Brentford defender John Egan scored twice just after the break to consign the Blues to a 2-0 defeat at Griffin Park. Egan nodded home a header on 48 and then slammed in a rebound eight minutes later.

Boss Mick McCarthy made two changes from the team which beat Barnsley 4-2 on the opening day. Hat-trick hero Grant Ward was handed his first league start for the Blues, as was loanee Conor Grant, the duo having come on as half-time subs last week.

The pair started in wide roles, Ward on the right and Grant on the left, with Freddie Sears moving up front alongside Daryl Murphy.

The injured David McGoldrick dropped out of the squad, while Teddy Bishop moved to the bench. New re-signing Luke Varney wasn’t included in the 18.

Ward struck the first shot of the game in the third minute after Ryan Woods needlessly surrendered possession midway inside his own half. The 21-year-old brought the ball forward before hitting a powerful low drive which Brentford keeper Daniel Bentley claimed confidently.

Neither side created another opportunity in the first quarter of a hour in a fairly open and even game but with little penalty area action.

On-loan Everton man Grant went close to his first Town goal in the 17th minute when he curled a 25-yard freekick just past Bentley’s right post, Jonas Knudsen having been fouled.

Grant went close again in the 21st minute after breaking into the area on the left having been fed by Murphy but Bentley managed to bundle his low near-post shot wide. From the resultant corner Christophe Berra headed over.

Town continued to look the more dangerous side and almost went in front in the 24th minute.

Sears fed Knudsen to his left and the full-back sent over a low ball to Ward, whose effort was blocked by Callum Elder. The ball cannoned off Sears to Murphy at a tight angle on the right but the Irishman was only able to turn on to the roof of the net.

Brentford’s first chance of the game came in the 32nd minute when Woods threaded in Josh Clarke between Berra and Knudsen. But, with the Danish international putting him under pressure, Clarke screwed his shot well wide.

Adam Webster picked up the game’s first booking for a foul on Scott Hogan in the 39th minute.

The Blues threatened again four minutes before the break when Cole Skuse played Murphy in on the left, however, the Irishman’s low ball towards Sears was cut out by Harlee Dean.

Brentford’s best chance of the half came a minute later, Webster challenged Hogan on the edge of the box and the ball fell to Lewis Macleod, who scraped a shot only just past Bartosz Bialkowski’s right post when he should have hit the target.

Soon after at the other end, Murphy flicked on a long ball to Sears on the edge of the box but the Town number 20, without a goal in 28 games, shot well wide.

That was the last chance of a half in which the Blues had had the better of the chances and Bentley was the busier keeper.

However, the Bees had started to look more threatening towards the end when Macleod should have done much better with his opportunity.

The second half was only three minutes old when the home side took the lead. After Webster had headed a cross from the right behind ahead of Bialkowski, Macleod sent over the corner and completely unmarked home debutant John Egan - he had escaped the attention of Webster - headed into the corner of the net with Bialkowski having no chance.

Brentford went looking for a second and on 52 Bialkowski did well to save from Macleod from a tight angle on the left. The Bees kept up the pressure and Knudsen did well to block a subsequent strike from Nico Yannaris.

The home side doubled their lead in the 56th minute when, after another corner on the right, Sears half-cleared to Yannaris, who hit a powerful low strike which Bialkowski couldn’t hold onto and Egan followed up to claim his second of the afternoon.

Town sought to get back into a game and on 58 Berra headed wide from a Grant corner after Bentley had come and failed to claim. Soon after, Ward volleyed a Knudsen cross from the left just wide.

Brentford threatened to make it 3-0 just after the hour when Romaine Sawyers was twice thwarted by the Town defence, Webster diverting his second effort behind.

Blues boss McCarthy switched Grant for Bishop in the 66th minute, then a minute later Brentford swapped Maxime Colin for Sam Saunders.

Soon after the substitutions Bialkowski tipped a powerful Macleod strike over with the Bees looking more likely to score a third than Town were to pull one back.

However, on 72 Bishop completed a one-two with Sears and whipped over a cross from the right which Murphy only just failed to reach at the far post.

There was another scare for the Blues a minute later when Bialkowski was forced to kick under pressure and only found Macleod but the former Rangers man looped back into the keeper’s hands.

Former Bee Jonathan Douglas replaced Bru on 78, initially to boos from the home fans which were quickly replaced by applause.

