x

Town Continue Pre-Season With Second Double Header - Ipswich Town News

Town continue their pre-season friendly programme with a second Saturday double header as they take on League One sides Cambridge United and Stevenage.

The Blues face the U’s at the Abbey Stadium at midday, then take on Boro at the Lamex Stadium at 3.30pm.

It’s Town’s second doubler header of pre-season, the Blues beaten Slovakian side Spartak Trnava 2-1 and drawn 2-2 with Flyeralarm Admira last Saturday in Austria.

As in those matches, Town will field a different team in each of the matches with one or two youngsters likely to augment the two senior squads.

New loan signing Omari Hutchinson could make his first appearance for his new club in one of the matches.

Speaking after Wednesday's 2-1 win at Preston North End, manager Kieran McKenna, who will be attending both games, said he hoped Harry Clarke (tendon), Janoi Donacien (tendon), Wes Burns (calf) and George Edmundson (ankle) would be involved at the weekend.

"I’ll make the dash,” he said. "It’s a busy couple of weeks and a busy couple of Saturdays but it’s a great way to do it.

"It gets everybody minutes. I think you can see in the players, the benefits they’ve had from the last few weeks and the fact that we have had plenty of minutes.

"Sometimes it’s a bit busy and bit stressful for the staff, and it’s not always the smoothest on the pitch because everyone’s focus is split over two games, but I don’t think you can put a price on everybody getting those sort of minutes at the moment.”

The Blues beat the U’s 3-0 at Portman Road in League One last season before drawing 1-1 at the Abbey Stadium as Mark Bonner’s side successfully battled relegation and ultimately finished 20th.

There are one or two familiar faces in Bonner’s squad including striker Gassan Ahadme, who is set to come up against his teammates having joined the U’s on loan for the season earlier in the summer.

Former Blues Jack Lankester and Paul Digby are also currently at the Abbey Stadium, while veteran defender Ryan Bennett was an academy player at Playford Road before being released at 16.

Stevenage finished second in League Two last season to win promotion into League One.

Town last played Boro in a League Cup tie at Portman Road in 2016 when the visitors ran out 1-0 winners.

The Blues were set to play Boro in a pre-season friendly in July 2021 but the game was postponed due to Covid issues at the Hertfordshire club.

Town previously played a pre-season game at the Lamex in July 2007 when they were beaten 3-0 by the then-Conference side.

A familiar face in the Stevenage squad is forward Jordan Roberts, who signed a new one-year deal with Boro on Thursday.

Tickets for the Cambridge game will be available online until 11.30am on the day of the game here and from the ticket office at the Abbey Stadium until kick-off.

For the Stevenage game, tickets will be available on the day from the away ticket office at the Lamex Stadium.

What to read next:

US Sports Media Personality Cowherd Among Town's Owners
US sports media personality Colin Cowherd has been revealed as a minority stakeholder in Town.
O'Neil: We'll Give It Our Best Go at Home Under the Lights
Blues boss Gary O’Neil knows Arsenal will be a very strong side regardless of the changes his opposite number Mikel Arteta makes for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie at Portman Road (KO 8pm, Sky Sports+).
Town Women Maintain Unbeaten Start With Draw at Southampton
Ipswich Town Women maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a backs-to-the-wall performance away to Southampton at Eastleigh. Despite being under severe pressure for the majority of the match they kept the game scoreless, earning a second successive draw in WSL2.
Town Women at Southampton
Ipswich Town Women face Southampton at Eastleigh’s Silverlake Stadium in their first WSL2 away game of the season this afternoon (KO 2pm).
U18s Beaten By Saints
Town’s U18s suffered their second U18s Premier League South defeat of the season as they were beaten 4-1 at Playford Road by Southampton yesterday morning.
Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town - Highlights
Highlights of this afternoon’s 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace.
Sage: Frustrated For the Players
Crystal Palace head coach Pierre Sage was frustrated for his players after his side fell to a late 3-2 defeat to the Blues at Selhurst Park having got back on terms despite being down to 10 men.
Flemming: We Got Away With Murder a Little Bit
Town striker Zian Flemming admitted the Blues lost control of the game during the second half before securing a dramatic late victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
O'Neil: Lots of Good Signs and I Learned a Lot
Blues boss Gary O’Neil felt he saw lots of good signs but also learned a lot from his side’s 3-2 victory over 10-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.