Holland Beats Osman in Game of Three Thirds - Ipswich Town News

It’s not often you get to write about a match that is a game of three thirds, but that pretty much sums up Tuesday’s Portman Cup clash played on the main pitch between two sides made up of fans desperately trying to emulate their heroes. Amongst them, playing in an unfamiliar left-back role, was TWTD’s Phil Ham.

A few years back someone published a book entitled 101 Things to Do Before You Die. Having completed almost none of them, I, along with 20-odd fellow Blues, thought they better get on and do the unwritten 102nd — play in a game at Portman Road.

Town’s annual end of season pay-to-play Portman Cup fixture gives supporters a chance to sully the hallowed turf with their own footballing efforts, use dressing rooms more usually housing illustrious (and some less illustrious) pros of the past and maybe, just maybe, score a goal in front of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

Simon Milton is the man who organises it all, roping in a couple of other former Blues to take charge of each of the teams. This year, the club’s new U18s coach Russell Osman took charge of the ‘home’ side, wearing blue replicas of his 1981 UEFA Cup-winning kit, and ex-skipper Matt Holland, the ‘away’ team, sporting the white away version of the same strip.

On arrival at the ground, we were told which team we were in before being pointed to our dressing rooms where, as on a proper matchday, our named and numbered shirts were hanging on pegs waiting for us, shorts and socks carefully laid out below.

I had considered some Latino type of footballing nickname for the back of my shirt, perhaps taking on Filippo Inzaghi’s ‘Super Pippo’ moniker for the day, but like most eventually just went with my surname, along with Frans Thijssen’s old number four.

There is something slightly odd about finding yourself in Portman Road's home dressing room awaiting the start of a game, the place where all those teamtalks and all those match preparations have previously taken place. I half expected Jimmy Bullard to emerge from the shower room down the corridor to play some prank on one or all of us.

Walls which once reverberated to Roy Keane rollockings now resounded to Russell Osman asking which of us would fancy taking a turn in goal as only one real keeper had applied, and he was on the other team.

Once the gloves and luminous orange jersey from a couple of years back had been assigned, it was off to the practice pitch for a less than impressive warm-up session.

Then it was back into the dressing rooms for a rousing teamtalk before being led out on the field by the day’s referee, no less than former Premier League official Steve Tanner, who has just moved out this way, with the Tannoy blaring out the usual walk-on tunes.

OK, so there weren’t the baying crowds that you’d normally get, just 30 or so family and friends in the Britannia lower tier but there was still a slight frisson as your boots took the turf with the familiar stands surrounding you.

In order to give everyone in both squads an hour’s action, the game was split into three thirds and as mentioned the match followed a different pattern in each.

The home side took control of the first 30 and went ahead via Jacob Edwards. It was soon two when set piece expert… er me whipped across a corner from the left and centre-half Ryan Hunt rose in a manner reminiscent of his team’s manager to guide a header past James Deacon in the away goal.

Before third-time, it was three. Excellent work from Simon Aldred culminated in Daniel Woodhouse nodding across the keeper and into the net.

The home fans went wild at the break. At least I think they did, it was difficult to hear them from my position on the touchline in front of the Cobbold Stand.

It had been a consummate performance with the first of three keepers Craig Hatt — who was perhaps foolish to have written ‘anywhere’ in the section marked ‘Position’ on the application form - having handled impressively.

A swift turnaround followed, in all senses of the phrase. Matt Holland’s away side grabbed the impetus from the off and put the home team under almost constant pressure.

Despite last ditch Jason De Vos-style blocks and the occasional desperate appeal towards the linesman for not overly evident offsides, goals eventually came.

Craig Bacon made it 3-1, then Martin Beecroft pulled his side closer after the home defence was caught asleep at a freekick.

However, as at Leicester on Saturday, the 3-2 scoreline didn’t last long, the home side breaking away and making it 4-2 with Richard Moss showing the sort of predatory penalty area instinct which has been missing from the Town squad this season. Manager Paul Jewell had by now taken a place on the touchline and may have been spotted nodding approvingly.

But the away team were still largely on top and before two-thirds-time it was 4-3, Chris Thompson netting. This report will neglect to mention who was supposed to be marking him.

More changes followed ahead of a more balanced final third. Both sides had chances but Holland’s away boys continued to look more of a threat than Osman’s home lads, however, the team in blue was still hanging on.

But then the game turned on the flukiest of flukes. Slack marking at a throw on the right allowed Craig Bacon to send in a cross, which deceived keeper Richard Moss, wobbled in the air and dipped under the bar before nestling in the net, not unlike Simon Milton’s effort in the Coca-Cola Cup tie against Cambridge United at Portman Road in 1993.