The substitute almost pulled a goal back two minutes after coming on. Following a freekick, he did well to find himself space before eventually scuffing to the keeper.

Brentford sub Saunders will feel he should have made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute when found by Sawyers’s cross from the right but he volleyed well over.

Moments later, Murphy was found at a tight angle at the far post and shot well wide when he probably should have played the ball across the area.

Two minutes later, with the Bees well on top and passing the ball around slickly, Woods curled just wide, then hit a subsequent effort past the same post.

A frustrated Murphy shot wide from distance on 88 before the Bees replaced Macleod with Konstantin Kershbaumer, then Josh McEachran came on for Yennaris as the game moved into injury time.

In the corresponding fixture on the opening day of last season the Blues were 2-0 up and Brentford hit back twice in injury time to level, but such a comeback never looked on the cards and referee Stephen Martin’s whistle confirmed Town’s first defeat at Griffin Park since November 1955.

Town had the better of the first half, although there were signs that the Bees were becoming more dangerous close to the break.

Egan’s two goals soon after the break took the game away from Town and they never really recovered and the Bees looked more likely to extend their lead than the tame Blues were to get back into the match.

Town have another tough away trip to Wolves on Tuesday before next Sunday’s East Anglian derby against Norwich City at Portman Road.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bru (Douglas 78), Ward, Grant (Bishop 66), Sears, Murphy. Unused: Gerken, T Smith, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Dozzell.

Brentford: Bentley, Colin (Saunders 67), Elder, Dean, Egan, Yennaris (McEachran 90), Woods, Clarke, Macleod (Kershbaumer 90), Hogan, Sawyers. Unused: Bonham, Bjelland, Hofmann, Ledesma. Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire).

Photo: Action Images

OwainG1992 added 17:33 - Aug 13 I try to be one of the more positive fans and hate the constant Mick bashing etc but that was just a tad dull. A couple exciting additions needed. Pick Smith!
-5

PortmanTerrorist added 17:37 - Aug 13 If anyone watched the first half last week they will know that after an appalling pre season, we were utterly clueless and looked like strangers. Only the new boys nice finish early in the second after forced substitutions did the game open right up and we just about deserved it. The point is, when Mick has the time to organise, we are shocking. When the players are forced to improvise they do better. The manager's decisions today were poor. The team he built and put out was poor. Our tactics were poor. And you wonder why players don't find their best form. We all love this Club but whether you like our respect Mick or not, he is most definitely now on borrowed time.

27

thebeat added 17:44 - Aug 13 Fed up of saying the same thing really. Nothings changed and never will. He doesnt know how to be any different. Boring, predictable, awful to watch, one dimensional, long ball, players who simply arent good enough being picked week after week out of sheer favouritism, sometimes out of position i.e. Chambers. If ever a substition summed up Micks mentality it was bringing on the tortoise Douglas instead of Dozzell when 2-0 down. I ask any fan out there to explain how that was the correct thing to do. I said it on here a few weeks back and im still convinved that by the bank holiday weekend match at home the atmosphere at PR will be poisonous. Kenlock and Emanuel looked great at the end of last season, bright attacking fullbacks who can cross a ball but they wont get a look in because it would mean dropping 2 of his boys who both arent good enough fullbacks for this league. Its gona be a long hard season, much longe than the last couple, but this will be seen by Micks disciples as a knee jerk reaction, an exaggeration, remember where we were when he took over blah blah blah. Some of us have been pointing it out for years, and hes still here producing the same dross with the same cautious tired tactics and picking his favourites policy. Varney coming back just about tops it for me, bang average player yet he welcomes him with open arms, simply not good enough.

35

Knightsy added 17:44 - Aug 13 I had my 1st visit of the season at Ipswich Wanderers. £6 to get in, I didn't have to wait ages for a pint at the bar, you can drink whilst watching the football. The Football wasn't great, but it was still better than MM Style of Play...and they Won 2-1.
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NoelTheDub added 17:45 - Aug 13 I havent posted in a long time as this manager and those people who believe in his way of playing football have gutted me.Ive been so unhappy about our great club going down the drain,penny pinching in the transfer market and putting together a squad for this season that beggers belief.I am not going to slaughter this team as I did not expect anything today or any day soon, We are clearly going to struggle as this club is rotting fast,on the field and up stairs I mean.The same talk on here over the last year is unbelievable and looks like its going to carry on this season also,the favouritism, the stubborness,the square peg syndone,no width, and I almost forgot because its so long since ive seen it football at my Portman road sorry if I offended any of my fellow supporters.

