Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Ipswich Town - Match Report Tuesday, 16th Aug 2016 21:42 Town were denied what would have been a deserved first away victory of the season at Wolves after Daryl Murphy had a perfectly good first-half goal disallowed, apparently for offside, the game ending 0-0. The Irishman headed home a Grant Ward corner, keeper Bartosz Bialkowski having saved an earlier Jon Dadi Bodvarsson penalty. Boss Mick McCarthy made two changes to the team which lost 2-0 at Brentford on Saturday with Teddy Bishop and Jonathan Douglas coming into the side for Kevin Bru, who dropped to the bench, and the injured Conor Grant. The Blues lined-up in a 4-3-3 formation with Freddie Sears and Ward either side of Daryl Murphy up front, while Bishop started in midfield with Cole Skuse and Douglas. Luke Varney was named among the subs for the first time since rejoining the club for a third spell. Town started slightly nervously with Bialkowski twice scuffing clearances in the opening minute but with the home side unable to profit. Wolves took the game to the Blues in the early stages but without being able to find a way beyond Town’s well-drilled defence and midfield until the seventh minute when Conor Coady’s ball sent Joe Mason away on the right but the former Cardiff man crossed into an empty box. Town threatened for the first time two minutes later. After Douglas had won the ball, Bishop’s right-wing cross was cleared back out to Ward, whose lofted ball towards Murphy at the far post was diverted away from the striker by keeper Carl Ikeme’s flick. The Blues began to see more of the ball and on 14 Ward’s cross from the right found Sears at the near post but Kortney Hause turned the ball out for a corner. Ward’s flag-kick was cleared out to Jonas Knudsen, but the Danish international half-volleyed well wide. Hause picked up the game’s first yellow card in the 20th minute for tripping Ward after the former Spurs man had neatly spun away from Matt Doherty and was taking the ball away from the former Wycombe Wanderers defender. Ikeme somewhat flapped at Bishop’s freekick under pressure but the ball fell safely for the Midlanders. The Blues had been on top since the early stages but in the 24th minute Wolves were given a golden chance to go in front from the penalty spot. Joao Teixeira played Bodvarsson in on the left of the area and Adam Webster rather needlessly slid and sent the Icelander tumbling. There were no protests from the Town players after referee Peter Bankes pointed the spot. Bodvarsson took the kick himself and hit it low to Bialkowski’s right but the Pole got down quickly to stop it with a strong right hand, much to the relief of Webster. A Wolves lead would have been harsh on the Blues, who four minutes later thought they had gone in front. A Knudsen cross from the left was bundled behind ahead of Douglas and, after his first corner had been headed behind, Ward whipped in a ball to Murphy, who flicked a header home. Just as the Town players started to celebrate, referee Bankes noticed that the linesman had raised his flag and ruled the goal out, presumably for offside as an indirect freekick was awarded. Blues assistant Terry Connor subsequently spent several minutes in conference with the fourth official, who seemed equally bewildered regarding the decision. Replays suggested the linesman may have thought Sears had added a final touch after Murphy’s header, however, he didn’t appear to and in any case looked to be onside. Despite the disappointment, the Blues continued to have the better of the game and in the 36th minute Bishop screwed a shot well wide after a quickly taken freekick on the right, then soon afterwards the 20-year-old made a typically strong run into the area from deep before being crowded out. As the half moved into injury time former Wolves defender Christophe Berra lost his man as Bishop sent over a freekick from the right but sent his header wide. Knudsen won a corner on the Blues left just as referee Bankes brought an entertaining half to an end. Town will be pleased with their 45 minutes’ work but disappointed to have had what looked a perfectly good goal ruled out. Aside from the first few minutes the Blues had been on top and - other than the penalty which was well saved by Bialkowski - had created all the chances. Wolves switched Dave Edwards for George Saville at the start of the second half, while Town remained unchanged. Teixeira shot not too far wide two minutes after the restart after Webster had been caught in possession. On 55 Bishop was yellow-carded for a mistimed challenge on the Portuguese midfielder, then two minutes later the academy product was replaced by Kevin Bru. Wolves switched Bodvarsson for Helder Costa in the 65th minute with the Blues shading a half of few chances, while the home fans were becoming increasingly frustrated. In the 67th minute a long spell of neat and tidy Town possession ended with Knudsen sending over a cross which was just too high for skipper Luke Chambers beyond the far post. As the match moved into its final 20 minutes, Ward brought the ball forward from deep before hitting a shot which flew wide. Knudsen has his name added to referee Bankes’s book in the 72nd minute for a foul on Teixeira. From the resultant freekick, a bouncing ball fell to Costa not far outside the area and the sub hit a powerful volley which Bialkowski did well to save across to his left. Bru shot through to Ikeme after the ball fell to him on the edge of the area on 75 - Town’s first shot on target of the evening - the disallowed goal aside - then Murphy hit an effort on the turn, also straight at the Nigerian international keeper. Doherty shot wide for the home side in the 79th minute but Town continued to look the more threatening of the two teams. Three minutes later, Blues skipper Chambers was booked for a foul on Doherty not far outside the area on the left. Douglas blocked Evans’s freekick. With six minutes left on the clock Teixeira was replaced by Jed Wallace, a one-time team-mate of Webster’s at Portsmouth. With a minute of scheduled time remaining, Ikeme failed to claim a Knudsen throw and Bru hooked goalwards but Danny Batth headed away with Berra looking to add another touch. Seconds later, Bru was somewhat harshly booked when Ikeme kicked the ball straight at him. In three minutes of injury time Knudsen shot wide from distance, then Varney made his third debut for the club taking over from Sears. Just before the final whistle Berra was more understandably booked for impeding the keeper as he sought to get rid of the ball quickly. A 0-0 draw of the more entertaining variety - the second successive stalemate between the teams at Molineux - with Town certainly the better of the two teams having put in their best - and most stylish - display of the season. A point would have been welcome at the start of the game but after the performance and particularly the disallowed goal the Blues will return to Suffolk disappointed that they hadn’t claimed all three. Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Bishop (Bru 57), Ward, Sears (Varney 90), Murphy. Unused: Gerken, Smith, Emmanuel, Kenlock, Dozzell. Wolves: Ikeme, Iorfa, Batth (c), Hause, Doherty, Coady, Edwards (Saville 46), Evans, Mason, Bodvarsson (Costa 65), Teixeira (Wallace 86). Unused: Lonergan, Henry, Price, Deslandes. Referee: Peter Bankes (Liverpool). Att: 19,991.
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