Adam Webster’s first goal for Town wasn’t enough to prevent the Blues from falling to a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City. Clayton Donaldson put the home side in front from the penalty spot in the 41st minute, Michael Morrison made it 2-0 eight minutes after the break before Webster headed his goal as the Blues attempted to stage a comeback in which Christophe Berra had what would have been a late equaliser harshly ruled out.

Myles Kenlock came in for the injured Jonas Knudsen at left-back in an otherwise unchanged Town side. The Dane travelled but missed out with an unspecified knock.

Andre Dozzell replaced Teddy Bishop, who is out for up to a month with an ankle ligament injury, on the bench.

The Blues, wearing their all white away kit, were first to threaten in the third minute when Webster sent Luke Varney away on the right. Saturday’s goalscorer crossed towards David McGoldrick, who failed to make contact as he looked to volley. Birmingham keeper Tomasz Kuszczak eventually cleared the danger ahead of the lurking Jonathan Douglas.

Blues keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was called into action for the first time on 10 when Jonathan Grounds’s long throw from the left bounced awkwardly in the area. However, the Pole punched away.

Town had looked the more dangerous side in the early stages, however, and in the 12th minute Tom Lawrence crossed from the left and McGoldrick hit a shot on the half-turn, which deflected over off Morrison.

Following the corner, the ball was cleared out to Kenlock, who had made a confident start, but his shot struck McGoldrick.

After Bialkowski had rushed off his line to clear the ball ahead of Maikel Kieftenbeld, Lawrence made a pacy run down the left and won a corner. The on-loan Leicester man took the flag-kick and Berra nodded down at the far post but no Town player was on hand to profit from it.

As the game reached the 20-minute mark Jonathan Spector sent a dangerous low ball across the Town area from the right but no one was able to get a touch.

A minute later, Webster found Kenlock on the right with a classy cross-field ball. The 20-year-old left-back crossed but Douglas’s header looped wide.

Bialkowski was forced to save on 25 when Berra headed away from Donaldson but only succeeded in finding Lukas Jutkiewicz 20 yards out, from where the striker hit a shot which the Town keeper palmed away to his right.

Kuszczak made an even better save at the other end on 32 after Lawrence had made another dangerous run down the left. The Welsh international cut the ball across and Morrison stabbed the ball out to McGoldrick, who hit a first-time effort which the former Manchester United man did well to push over.

The Blues had had the better of the half but so far without having anything to show for it. But on 36 there was danger at the other end when Spector crossed from the right towards David Davis but the midfielder was only able to head into the stand from a tight angle.

David Cotterill picked up the game’s first booking on 38 for a foul on Ward, then a minute later Blues skipper Luke Chambers joined him in the book for pulling back Jutkiewicz on halfway.

Birmingham were beginning to look the more threatening side and on 40 Jutkiewicz hit a shot which deflected wide off Chambers after a corner had been cleared and looped back into the box.

From the resultant flag-kick, the home side were awarded the penalty from which they would take the lead.

Jutkiewicz hit another shot and Varney tried to block but only succeeded in stopping it with his arm and referee Darren Bond pointed to the spot.

The Town players protested in vain, and with little cause, before Donaldson stepped up and chipped down the middle as Bialkowski dived to his left.

As the game moved into injury time goalscorer Donaldson was stretchered off after a long spell of treatment having fallen awkwardly when challenging with Webster on halfway. Che Adams took over in the home side’s attack.

Birmingham’s half-time lead was harsh on the Blues who had had the better opportunities up to the penalty with Kuszczak having made the game’s most significant save from McGoldrick.

However, the home side had started to look more dangerous just prior to winning the penalty with Jutkiewicz having hit a number of strikes from the edge of the box.

McGoldrick sent the second half’s first shot well wide from distance in the 47th minute but the home side began the period the stronger overall.

On 50 Kieftenbeld's cross from the right flicked off Douglas beyond Jutkiewicz, then from the corner Grounds’s shot was blocked and Berra eventually cleared.

