An inability to hang on to a game has been a characteristic of Town's season, and that's brought with it some interesting first- v second-half statistics.

It's now 10 matches since Town let in a first-half goal; the last time was against Coventry on 16 January. A run of 10 first-half clean sheets has only been achieved five times in the club's history, the previous occasions being in 1979-80 under Sir Bobby (11 matches), 1982-83 under Bobby Ferguson (11), 1991-92 under John Lyall (10), 1998-99 under George Burley (an incredible 17 matches) and 1999-2000, also under Burley (10).

One of the most interesting statistics of all is that - despite a poor home record this season - Town have conceded just six goals in the first half at Portman Road, and three of those were in one game, against Newcastle.

Even when Town have let in a first-half goal, it's a long time since that's been without reply: the last time Town were trailing after 45 minutes (home or away) was at Cardiff on 29 November, so that's 17 matches now since Town fans have had to spend the interval discussing why the team have found themselves behind. The club record is the first 19 matches of the 1980-81 season, a run which eventually ended when Town found themselves 2-1 down at half-time away to Spurs (they went on to lose the match 5-3).

What's more, Town have not conceded more than the odd goal in the first half since 26 September against Newcastle - a 26-match run since last letting in two goals in the first half.

As we can all guess, the second half performances haven't been as good. Last night was only the second match all season where Town 'won' the first half and "won" the second half too. In contrast, on no fewer than seven occasions Town have 'won' the first half but then 'lost' the second. The second half record is W7 D14 L14, compared to W11 D17 L7 in the first half. And in comparison to the six goals conceded in the first half at Portman Road, Town have conceded 18 in the second half away from home.

naa added 16:20 - Mar 10 As expected. Not sure why that's happened but there's certainly been a foot-off-the-gas approach this season. Or a 'panic and try not to concede' approach. Someone needs to tell them that attack is the best form of defence. Or maybe they finally got that message if last night is anything to go by.
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webside added 16:53 - Mar 10 Very interesting read, and very glad to see the boys committed all game last night. Great performance, thought our midfield ruled well and we kept pressing all game. Sure we soaked up a few Cardiff chances, and their shooting was atrocious, but that's all part of the game and we dealt with it really well. Let's hope we continue in this form, where every game, and always should have, counts.

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NorthStand added 13:46 - Mar 11 I don’t agree that we take the pedal off in the second half. A better way to assess this is to look at how many times we have come back after conceding the first goal and how many times we have dropped points by scoring the first goal and then conceding. Twice this season we have come back to win after falling behind(Cardiff away and Coventry home) while twice we have taken the lead only to lose(Crystal Palace away and Peterborough away). On six occasions we have come back to draw after conceding the first goal while on six occasions we have taken the lead and ended up drawing. To me this suggests we are no better or no worse than other clubs when it comes to digging in and fighting.

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cphtractor added 15:50 - Mar 11 Are goals scored in this division evenly distributed between both halfs or is there a tendency for more goals in second half?
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