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Walsall 0 v 2 Cambridge United
SkyBet League Two
Tuesday, 27th October 2020 Kick-off 19:45

Voting was locked for this match at midnight on Wednesday 28th October but you may still add your mini match reports. Note that members and non-members alike were able to vote.


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Your Walsall v Cambridge United Match Reports

cbower added 19:02 - Dec 26

A beautiful day in bright sunshine greeted us at the Keepmoat Stadium. The sun was right in the eyes of the Town fans for all of the warm up and from my vantage point continued to be a hindrance until 15 minutes into the game. Luckily enough, the first 15 were scrappy - the only real chance falling to Murphy after a couple of minutes but his goal-bound shot was blocked.

Nouble looked lively down the right for Town as both sides wrestled for control of the midfield. 24 minutes in, Murphy did well to win a corner down the Town left. From Cresswell's delivery, McGoldrick rose highest to thump home a header for the opening goal and from then on town took control. Neat interchanges in and around the Donny box forced another corner, this time from the right and Chambers thumped home a second headed goal, this time from a delivery from the increasingly impressive Tunnicliffe from the right.

In full control by now, Town were looking quite impressive. However, 2-0 is still vulnerable and after Skuse committed a foul some 27 yards out, Duffy brought an excellent save from Gerken as the Town stopper tipped his goal-bound free-kick onto the woodwork to maintain the two-goal advantage going into the break.

With the sun now well and truly gone, most Town fans sought a little warmth on the concourse. Nice touch from Donny to have a "Welcome Ipswich Fans" poster in the toilets with images from the 2000 play-off final too.

Town continued to dominate in the opening minutes of the second period and a third goal was not long in coming. McGoldrick expertly finishing a swifter counter attack involving Tunnicliffe and Murphy down the left. Full credit to Murphy for an excellent pull back to McGoldrick who delivered the killer blow to the home side hopes.

Further chances went begging and Nouble prodded home what looked like the fourth only to be flagged offside after Turnbull had parried Murphy's effort after more good work from McGoldrick in the box. Town's leading scorer went in search of his hat-trick but was unable to force the home keeper into anything other than routine stops despite a number of efforts. Graham replaced the hard-working Nouble with 18 minutes to go - the youngster failing to touch the ball for at least the next seven minutes as Town clearly took their foot off the gas. A demoralised Donny created a few half chances as one of their fans took it upon himself to drop kick the ball back onto the pitch, much to the amusement of the Town faithful who sang an ironic "Sign him up." With 8 minutes to go, McGoldrick departed to a standing ovation as he was replaced by Taylor.

Chambers almost added a magnificent fourth shortly before the end after exchanging passes with Tunnicliffe but his volleyed effort went narrowly wide of Turnbull's left post. Three solid points against a very poor if somewhat understrength Doncaster Rovers - still nothing to be sniffed at!

Gerken - great save from the free kick and a seemed a bit more willing to claim crosses and come off his line. One silly (if successful) moment in the first half when instead of clearing his lines, he elected to dummy the onrushing attacker and come back inside onto his right foot. Looked good but not advisable!
Chambers - great goal, solid defending and could have scored a real belter near the end. Town fans waited in anticipation of the obligatory fist pump at the end. Chambo duly obliged.
Cresswell - run of the mill 7/10 from Cressy. Surprisingly good in the air!
Smith - solid and generally untroubled
Berra - likewise
Tunnicliffe - best I've seen him play for Town. Showed some skill, forward drive and desire. My MoM (most will go for McGoldrick I guess)
Skuse - keeps Town ticking over with good, if unspectacular ball retention
Hyam - If only the average fan would appreciate that all teams need someone to do what Luke does they might realise what a valuable asset the boy is.
Nouble - getting better and more of threat. Unpredictable but Frank is showing signs he could be a half decent player after all.
Murphy - great work to win the corner for the first and a superb pull back for the third. Decent display from Daryl.
McGoldrick - thumping header for first and super finish for the third. Good hold up play, dropping deep at times. A few sloppy passes aside, you can't fail to be impressed
Graham - took an eternity to get his first touch. Looks balanced but had one or two opportunities to cross but took a little too long
Taylor - would like to see him get more game time. Some niggly fouls from him in the short time he was on the pitch.

Well done to the 900 or so Town fans for making the long journey. Not that far for me. 4 points from the next two games and I will start to believe myself!
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Mullet added 19:28 - Dec 26

The sun dazzled as it hung low over the stand to the right of Town fans. Luckily as kick off came the sun and shielding hands descended as it was Town's time to shine. An unchanged 4-3-3 saw Skuse drop deeper to the crux of a V shaped midfield three. A receptacle for loose balls as he protected Town's back; it was Skuse who would squirt long ones towards a slightly withdrawn McG at the head of an inverted kite. Big boys Murphy and Nouble caused Donny to flap as they interchanged on either wing of what has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for far less impressive Town sides past.

