Town tonight put themselves into the second round of the UEFA Cup after they beat a defensive Torpedo Moscow 2-1 on the night, 3-2 on aggregate. The Russian side were content with their one away goal and played like a typical away side by trying to catch us on the break.
Both Martijn Reuser and Titus Bramble were missing from the starting line up, leaving Mark Venus to play at the back and Jamie Clapham on the left of midfield. The attendance was pitifully small in a stadium that can hold 80,681 and made for an unusual atmosphere. The 1000 Ipswich fans that made the trip were very vocal and did us proud.
The tactics were working in the first half as we had all the possession, but few clear cut opportunities. In fact the best chance fell to the home side in the 21st minute when they were guilty of missing the easiest of chances you are ever likely to see. They broke down the left and a great pass threaded through broke thought our offside trap leaving two forwards against Serini. The Italian keeper closed down the first for him to pass square, leaving a completely gaping goalmouth, only for Viazmikin to hit the ball against the underside of the crossbar and was scooped away by Hreidarsson.
Shortly after we had another scare when a quick throw was taken well into our half and Viazmikin scrambled the ball through the defence and put the ball into the side netting. Those were the only two chances they had in the half, whereas we had many half chances most notably from Stewart.
The second half was a different story altogether. Soon after the whistle we were to go 1-0 up. Venus took a corner on the right hand side. It was met with Hreidarsson’s head on the far corner of the box to Stewart on the penalty spot. The ball bounced off him into the path of Finidi George who hit a shot across the keeper into the far side of the net. 1-0 and exactly what we deserved.
Soon after in the 53rd minute we made it 2-0. A move which started on the right with George was switched to the left with Hreidarsson passing forward to Clapham. A superb cross to Finidi on the penalty spot but he was held down by a covering defender, and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Stewart said earlier on in the week that if we were to be given another penalty, he would be the one to take it. True to his word, he took the ball and placed it on the spot. He waited for the whistle, stepped 5 paces back, and fired the ball passed the goalkeepers outstretched right hand to take us to 2-0.
Torpedo then had to take the game to Town, and they abandoned their defensive approach. They needed to score 3 times as we had 2 away goals and they managed to pull one back on 65 minutes. A superb long ball from within the centre circle caught the defence square leaving Viazmikin in acres of space. He took his time and fired past Serini who looked a little out of position. It looked offside but the goal stood.
Substitutions were made in a bid to either put some steel in the midfield, or just to wind down the clock, but the two more goals that were required to take Torpedo to the next round was too much to ask of the home side.
A lot of credit must be given to all 14 that played tonight. Serini made a number of saves especially in the second half. The defence looked quite sound even if the offside trap was sprung on a number of occasions. Clapham played particularly well with the left hand side looking much more dangerous than the right. Finidi George was quiet in the first half, but took his goal well and got us the penalty which isn’t a bad nights work. Lastly Marcus Stewart worked tirelessly and showed so much character when he converted the penalty.
With any luck this performance will kick start our season. We have a very tough game this weekend against the leaders Leeds but confidence must be gained from this valuable win.
So who do we fancy in the next round?