Goals from Chris Martin and Ragnar Sigurdsson saw Fulham to a comfortable 2-0 Boxing Day victory over the Blues at Portman Road, their first win against Town for precisely 53 years. Martin opened the scoring with a freekick on 36, then sub Sigurdsson headed home a corner in the 78th minute but the margin of victory should have been wider.

Jonathan Douglas replaced the injured Jonny Williams in an otherwise unchanged Town team.

Andre Dozzell kept his place in a three-man midfield and was making his first home Championship appearance of the season. Leon Best was back on the bench with no place in the 18 for Luke Varney.

Fulham started the brighter and Christophe Berra did well to cut out a cross from the left. Following the corner, Whites skipper Tom Cairney screwed a shot well wide.

Town first threatened to create an opening in the 12th minute when, after good work from Brett Pitman, Dozzell played the ball towards the left of the area to Tom Lawrence who dummied for Douglas but the ball ran behind the breaking midfielder.

The visitors continued to dominate possession, prodding and probing and looking for an opening. On 17 Floyd Ayite was played in on the left of the area by Stefan Johansen but Berra slid in to make a fine saving challenge.

Fulham almost scored the goal their first-half performance deserved in the 32nd minute when Scott Malone crossed from the left and Chris Martin turned the ball towards goal from close range only for Bartosz Bialkowski to somehow keep the ball out with his feet.

Following the corner Kevin McDonald diverted the ball wide at the far post with what looked to be a hand.

But the goal Fulham deserved wasn’t too much longer in coming. After Cole Skuse had fouled Johansen 25 yards out, Martin hit a freekick which appeared to go through the Town wall before nestling in the corner of the net to Bialkowski’s right.

Having gained the lead, the visitors continued to control the game, passing the ball around slickly - the home crowd were chanting ‘we’re supposed to be at home’ with good reason - and a minute before half-time created another opening, Jonas Knudsen doing well to block from Sone Aluko from the right of the area.

As the half moved into injury time, Fulham keeper David Button was forced into his first save of the afternoon, the former Spurs man diving across to his right to palm defender Tim Ream’s header towards his own goal wide.

Town were unable to create anything from the corner and referee Oliver Langford’s whistle was met with boos from the home support.

The Blues had been thoroughly outplayed by the visitors throughout and on another afternoon might well have found themselves further behind.

Fulham had passed the ball around as well as anybody Town have faced this season, while Mick McCarthy’s men were left chasing shadows for the most part. That the closest they had come to a goal was Ream’s inadvertent late header summed up the half.

That the Cottagers ended the half only one goal up was perhaps the only positive, but Town needed to be a very much better prospect after the break.

As had seemed likely, McCarthy made immediate changes of personnel with Pitman and Dozzell, who had never really got into the game, although the 17-year-old was far from alone in that, replaced by Leon Best and David McGoldrick.

Town had more of the ball in the early stages of the second half but the visitors created the first opening when Ayite was found on the left and broke into the area before being halted by skipper Luke Chambers. From the resultant corner, the ball found Michael Madl but the centre-half was unable to get it under control and Skuse cleared.

Fulham had quickly reasserted their dominance and should have made it 2-0 just before the hour when an over-casual Webster lost possession to Aluko and Ayike was sent through on goal but was forced wide by Bialkowski and shot across the face of goal.

Denis Odoi was then harshly adjudged to have fouled Chambers as he shoulder-charged the Blues skipper and played the ball back into the box for Martin to tap home.

Bialkowski subsequently sent Sears away on the Town left and the ball eventually deflected off Knudsen and into the six-yard area before being claimed by Button. The Dane screwed a shot well wide after a later Town attack. On 64 McDonald was booked for a foul on Lawrence.

Despite those attacks, Fulham were still very much in the ascendency and again should have added to their lead in the 69th minute when Johansen crossed low from the left and Ayite smashed well wide when he should have scored.

As Bialkowski prepared to take the goalkick Lawrence was booked for an earlier foul. Soon after, McGoldrick joined him in the book for a late tackle on Madl.

Fulham wasted another opportunity to seal their victory in the 78th minute when, after a free-flowing moving which cut through the Blues, Ayite’s effort was saved by Bialkowski.

But the second goal finally came from the corner, Sigardsson nodding in Johansen’s flag-kick from close range.

The second Fulham goal, which had certainly been coming, prompted shouts of ‘Evans sort it out’ from the Sir Bobby Robson Stand and then later chants of ‘what a load of rubbish’.

Bialkowski saved from Cairney as the game moved into its final five minutes, then at the other end Chambers turned a Lawrence cross from the right well over.

Fulham saw out the final minutes comfortably while sections of the crowd chanted ‘McCarthy out’ and again called for owner Marcus Evans to ‘sort it out’.

