was also among the subs, in the attacking three behind central striker Kieffer Moore. Burns, who had been out with a calf strain suffered in the 3-1 victory over Birmingham 10 days ago, was on the bench but Nathan Broadhead, who has a thigh problem suffered in the same game, remained sidelined. Bristol City made three changes from the team which lost 1-0 at home to Cardiff City on Saturday with Cameron Pring, Harry Cornick and Anis Mehmeti coming into the side for Haydon Roberts, Andy King and Mark Sykes, who dropped to the bench, where former Blues academy midfielder and coach Liam Manning was able to name only seven subs. Town started brightly, taking the game to the Robins and winning an early free-kick when Joe Williams fouled Conor Chaplin, who was making his 100th league start for the Blues. The set piece came to nothing with Luke Woolfenden ending up in the turf at the far post but making no claim for a penalty. Bristol City gradually played themselves into the game and as the quarter hour was reached were seeing most of the ball. On 18, Cornick crossed from the right and Vaclav Hladky first punched into the air and then claimed. But the Blues again began to see most of the ball, albeit without being at their most fluent with too many passes not finding their man. On 22, Sam Morsy won a ball just inside the Blues half before playing a pass into the path of Moore, but the on-loan AFC Bournemouth man’s low shot failed to trouble Max O’Leary in the Robins’ goal. Just after the half hour, Moore played in Chaplin on the right of the box but the forward chipped the ball into O’Leary’s arms, wasting a decent opportunity. However, in the 33rd minute, the Blues were within a whisker of going in front. Davis whipped over a corner from the right, Moore flicked it on and Chaplin turned it against the woodwork from a tight angle at the far post, the ball ricocheting kindly for the Robins. Five minutes later, Hladky was called into action when Nahki Wells, who had a trial with the Town academy as a youngster, flicked a header from Cornick’s right-wing cross towards goal, but the Czech keeper grabbed to his right. As the half moved into its final five minutes, Morsy was challenged by Williams midway inside the Town half in a solid challenge, the Bristol City man coming off worse and requiring treatment before continuing. The Robins midfielder appeared to have jumped into the challenge but remonstrated towards Morsy for his role in the collision once play had stopped. With the period in four additional minutes, right-back Axel Tuanzebe failed to reach Woolfenden with a pass played back towards the edge of the area, Wells pinched it and fed Jason Knight, a player Town eyed in the summer, but the former Derby midfielder’s shot deflected wide off Woolfenden. The half ended with Blues fans frustrated that a free-kick hadn’t been awarded to their team - while Morsy and Williams exchanged views on the earlier tackle on their way off - after a frustrating 45 minutes which the Blues had largely controlled but without ever playing their best football or creating opportunities. Chaplin wasted the best opportunity in open play, then came closest to opening the scoring when he struck the post from the Blues’ only corner of the half. Town will want to step up their performance after the break, nevertheless, on first half evidence they still look the more likely goalscorers. Town: Hladky, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Luongo, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Harness, Moore. Subs: Walton, Clarke, Travis, Humphreys, Taylor, Burns, Sarmiento, Jackson, Al-Hamadi. Bristol City: O'Leary, McCrorie, Pring, Williams, Cornick, Mehmeti, Knight (c), Dickie, Wells, Gardner-Hickman, Vyner. Subs: Bajic, King, Conway, Sykes, Roberts, Knight-Lebel, Mebude. Referee: David Webb (Lancashire).
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