A bright opening ten from Town saw Murphy fire the first of many decent chances on target. Cutting in from the right and forcing Turnbull to save as the Irishman benefited from the loveliness of a long-distance Tunners. The loanee covering yards time and again to defy challenges and space as he rushed goalward.

A neat red bowl, the Keepmoat is home also to local Rugby league and it was the use of up and unders which saw a decidedly lacklustre clutch of passes from Cresswell in open play early on. While Town had much joy going long and changing it up across the channels, the left back miscued into the stands more than a handful of times.

Despite the youth of Robinson and Macheda up front there was barely any pressure from a home side who were stacked with competent players but looked far from a team collectively. Town made this distinction a distinct advantage. Neat and tidy Hyam had seen Mick brassed off just days ago, but the fans in attendance soon chanted his name as he robbed the last man on halfway and looked to play in Didsy. A broken down move hinted at the well-oiled machine Town would come to look like when in full flow.

Up front it was the hustle of the big men and the head of Murphy which caused the defence all kind of problems. Unfortunately recent praise and headline grabber Nouble had his 20p head on when it came to reaping the rewards of his hard work. Town got little value when he fired into the stantion from an impossible angle, later he jumped for a cross and directed it further away from goal and towards the corner in slapstick fashion.

Straddling these incidents was a quick-fire double from Town. Cresswell took an out-swinging corner which hung high. Murphy leapt and from beside him emerged the gleaming dome of Didz. Top corner, net rippling, Town leading, beard still magnificent.

Within a few minutes another rampage from Tunners meant Town fans had little time to wait for a second. The neat interchange with McG saw the loanee employ a midfielders instinct when clean through. Cutting to the man on the back stick instead of finishing, a hoop hoofed it clear. The fauxhican was quick to dart to the flag and emulate Cresswell. Another outswinger, Chambers took the bow and the glory with it finishing emphatically. Double joy for Town, odes to Mick and Terry from the travelling chorus.

In a game where Rovers looked out of the hunt after half an hour it was hard to think of Gerken being tested. Donny's only real dangerman Duffy would win a freekick by causing Skuse to dive in recklessly. A caution was surprisingly not forthcoming, a dipping shot however was not kept back. Ricocheting ball between bar and glove bounced down and out. Gerken's wonder-save a game run continued. As did the praise from behind him.

Ipswich looked a side on the up in every sense as the half drew to a close it was the switching of play across flanks and between each unit of the side which caught the eye. As the temperature dropped with the sun the tempo did not. The midfield “V” defiant and definitively decisive in our dominance.

Rested and revitalised Town started the second strongly. It never looked like a third was far away and it was perhaps the pick of the goals. Cresswell's first half misdirection turned to magic as Murphy was released. Way past the last man he charged down the flank. A superb touch and he stroked it inside to McG. There was only way it was going. The maestro's miscontrol a clever ruse to wrong foot centreback and glovesman alike, shuffling shoulders saw the striker finish with class. 3-0 a goal scoring trinity wholly deserved for the travelling Town as the ghost of Ipswich past hung over us.

The yo-yo was a weapon in antiquity and recent Championship returnees Donny looked every bit a side strung out as the game plummeted away from them. Town kept up tradition and allowed themselves to relax as the Boxing Day afternoon ticked on and the rest of the 90 ticked down. Casually the midfield picked passes and opposition players apart.

Didsy now in sniffing distance of a hat trick fluffed his lines for a Hollywood ending to his afternoon. Clean through he dallied, opting to push wide to Murphy, the shot again unlucky to be palmed out but only as far as the ravenous Nouble. Hungrily he polished off the scraps fed to him for the ball to cross the Donny line for a fourth time. Only the lino proved to be a party pooper, signalling in true Mogga style that youngster was equidistant between last man and line – offside, no goal. Pantomime boos aplenty.

Soon McG was clean through again but managed to over think, as the covering boot came in he instinctively improvised. An outside of the boot dinked a bobbling ball to an outstretched Nouble who stabbed at it tamely like an unwanted trifle. Hopes of hitting the hosts for six again faded under the glow of starlight and floodlight.

With the game drawing out and Town comfortable, Mick began to match Dickov with subs. Changing the whole front line in stages as the pest failed to get under Mick's skin. First Graham made a rare appearance. Skinny and athletic the young #17 was unlikely not to touch the ball for minutes. When he did his pipe-cleaner standing leg strapped heavily remained still as he stepped and feinted in front of defenders he seemed unable to beat.