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Elizabeth added 17:46 - Aug 13 This is the second game of the season ! All will be forgiven when we beat our rivals next week !
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Knightsy added 17:50 - Aug 13 Dream on Elizabeth....we won't beat Norwich.
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runningout added 17:53 - Aug 13 We need at least 7 additions before next game.. Too many below average players too comfortable at club
8

SheptonMalletBlue added 17:54 - Aug 13 Very well said thebeat
4

Europablue added 17:54 - Aug 13 I think the most disappointing thing is we keep threatening to be decent only to follow up with a terrible display. A bit premature to state we are in a relegation scrap, but definitely feels like a mid-table kind of season.
2

Bluetone added 17:55 - Aug 13 Just another ground hog day part of just another ground hog season. Please McCarthy just go and go now. You have reached the end of our tether.
7

prebsa added 17:55 - Aug 13 Bring on Douglas to try and get back in the game. Says it all really! Our defending is getting no worse and worse and from a set piece yet again! We basically went back to how we played in the first half last week which was very average at best!
7

Lathers added 17:58 - Aug 13 I don't ever remember feeling this negative going in to a Derby. The squad is a shambles. The re-signing of Varney just sums up where we are at. The problem is not just about replacing Mick, but a complete overhaul of our very average squad. Yeah, yeah... Only 2 games in etc.... But this is a continuation of last season's rubbish. Stevenage shouldn't be overlooked either - that wasn't far off the best team we can put out for a Championship game!

9

VulpineBlue added 17:59 - Aug 13 Knightsy- I might be joining you when the season ticket lapses. As I remember the chips are really good at the 'Doucy as well. As they play in blue there's no culture shock either.
7

kpblues added 18:00 - Aug 13 Dire. Same old plan - Route 1 to Murphy and hope for the best So lacking imagination. Now dreading what Norwich are going to do to us
8

bluearmy4life added 18:02 - Aug 13 To sum things up in a nut shell then..... Are we any further forward this season then last? I'm thinking we aren't at all! Poor result midweek and no reaction to follow it up. Simply not good enough! Can't see us getting anything at Wolves on Tuesday, and as much as it hurts me to say this I can see Norwich yet again clinching another victory of us to top off a shambolic record against them. I hope I'm wrong, but based on a poor pre-season, poor start to this season, no strength in depth in our squad, look at our bench today, can we really challenge for promotion. Lack of signings and not enough investment is very evident right now.

6

carlo88 added 18:02 - Aug 13 @ thebeat Good post, I can't get to games being in Devon but perhaps not being able to see the games live has affected my opinion; certainly I have been surprised at the open hostility to MM on this forum. I've always though Mick had done a good job but I'm changing my mind, in fact I thought we'd lose today. We're a big enough club to expect better.
10

brendanh added 18:03 - Aug 13 Phil, call a spade a spade. You seem desperate not to offend the players. Are you a journalist or a mouse? Bee's first: "completely unmarked home debutant John Egan". Completely unmarked by who? Webster. Bee's second came after "the ball was half-cleared out to Yannaris". It was a shockingly poor attempted clearance by Sears. These were the two crucial moments of the match, and you failed to describe what happened. If you don't give us true reflection on who played well and who did not, then we'll go elsewhere for our town coverage. When TWTD was a fanzine, this kind of timid coverage would never have been printed. If this is the price you are paying to get cosy interviews and insider gossip, then it isn't worth it.

9

manualthetisfanclub added 18:08 - Aug 13 Absolutely pathetic! Not going to bother commenting further,other than to say Mick Out, enough said enough now!
8

Dissboyitfc added 18:18 - Aug 13 We are going backwards, really dreading the Derby game. Think i will join Knightys. MM just go now thanks for the past but please go!
12

corfu72 added 18:24 - Aug 13 Against my better judgement I went to the match today with high hopes of a vast improvement from last Saturday and of course the Tuesday defeat at the hands of lowly Stevenage.Well was I disappointed,first half was ok and I could not see us loosing this match.The second half was terrible,school-boy marking and not a clue on how to break down a poor Brentford Team.Still playing square pegs in round holes.Why on earth does he not play the two young lads at full back.Chambers is really off the mark now in pace and positioning,and I reacon Smith could be back for Tuesday at Wolves. Just why bring on Douglas,he is so off the pace and to me is clueless.And why bring the young lad on with minutes to go!! Doe's not make sense to me.Ok,it's only the second Lge match but things need to change sooner rather than later.!! COYB.(Boring drive home,nobody talking.).