But three minutes later the home side were 2-0 in front. Cotterill sent over a deep corner from the left and unmarked Birmingham skipper Morrison, who was born in Bury St Edmunds and brought up in Haverhill, nodded past Bialkowski.

Town looked to get a foothold back in the game but didn’t threaten until just before the hour mark when Lawrence hit a shot from distance which was too close to Kuszczak.

The Blues were making little headway and on 61 Brett Pitman replaced Varney, then five minutes later Freddie Sears and Jonny Williams took over from Ward and McGoldrick with Town now playing a front three of Lawrence, Pitman and Sears with Williams behind them.

On 68 Lawrence and Sears combined on the left and the former West Ham man stabbed out to Douglas, who scraped his shot well over.

The Blues continued to press and in the 70th minute they pulled a goal back. Lawrence worked himself space on the left and sent over a perfect cross for Webster, who powered his first Town goal into the net.

The goal led to a few jitters around St Andrew’s and Town quickly won two more corners, Kenlock shooting high and wide after the second had been cleared to him midway inside the home side’s half.

Pitman squeezed the ball through to Sears on the left of the box in the 73rd minute but the ex-Colchester frontman shot into the side-netting. However, the move was enough to get the near-500 strong Town following singing for the first time.

Town went looking for an equaliser which had looked highly unlikely up to the introduction of the subs, dominating possession but failing to create another serious opportunity.

On 83, after Webster and then Lawrence had both slipped as Maghoma broke on the counter-attack, Jutkiewicz eventually headed into Bialkowski’s arms.

With a minute and a half of scheduled time remaining, the Blues thought they’d got back on terms.

Lawrence sent over a corner to the far post, Berra headed home only for referee Bond to adjudge that the Scotland international had been climbing on Ryan Shotton in front of him. The decision looked harsh on the Blues.

As the match moved into five minutes of injury time, Lawrence, Town’s man of the match, was felled by Kieftenbeld five yards outside the area to the left, earning the Birmingham midfielder a yellow card. The freekick was tapped to Lawrence, who curled his shot wide.

Berra, by now up front, knocked on a Lawrence cross from deep on the left to Pitman, but his pass failed to find Sears. Berra was subsequently booked for protesting - probably as much about the disallowed goal as that challenge - as he felt he had been fouled.

Just before the final whistle, Town claimed a penalty when Douglas chased a flick-on into the area and was felled by Birmingham sub Paul Robinson but referee Bond awarded the home side a freekick feeling the Irishman had committed the first foul.

The Blues made a slow start to the second half and looked dead and buried after conceding the second goal when Morrison was given a free header.

The introduction of Pitman, Sears and Williams livened Town up and Webster’s excellent goal gave the Blues hope.

They pushed during the remainder of the game and on another day Berra’s goal might well have been allowed to stand. But as so often recently they ended up the losers of a game in which there had been little between the sides, other than a couple of crucial defensive errors.

The result will add to fans’ frustrations with manager Mick McCarthy with the Blues remaining in 17th still five points from the relegation zone but with the gap to the top six having increased to nine. Town visit second-bottom Wigan, who play Newcastle at home tomorrow, on Saturday.

Birmingham: Kuszczak, Spector, Morrison (c), Shotton, Grounds, Cotterill (Maghoma 74), Gleeson, Kieftenbeld, Davis (Robinson 90), Donaldson (Adams 45), Jutkiewicz. Unused: Legzdins, Tesche, Solomon-Otabor, Dacres-Cogley.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Kenlock, Skuse, Douglas, Ward (Williams 66), Lawrence, McGoldrick (Sears 66), Varney (Pitman 61). Unused: Gerken, Emmanuel, Bru, Dozzell. Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire). Att: 15,212 (Town: 490).