The nature of the goal was a bitter pill for the home side to swallow having been ahead for so much of the game and they never really recovered.

A draw and a penalty shoot-out seemed certain until referee Tanner, who kept his cards in his pockets throughout, awarded a freekick midway inside the home half with just minutes to go. The ball was sent into the box and Martin Beecroft flicked it into the net for his second of the game and the winner.

At the end the home side — and their manager — were gutted, while Matt Holland ran over to applaud the North Stand out of habit.

Despite the away side having won the match, a penalty shoot-out followed to give everyone a chance of saying they’d scored at Portman Road.

I took that difficult third kick and aimed for an area low and to the keeper’s left just inside the post. I ran up and hit it, the ball cannoning down off the underside of the bar a foot to the left of the keeper’s head before bouncing up into the roof of the net. Phew.

The away side took the shoot-out by a close scoreline I’ve forgotten, helped slightly by the fact they had more players with referee Tanner refusing to do the maths which would have evened things out.

Home keeper for the penalties Richard Moss failed to save a single spotkick leading to cruel suggestions from his team-mates that a Madame Tussaud’s waxwork might have done a better job.

Then it was to the presentation of the Portman Cup itself and managers’ speeches over a buffet where injuries and bad misses were compared and I outlined my planned match report to my team-mates, provisionally headlining it ‘Ham Stars in Unlucky Defeat’.

Despite the loss, Osman said he enjoyed the day and felt the lack of a proper keeper was a significant factor: "It was nice to be in charge of a team at Portman Road.

"We got off to a flying start but I think we shot our bolt a bit early on. We had to make a few changes, not having a natural goalkeeper, and needed to change every third with an outfield playing going in goal, which isn’t ideal. But I thought we coped reasonably well and we really should have held on to our lead.

"After the warm-up, I was a little bit worried. Once the game got started, it was a lot higher quality than I was expecting. I was pleasantly surprised, it was a good game.

"It went quite quickly, which is always a sign of a good game. Well, it went quickly for us on the sidelines, I think it might have seemed to go on for one or two of the players!

"It’s nice to give people the opportunity to look behind the scenes, go into the changing rooms, play on the pitch and score in the goals. For lifelong Ipswich supporters it’s a one-off opportunity.”

Chief executive Simon Clegg watched part of the match: "It was really good to see people having the opportunity to play on the pitch. It’s very easy to talk about the importance of the community at any football club but it is deeply ingrained in our DNA here.

"It’s something that we are conscious of in terms of the history this club has got as a community-based club. People say that it’s changing but I’m definitely trying to ensure that we retain that community feel because I think it’s absolutely critical for the future of the club.”

Organiser Milton says he was concerned after the first third but in the end was pleased with the way the match went: "At first I thought one team was going to absolutely batter the other when they went 3-0 up after 30 minutes.

"I did worry a bit because I try to put together two teams that are equal. But in the end, what a cracking game, won by the odd goal, 5-4, with practically the last kick of the game.

"There was this little left-back playing, same haircut as me. He impressed me. The manager actually came down as well and watched a little bit. He said, ‘is that that guy from TWTD?’!”

The former midfielder says the day as a whole went well and that it’ll be staged again next summer: "It’s been going for four or five years now, it’s always played in the same spirit. People are absolutely delighted and excited to get out on the pitch and you can see why.

"They get as much football as they can, then there’s the penalty shoot-out afterwards. Once again it’s been a great success, which is down to the people taking part, but also to Matt Holland and Russell Osman, who were excellent.

"They took to it, they mingled with everyone, they really got involved and they really wanted to win. The look on Matt Holland’s face when they went 3-0 down just shows you that. Although it’s just a bit of fun, they wanted to be successful.

"From the club’s point of view, it was a very, very good day and we’ll be running it again next year.”

Home: Martin Swallow, Alan Taylor, Phil Ham, Daniel Woodhouse, Dan Frost, Richard Moss, Simon Aldred, Jarrod Ellis, Steve Birks, Craig Hatt, Rory King, Luke Fry, Ryan Hunt, Michael Dove (c), Jacob Edwards. Manager: Russell Osman.

Away: James Deacon, Peter Bennett, Rob Atherton, Gary Young, Chris Marsh, Graeme Lockwood, Adam Gilbert, Jonny Cracknell, Martin Beecroft, Dean Dye, Neil Gilbert, Craig Bacon, Chris Thompson, David Baxter, Andrew Watkins. Manager: Matt Holland. Referee: Steve Tanner. Assistants: Phil Knight, Andy Wilding.

In addition to the Portman Cup, Town also offer standard pitch hire, which includes the affiliation of the game, a physio on hand along with St John's Ambulance and match officials. For further details, email sales@itfc.co.uk.

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