Late on, Bialkowski saved from Martin from a tight angle before the final whistle was greeted by further loud boos. Manager McCarthy was booed by a section of the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand support as he made his way into the tunnel.

Prior to kick-off McCarthy said he wanted a unifying performance and result but he got anything but that with the Blues putting in as poor a display as they have this season against an excellent and attractive Fulham side who really should have scored more than two goals.

Town began the game on the back foot and never really recovered with Fulham, the best side to visit Portman Road this season, taking the game to them from the off and they could have been ahead prior to Martin’s goal.

The half-time changes briefly made a difference - and McGoldrick showed his quality in patches throughout the second period - but the visitors continued to dominate and while a repeat of their 10-1 Boxing Day victory back in 1963, their last victory over Town, was never on the cards, the margin could have been more significant if Ayite in particular had been less profligate

The result leaves the Blues in 16th, still eight points from the relegation zone, with Bristol City, who lost 3-2 at Wolves today, at Portman Road on Friday evening.

Town: Bialkowski, Knudsen, Chambers (c), Berra, Webster, Skuse, Douglas, Dozzell (Best 46), Sears, Lawrence, Pitman (McGoldrick 46). Unused: Gerken, Bru, Ward, Emmanuel, Kenlock.

Fulham: Button, Odoi, Ream, Madl, Malone, McDonald, Cairney (c), Ayite (Piazon 83), Johansen (Parker 90), Aluko (Sigurdsson 65), Martin. Unused: Bettinelli, Fredericks, Kebano, Smith. Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands). Att: 19,723 (Fulham: 907).

Photo: TWTD

Taricco_Fan added 18:21 - Dec 26 Glad I didn't go. So predictable.
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prebbs007 added 18:21 - Dec 26 Let's be clear. We are in a relegation battle. We have shockingly bad players (Chambers Knudsen Skuse Douglas Sears Best Varney Coke Gerken) We have some dreadfully average players (Berra Ward Pitman Emmanuel Kenlock Smith) and a few who are just about good enough for this league (Lawrence Didz Bishop Williams) On Boxing Day 2014 we won at Brentford to go top !!! So dinosaurs comment that he has done a great job over 4 years is factually wrong !! Over 2 years maybe. Over 4 definitely not !!!! We have massively regressed. Our manager ipast it, dried up, out of ideas, stubborn, rude, boring tactics, shocking selections, poor substitutions, no plan B, dillusional and finished. The fans have lost faith and no longer attend. The players have lost faith and no longer try for the manager. The fat lady may not be singing but she is most certainly warming up !!!! If Evans doesn't act NOW then he may aswell close the doors on the way out. If any other one of his businesses were performing as bad as this one he would either close it down or sell it. Either would be preferable to our current plight. McCarthy HAS to go and give a new man the transfer window to at least try to sort this dross out. Worse than ANY manager in last 20 years. The style is disgusting. The entertainment is zero. The value for money is abysmal, the whole club is a disgrace. Sort it Evans. It's your mess.

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Papa added 18:24 - Dec 26 Douglas has played 16 games this season and we've won 3. He hasn't played 6 games and we've won 4 of those. MM is clueless. I'll give him his due, he's made some good signings but that's not worth anything when he keeps playing poor players and in the case of Douglas, a non existent player. We're practically playing with 10 men with him in the side and the stats don't lie. Time for him to go!