Photo: TWTD

EwanD added 22:50 - Dec 13 Pathetic! Will anything change? Does the Club care? I don't anymore Sad!!!
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EwanD added 22:50 - Dec 13 Pathetic! Will anything change? Does the Club care? I don't anymore Sad!!!
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EwanD added 22:50 - Dec 13 Pathetic! Will anything change? Does the Club care? I don't anymore Sad!!!
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grubbyoik added 22:57 - Dec 13 To be fair Burley steady a sinking Derby and got them up to 4th and play off semis..Got Southampton into the play offs.. was very good at Hearts.. and as for Scotland.. when have they ever had a good manager.. I'll go pick him up from Holbrook tonight..
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Taricco_Fan added 22:59 - Dec 13 The only solace I can take from the season thus far is there should be three teams in this division that are more sh*t than us. Otherwise there's nothing positive coming out of the club. McCarthy needs to be given his marching orders if we don't win at Wigan so we can get another man in for the January window. ...and Evans needs to back whoever is in charge with a decent transfer budget otherwise he should consider selling up.

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blueboy1981 added 23:01 - Dec 13 bluesince76 ........ I think you may be right - this squad of players is good enough (in my opinion) for a capable team to be picked from. Burley would be capable of identifying that, and his tactics would certainly be different. Someone has already mentioned Burley being given until the end of season to prove / disprove his suitability / ability for the task in hand. In my book - not a bad idea at all. This squad, along with the youngsters coming through, has potential to do far better in the right management hands. None of this will happen or be achieved with MM - he has had ample time and opportunity to make more of what he has at his disposal.

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Lathers added 23:01 - Dec 13 ME needs to sell the club to someone who gives a sh*t about ITFC and MM needs to realise he's done his best but he's now taken us backwards for the past 18 months. The club is dying a very painful death. If MM goes then who is going to come in and turn us around with no money and inheriting this shambles of a squad of 'blokes' MM has hand crafted. I think We, the supporters need to start being vocal at matches and look to either get ME to put up or p*ss off. He is killing this club at the core. MM is just clueless and boring us to death with his awful brand of football and unwilling to risk his job by challenging ME publicly. Where does this end?

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Seasider added 23:09 - Dec 13 Another defeat for Ipswich Town under the 'I'm going no where'Manager who he says is backed by the invisible man,who unfortunately owns 87+1/2 % of this once great football club. Since most of the shareholders were duped by Mr Sheepshanks into selling to this ticket tout made good,the club has stagnated in the Championship. Mr Evans has managed to upset the sporting bodies of Tennis,Rugby and Athletics;but so far has kept his nose clean with the Football Bodies with his adherence to FFP. It would be nice if he would have the decency to attend the Clubs AGM on 21 December.He is not bound to of course,as for some reason best known to him the PLC just represents the minority shareholders and is just used to pay the Bondholders.It has its own Chairman.Mr Evans is Chairman of the Football Club and supplies the shareholders with an A4 sheet of paper giving the basic details of his majority holding. So we have an owner who the fans and shareholders never see unless they are in a privileged clique,and who now appears not to bother even addressing supporters. I feel he has a duty: (a) To accede to the demands of the fans and remove Mr McCarthy,who is not only arrogant,sometimes rude;but seems to go out of his way to aggravate supporters,something I have never experienced in my 55 years of supporting ITFC.Oh and has the club in 17th place in the table,with attendances falling. (b)To treat the fans with more respect,and if not addressing fans in person to at least communicate his intentions. (c)To address the shareholders in person at the AGM,something Chairman normally do.