9

jas0999 added 18:29 - Aug 13 Brendanh - Phil runs an excellent website and should be respected, but I do agree with you. Sadly, it's a well known fact that if local journalists print anything negative about corporate Evans, they are banned from PR. I know journalists that this has happened to. That's also why after an excellent article last season questioning Evans, Stuart Watson had to issue a humbling apology the next day. It's remarkable stuff.

13

BillBlue added 18:39 - Aug 13 Three years ago I wrote an open letter to Mr Evans and posted it as a blog. I was suggesting he get rid of the oath he had employed and employ the best young Manager from the lower leagues (Hough) but also reemploy the youth Manager from Tottenham which he did. I believe I got a record of 43 negatives from MM. Supporters when I repeated it on here but I wonder how many of those people would agree with me. Now I have a further bit of advice for him. Mr Evans I advise you to fire your choice of Manager now, three years too late, before you have to give another million pounds to somebody else to stop us falling through the hole. A reminder to MM that his predecessor was an honourable man and willingly walked when he had lost the plot - mind you Mick has never had it. COYB

11

MicksZzzTactics added 18:40 - Aug 13 O Brother [Varney] Where Art Thou? .... Ooops sorry that's basically the copyrighted name of The Cohen Brothers immaculate adventure movie set during the "Great Depression". So I'll try again: O Brother... we are .... hmmm ....hmmm .... we are the Epitome of Sadness .... or The Epitome of Sheiiiiit! (someone here will likely argue i.e. someone for instance feeling real agitated about their latest sense of £ wasted on watching Prehistoric Mick's awesome now-back-to-being-predictable XI). Any which way and despite quite respectable but undeniably also quite FLUKISH 6th and 7th finishes the last 2 seasons, Ipswich Town the football club along with their nowadays Scrooge-like owner and their dinosauric hoof susceptible & afraid-to-lose-and-thus-never-goes-for-the-jugular manager could pretty soon find themselves the midst of their very own form of a "Great Depression" imho. Yep it's still really really early days and as such we shouldn't really "jump to conclusions" especially real negative ones yada yada yada HOWEVER aside from our "fortunate" 3 championship points already in The Bank (yep fortunate considering ALL events that transpired in the 1st half against Barnsley could quite easily hot only have been 1 or 2 behind but much more seriously have been reduced to 10 men with a ref with a little more stomach acid on the day! Ohhh and while his replacement Watkins caused us trouble on his own the Tykes did in fact also lose their absolute most prolific goalscorer Sam Winnall (35 goals since joining them in 2014/2015) after just minutes! ) .......... we have now accomplished in the ensuing 7 days the no small feat of not only being knocked out of a domestic cup tournament by a significant lower level opposition for the seemingly umpteenth time but also losing today to a otherwise offensively very messed-up Brentford side. An imho fitting characteristic to give them based on the fact that they were not only still missing their 2 only standout best goalscoring offensive players in Vibe & Judge but have actually not scored more than just once in ANY game (and won just once btw against German mediocre 2nd division side Bochum) since the 2015/2016 season ended!!!!!!!!! Soooo while I too don't deny it's "still very very early yada yada yada" my personal initial impression is that on days were the lively Mr. Ward doesn't have this "King Midas touch" of his (where everything one touches turns to pure gold) as he had in his surreal debut against Barnsley .... but certainly didn't have neither against lowly Stevenage nor against seriously offensively messed-up Brentford -- although he occasionally did appear as one of the scarcely few bright and creative spots in both those later matches -- we are in DEEP DEEP TROUBLE!!!!!!!!!! And for every disappointing result that follows Dinosaur Mick becomes more and more likely to gradually forget ALL about his lovely & positive pre-season PR talk of "We need to pass the ball more and better" + "We simply need to entertain to bring back them fans who didn't renew their season-tickets" and just simply revert back to his with ITFC trademark "Hoof & Hope" hedgehog tactics.

13

Kirbmeister added 18:49 - Aug 13 Poor old Elizabeth -14! Even MM probably marked her down!!
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