The inclusion of Taylor off the injury list and presumably Mick's naughty list saw the little sub announce himself in typical fashion. Assaulting the first man in his way and hauling him to the ground for a cheap freekick. The former Posh player would show plenty of desire and one class pass all of 30 yards. It swept past everyone including the sprinting Graham would have been clean through had foot and ball met.

Anderson also emerged from the wilderness and into the cold. His main job to close out the game and get fouled. Kicked out of the air in full flight by a man already booked much earlier, a late red card would have made little difference to the fortunes of a side already out of the game.

Town now had three smaller runners to push past Donny should they think of piling forward for any sort of consolation. The 90 saw Town switch from familiar to timidly playful. Pushing the ball about with ease as high line and width assured us of unwrapping three points for Christmas and a playoff place at full time. Jingle my bells it's nice to see Ipswich win away. Especially in such casual fashion.
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TractorBeezer added 00:34 - Dec 27

Love your illustrative reports cbower and Mullett which certainly fill in the gaps from other available reports while entertaining the reader at the same time. Feels like I was at the game. Thanks!
1


slowerball added 14:12 - Dec 27

There are already some very good reports on here, so I won't go into too much detail as most things have already been said.

What I would say is that this was a very enjoyable day out, assisted - very much so - by not only the weather but also the way the stewards and the staff in general at DRFC treated the supporters. Having experienced some dreadful stewarding this season (Blackpool being the very worst) it was refreshing be treated like a human being / customer (dare I say it) rather than like scum. Very well done to Donny in that respect. Wigan was pretty good too in fact. For those that haven't been to the Keepmoat, the stadium is very much fit for purpose and although an out of the box / idendikit type stadium, it was a very tidy ground and the pitch looked in very decent nick.

However, the game itself - I feel we took our foot off the gas slightly in the second half, albeit that we were three up, and should really have scored two or three more. Harsh on Donny, whose supporters looked as weary as their players and manager during what was for them a tough game and a pretty much nailed on defeat. They were second best throughout, despite a decent performance by former loanee and now Donny skipper Richie Wellens and their man-of-the-match, the number 7 Duffy, whose excellent freekick was superbly saved by Gerken. They are struggling, have injury worries and clearly lack cohesion and confidence. When the Man Utd loanee Macheda was subbed, I think we only realised at that point that he was actually playing, so poor had he been. Our support were in good spirits and fine voice throughout and the atmosphere was matched by the result.

Two very good deliveries and headers from corners put us two up and it was very frustrating at the end of the first 45 minutes that a late third corner was taken short instead of being whipped into the mixer. Nobody could understand it.

The third goal was a great move and a well struck, first time cross from Murphy straight to McGoldrick was well controlled, he beat a man and finished superbly past 'keeper Turnbull. A lovely goal. After that, the scoreline should have been increased although we showed more desire to extend our lead later in the game when the subs were on, wanting to impress. Perhaps earlier substitutions might have been both prudent and beneficial? Chances fell to McGoldrick, sensing a hat-trick and one golden oportunity fell to Nouble - actually, it was presented on a silver platter - but he failed to knock it in, not sure how. He did find the net but was judged off side, something that I'd like to see again because I don't think he was to be honest. One fine piece of play saw Chambers strike powerfully but not hitting the target - a real howitzer of a shot.

The young lad Jordan was clearly very keen to make his mark and displayed some fancy-dan stepovers and - likewise - Taylor was equally as keen, but gave away silly fouls in an attempt to get into the game and impress. Solid performances by the back four, although Cresswell's distribution wasn't geat again, despite hitting a decent corner for the first goal. Gerken is becoming more assured, although I'd like to see more dominance and him taking more control of his area - too quiet for me. Great save from the freekick and he is improving. Tunners did okay and Nouble tried hard, but lacked some finesse. Hyam is clearly still learning, but Skuse - for this supporter at least - was my man of the match. He made tackles, he broke up play, he seems to possess the best (and maybe only!) movement / options on throw-ins and puts his body on the line. He had a good day. McGoldrick had a good game as did Murphy, and playing this formation, with three strikers on the field, shows an attacking intent. This is good - scoring goals and defending well / keeping a clean sheet. It's a simple game! Very impressed when McGoldrick plays deeper actually, almost Rooney-esque...

The only snag on the day was when we got back to where we had parked up, the gates to the place were locked and we had to wait for the key holder to pitch up and release our vehicles... Still, don't mind such delays after a very convincing win and a very decent performance. Be interesting to see if Mick does any business in January as we seem to be performing consistently well (most players anyway!) certainly as a team and we defended well I thought, albeit against not the strongest attack in the Championship. If Hunt is fit soon and with Ebanks-Blake waiting in the wings, dare I mention the play-offs at this stage? Things are very promising.

All the best for the New Year.

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