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runaround added 23:14 - Dec 13 Guessing Mick's reaction to this will be to drop Kenlock! Same rubbish, same tactics, same result. No more than a year ago we used to attack teams from the start, imposing our style on them & dominating defending & attacking on the front foot. However since around the time MM & TC signed their new contracts, we have suddenly started to sit back just holding hoping for a break. Every match he says their wasn't much in it, in other words we aren't making anything happen. Skuglas in midfield isn't working, even Mills tonight said so, yet he persists with it. The subs he makes are like for like not changing what is already not working. Milne says they're looking at pricing structure, whilst they are too high, that's not what is making fans turn their backs on the club, it's the negative anti football tactics & lack of entertainment. If we were getting results I could understand it yet we're not but he is too stubborn to change. Ipswich fans love seeing young players given the opportunity to break into first team & progress but this no longer happens, they might not be good enough but we'll never know unless they're given a chance & they can't do much worse than the proper blokes. Fans would also be more forgiving towards them. Some people think we should give Mick January to see what he & Evans do to change it, even if(I know he won't) Evans gave him a few million to spend I think he would still look to his journey men & any new exciting signings would struggle to get in ahead of Dougie, Chambo, Skusey etc! The team is in a rut & he seems to believe it's his way or highway & wont change. Fans are leaving in numbers & it will take a lot to win them back, those who remain are bored & arguing amongst themselves. It's gone toxic & I can't see it improving whilst Micks here. Every day he stays is damaging the club. I have no faith in Evans making right appointment but too not change will only make it worse. He has to go for good of club. McCarthy out, attacking entertaining football in!

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Seasider added 23:15 - Dec 13 Footnote:Somebody said on here, I believe , that MM would only bring on JW when 2-0 down.How right they were,and what a difference these subs made.Never took off Skuglous though.Stubborn f****r
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GiveusaWave added 23:20 - Dec 13 Burley is a good option. its hard to discuss alternatives whilst McCarthy is still at the club.
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mrmorisato added 23:23 - Dec 13 prebsa added 22:26 - Dec 13 Foxtrot Oscar Mick If we're going with a change of manager in the next 24hours then I would like Alan Curbishly to give it a bash until the end of this season. If not then George Burley is definitely the man to steady the ship :)
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prebsa added 23:27 - Dec 13 Looks like all the mick lovers have slowly faded away. Haven't heard from Micks wife Essex57 in a while!
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midastouch added 23:31 - Dec 13 Time for the TWTD "Mick In or Out" Poll, let the people have their say!
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Surco72 added 23:32 - Dec 13 Burley or Curbishly with Holland and Tarrico get it done Evans
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ian_marshall added 23:44 - Dec 13 I would love it if burley got a chance. Micks just pissing everyone off now. Hopefully Marcus is pissed of too...
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itfc2001 added 00:17 - Dec 14 An Ode to Marcus Evans Four years ago Mick joined the Town, To gain some points so we didn't go down. In that season he achieved the task, And did what the owner and fans had asked. For the next two years he did alright, With hoof ball football and plenty of fight. Expansive football is not his game, Playing not to lose his only fame. He says this squad is the best he's had, So why the hell are the results so bad. Must be the man picking the team, Whose sell by date we must have seen. Entertaining fans doesn't really matter, As long as his wallet gets even fatter. Dishing up dross every week, No wonder fans a change do seek. So while he had some early success, He now looks like leaving us in a mess. His time at Ipswich must soon be up, Before another embarrassment in the FA Cup. Crowds are dwindling by the day, As season ticket holders stay away. He mock the fans when speaking to the press, No wonder his support gets less and less. I have watched this club for forty years, For it's future I have some fears. Marcus Evans it's over to you, To prove you are a real true Blue. A decision from you has got to come quick, This negative football has made us sick. After the transfer deadline will be to late, As clueless Mick will have sealed our fate. COYB

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prebsa added 00:27 - Dec 14 EssexTeactor. Voting with our feet is fine, but, season tickets get counted anyway so on paper it dosent ok that much different unfortunately. But agree with you!
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MicksZzzTactics added 01:40 - Dec 14 @rendonblue Regarding Dougie The Snooze I'm sorry to bring this to you matey but if you hadn't already you and everybody else for that matter simply NEED to read this: http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/no_one_better_for_ipswich_town_midfield_role_insists ... and with the Dino's trademark-like ultra stubbornness and 20/20 vision LOL well that disposition of his probably hasn't changed even AFTER tonight! So anyway just read the above piece really.... and then you can otherwise just subsequently literally go laughing your head off while being on your merry way to the nearest head shrink .... possibly for some "Prozac" or "Zoloft" I gather as the very likely diagnose = 'Severe Depression' caused SOLELY by being an fan of Ipswich Town FC!!! :-)