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Kulturarv added 18:25 - Dec 26 Merry Christmas Marcus Scrooge!
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busterjames added 18:28 - Dec 26 Time for a change! Enough is enough pure rubbish.Give Gary Rowett the job ! If we cant afford him give it to Bryan Klugg.
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MicksZzzTactics added 18:31 - Dec 26 For those of our awesome fans who utterly ruined their merry 'Christmas Spirit' by going to PR today .... well sorry "Muppets" meep meep :-) but this one you largely brought on yourselves!!! :-) :-) :-) :-) See I'm usually quite compassionate about my fellow ITFC football "Brethren" who tenaciously keep on going to each & every ITFC match in this dire dinosauric-led day & age, but as soon as it became pretty inevitable that the 2nd coming of a wonder hybrid between Usain Bolt and Andras Iniesta i.e. The in a different class "Dougie The Snooze" was going to start ... COMBINED with the hence also Written In Stone-like fact that we were also for the UMPTEENTH time under Mick setting up "scared to death of losing / hoping for a turgid uninspiring draw" (and as customary then without a viable 'Plan B' if we fall behind and this really governs against anything but the most lousy or currently dysfunctional of league opponents, like Wigan for instance!) should all have stayed at home!!! (Yes even incl. season ticket holder who are other than EXCLUSIVELY "result & point fixated"! meaning those wishing to be entertained as opposed to bored & embarrassed to death, with the latter predominantly being the case when Mick orders his favorites to take the field like just described in short above!) Yes Yes Yes I know very well that as a "true" fan you have to support your team through thick & thin, in good as well as in bad times yada yada yada .... but not only do I PROGRESSIVELY find myself having better things to do with my time & my money during this sad sad McCarthy Reign but after close to 40 years of unwavering complete faithful support .... well I find myself only habitually supporting the team known as Ipswich Town FC nowadays as a sort of nostalgia-ladden as in for loooong gone now once proud & revered football "concept", since regrettably I simply can no longer support neither the clueless and indifferent owner, his porkies-telling Public Relation puppet, his handpicked ultra arrogant, ultra stubborn ,ultra fan-disrespecting tactical inept fossil of a team manager, said managers' prehistoric sidekick largely accountable for presumably the LEAST productive training sessions -- from an creative and offensive pov -- in the Championship, nor really a large chunk of the spoiled players (i.e. close to undroppable "favorites") making out the default staring XI! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! But this is fundamentally the way I personally feel about ITFC nowadays .... and I know for certain that I'm far far from the only longtime fan having it more or less like this btw! As for the game itself ... well as outlined in earlier posts, having not seen a given ITFC game live doesn't strictly preclude me (or others) who in PURE PURE hindsight of course :-) lol wiiiisely didn't show up (for whatever reasons mind you!) to have an fair as in fairly informed opinion based on either the radio commentary , presumed "neutral" media reviews and statistics, personal relayed presumed "objective" reviews from friends, colleagues or the like who went anyway, or even all of above! So her we go: Nought, Nil, Nada, None, Zero, Zilch and Zip "shots on taget"!!!!!!!!!!! .... (and not for the 1st time under Mick)... and only 3 off taget vs. their massive total of 16 finishes, plus well under 40% of possesion in a home game???!!! and a home game you basically had to win if you have any serious ambitions of competing for play-off ball come May, well those simple stats there should on their very own paint an initial very UNpretty picture to just about everyone who didn't go,! However if anyone surprisingly still remained unclear about our overall performance after this here little stat-check, well folks UK media in general call especially our 1st half for unmistakably "WOEFUL"! and just strongly implies throughout their reviews that "the "roundly heard boos at the final whistle" were more than justifiable ....were you a home fan! LOL

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dannyrr added 18:33 - Dec 26 The last two home games my son has decided to play football on a Saturday afternoon instead of going to the last two games due to the current awful performances but we went today. What a waste of time. In the first half we barely got out of our half and Tom Lawrence and Freddie Sears spent most of the time covering for the left and right back deficiencies. Chambers regularly got left behind and had to rely on Sears to defend likewise Lawrence had to cover for Knudsen. Douglas spent most of the game running round in circles like a headless chicken and being completely ineffective. We couldn't keep the ball for and length of time and spent most of the game hoofing it down the pitch direct to a Fulham player. The only person who made an effort to take the ball forward from the back was Webster. Mcgoldrick was the only substitute that seemed to make a difference but as usual the usual favourites stayed on for the full 90 minutes. The Fulham kceeper didn't have anything to do and was happy to wander out of his box as he clearly felt there was no threat. Again history was made again as Fulham managed a win for the first time in 53 years. At least I can say I was part of an historic moment. 😡😡😡

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runaround added 18:34 - Dec 26 Embarrassingly outplayed by a young vibrant Fulham side who should have scored 6. They were everything we weren't & the gulf between the 2 sides was scary. No doubt the apologists will say they've spent millions but looking at the teamsheet that wasn't obvious. The difference was in technique, tactics, mindset & attitude. They set out to dominate the ball & win the match. How refreshing!! Little money doesn't mean you can't play good football, our tactics & mindset mean we can't. Not long ago we were so much better, but Mick & Marcus have taken their eye off the ball massively, allowing us to drift into an awful rut which seems impossible to get out of. The players look lost & the fans have had enough. Losing fans is a massive problem to ITFC. I cannot see Mick turning it around, even the attacking subs made little impact & we barely created a chance against a team who concede goals regularly, this has been going on all 2016 & shows no sign of being changed. Football has moved on but ITFC haven't. The poisonous atmosphere surrounding the fans is worsening & a change in direction by the club is desperately needed. Mick can no longer get it right it seems so must be replaced. Many will say "be careful what you wish for " I wish ITFC played like Fulham & gave us something to be proud of! This need not cost millions, just an attitude change. It's getting to the stage when I just wish for a new manager it's got that bad! You've lost a large number of fans Mick, time to go

