Ipswich Town Women were held to a 0-0 draw by the MK Dons at Weston Park this afternoon.
With windy conditions and a poor pitch leading to a scruffy game, the Blues were held to a goalless draw for the second league match running, the Tractor Girls’ previous fixture, Gillingham’s visit to Suffolk a fortnight ago, having ended in the same scoreline.
The Blues moved a point further ahead of second-placed Oxford, who were beaten 1-0 by Crawley Wasps in the National League Cup.
The big winners on the day were third-placed Southampton, who beat Hashtag United 1-0, also in the National League Cup, with the Saints now nine points behind the Blues but with five games in hand and four behind the U’s having played three fewer matches.
Town boss Joe Sheehan, who earlier in the day was named FA Women’s National League Premier Division Manager of the Month for January, was unhappy with the pitch at Weston Park, primarily the home of Wootton Blue Cross, who play in the Bedfordshire County Football League.
"I think the pitch is embarrassing for the level that we play at. I don’t think it’s good enough that we have to be playing on pitches like this,” he said.
"We don’t expect Wembley, but straight away from walking on it you know it’s not going to make for a very good game of football at all.
"When you consider that and the wind that obviously contributes, which can’t be helped, it makes an ugly game of football.”
He added: "It’s difficult to try and play on a surface that’s just not playable, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not saying the game shouldn’t have gone ahead, but for the level we play, this pitch isn’t good enough.
"We know that teams will have to potentially come here. Most of their games are played at Stadium MK but it appears we have to come and play here, and it makes it very difficult.
"And I don’t believe our opposition were keen on winning the game or playing any sort of football, it was just trying to stop us in our tracks, and they’ve done exactly that.”
Town: Quantrill, Hughes, Peake, Egan, Lafayette, Grey (Hubbard 78), Horwood (c), King (Smith 81), Robertson (Brasero-Carreira 70), Barratt (Biggs 78), Thomas. Unused: Hakes.