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Miles added 01:47 - Dec 14 Sad part is most of you weren't at the game and are just critisising because of the result. We played well and any fan there would agree we were the better side. Lawrence was by far the best player on the pitch and was a constant threat but unfortunately he is the only player who seems to have any end product at the moment. Need to be a lot better and more clinical in the final 3rd but performance wise we were strong. Glad Mick made the subs early and they did seem to have an effect on the game but I'd like to see Williams start. Took the opportunity to invite my friend to his first ever football game and while his thoughts were some of us were rubbish he actually enjoyed it. I'm keeping the faith and staying positive that things will improve. Our confidence just seems very brittle at the moment

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BrettenhamBlue added 04:29 - Dec 14 Wigan away is now a relegation six pointer, well done team.
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MicksZzzTactics added 06:09 - Dec 14 @Miles No the REAL sad part is "muppets" :-) meep meep :-) like yourself Miles who after an apparent long trip home resolves to sit down in the middle of the night and spend valuable long minutes of your precious life cycle just fixated on down-voting the vast majority of post from Anti-MM fans --- whom you have to be a darn extraordinarily good Psychic to really know whether were in fact attending this or other previous games, unless they specifically point this out themselves! And besides there is such a thing as forming an not optimal but nevertheless PRETTY "fair" impression of the play, performance and tactics of a football game based on radio commentary plus The Media's subsequent written match reviews --- who dare to criticize the current Ipswich 'Regime' incl. undroppable players like your beloved ExSkuse, in nearly any way or form (whether harsh or clearly ironic) .... and down-voting them so from your pov mostly just for the sake of it, I gather! As for us being the better team on the field tonight? DOH! So what? Are we supposed to be otherwordly impressed as Ipswich fans because of this??? As despite their points haul I personally find Birmingham to be an very inconsistent and largely "dead average" 2nd tier team, also on an individual player basis btw! Just have yourself a look at all their league results before this game .... Hmmm just coming off back-to-back major droppings with a combined score of 0-7!!! Scaringly in awesome good form coming into this match wouldn't you say dear Miles??? LOL .... and so beside their wins over Norwich and Fulham (which happened over 3 months ago!) there is imho frankly noooo other results or scoreline that really stand out as being "impressive" to me! But obviously you too Miles are entitled to your views, regardless of their sad tendency of being filled up with too much antagonism towards other fans and/or pure Pro-MM shallowness!, but as far as your unwavering stoic optimism is concerned .... well I truly commend you on that! I really do! But oh please acquire just a basic 'sense of humor' will you please??? :-) lol as I see that not for the 1st time you have down-voted posts like for instance my own SARCASTIC pictorial ones?! :_( :_( And speaking of my page 1 upload: Noooo I certainly don't wish death on anyone in the literal sense!!! .... ONLY occasionally on the title they are holding **

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JimmyP45 added 07:24 - Dec 14 Mickzzztactics I wish I didn't read that! My God that has made me angry. Dougie always puts in the most distance run...yeah like a headless chicken who avoids play and only mention is when he loses the ball. Worst player for town I have ever seen in my 29 years!
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battyblue added 07:28 - Dec 14 Tom Lawrence and Alan Webster are different class and need the team selected to compliment them Below class Douglas,Chambers and Varney need benching and Williams Dozzell and Emmanuel need to start..........McCarthy out TC out ME out
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blues1 added 07:37 - Dec 14 Don't get the clamour for Burley on here. For 1, he's been out of the game too long. 2. Was him who played a part in getting us into a financial mess in the 1st place, along with Sheepshanks. We need a young ambitious manager to drive us forwards, maybe with an experienced head in a director of football position to help him out. But 1st of all we desperately need to get rid of McCarthy. If we don't then i seriously fear we will get relegated.

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