26

Kingfisher49 added 18:35 - Dec 26 2016 for Ipswich Town F C has been a year so grim. Unattractive M M football and poor team selection also from him. In the next few days Mr invisible Marcus Evans must surely decide. To sack the hopeless M M to stem the depressing present tide. Bring in a new manager to give everyone some early new year cheer And then we can move onwards and upwards and play without fear. The problem needs answering for this one important reason. If left as it is then Division One will be a strong possibility next season

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Bluespeed added 18:36 - Dec 26 Milne continued: “We know there are a lot of season ticket holders not coming at the moment and that's because of the play. We've got to win them back and that's a discussion we're having with Mick , McCarthy said: “I agree that it's been ‘garbage football', but results have been poor and I am sorry I'm disappointing you merry Christmas!
4

ArnieM added 18:37 - Dec 26 Papa let's be very clear about this. Towns shocking displays are NOT soley all down to Douglas being in the team. That's just ridiculous. If you want a list of players we should dump I'll give you one. Chambers Berra Knudsen Bru Coke Best Skuse Hyam Sears Douglas Varney Didsy Pitman Ward NONE of them are any flicking good.
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ArnieM added 18:40 - Dec 26 Add to that list the following Marcus Evans . SELL 🆙 FFS Mick McCarthy & Terry Connor . PLEASE leave. The tactics are absolutely DIRE.
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HackneyBlue added 18:43 - Dec 26 WHY do you do it-all the fans that went to day are the reason this continues,myself and THOUSANDS of others are trying to get us out of this hell by either not renewing ST s or not going on day-YOU must do the same for the love of our club.It broke my heart when i gave my ST up after 30 years but im so glad i did-you must do the same you deserve better we all do,when did you last come out of Portman road win,lose or draw and say i enjoyed that,thats right you cant remember-Help put it right.

24

leahcar88 added 18:44 - Dec 26 First game I've been to in a while What a waste of time and money? All the people look about 10years older in a few months! Was a mick keeper up until this season transfer window closure Out now mate your time is up
15

leahcar88 added 18:45 - Dec 26 One pas and move attempt in whole match by dozzell
5

Mick_Mills_Tache added 18:48 - Dec 26 I disagree ArnieM, I'd keep Bru, Pitman, Ward, Didz and Sears out of those. Ward is a good young player, just been destroyed by McCarthy because he's been shackled when it comes to attacking. Same as Sears. Pitman is a poacher, not a hold up striker. Bru is a good squad player and Didz is one of the best players in the squad atm (alongside Lawrence) We need to do everything we can to keep hold of and hopefully permanently sign Lawrence.

9

warktheline added 19:11 - Dec 26 McCarthy's reign has been one long grind, with an emphasis on 'shut outs'. All well and good if the teams foundation remains strong! For me this is where the initial cracks began to appear. I pinpoint the decision McCarthy ducked, deciding to play 3 centre backs in a back 4! Chambers at right back has totally disjointed the whole team, and has been pivotal into why McCarthy's defensive orientation has failed him over the last 2yrs or so. McCarthy I fought your corner for the first 2 seasons, you were tough and uncompromising, "milky " performances were not tolerated, nobody was aloud a free ride. How times have changed!

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obj124 added 19:26 - Dec 26 Gary Rowett anyone ??
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Papa added 19:27 - Dec 26 ArnieM - I can't agree. I think we have good players. Chambers isn't a right back and MM is the only person who doesn't know that. I think that should we play with an attacking mentality without the liability of Douglas in the side, we'd be a strong side in this division.
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pup12 added 19:30 - Dec 26 Well done Fulham they took the game by the scuff of neck and played some good stuff.Tatics by MM set up not to concede!??WHAT. U mean shock horror we then loose anyway.Why not set up for the best way we can play ,especially at Home!!!!! Douglas full 90 played ffs!! Dozzel out wide of a 3??? Sears at almost rb!!! And why is Knudsen and chambers still starting?? Nothing will change with MM and in the hot seat .I don't think he knows how to.coyb please!!!????

4

bluesince76 added 19:31 - Dec 26 Its the end of the road for mick now surely ,if not evans should sell as he is destroying this once great club.
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yorksblue added 19:36 - Dec 26 Any daft, clueless, rich, club-owning, stateside yanks out there?
6

norfolk1 added 19:43 - Dec 26 Calling Mr. Knunsden, after the so called massive win at Wigan, we must build on it, would you please speak up and tellus what went wrong? I await your reply.
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poggie added 19:45 - Dec 26 Mick's body language today suggested that he realises his time is up! I have supported this club for over 30 years (almost 20 as a season ticket holder) - but giving up Boxing Day with my family to watch this rubbish has made me so angry! If he isn't gone by Friday, I have no desire to go to the Bristol City match! Takes a lot for me to say that!
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jas0999 added 19:54 - Dec 26 ArnieM - good post, but I would keep Pitman as not his fault he didn't get service and also Ward who has potential. Otherwise agree.
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