Neeskens Kebano and Rui Fonte netted goals either side of half-time to see Fulham to a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road, ending Town’s 100 per cent start to their Championship campaign. Kebano nodded home the opener for the dominant Cottagers on 35 and Fonte slammed a rebound into the roof of the net in the 51st minute with the Blues never looking like getting anything out of the game.

Town named the same team which beat Brentford 2-0 last Saturday with David McGoldrick in the side despite manager Mick McCarthy saying the Irish international striker might miss out with his wife close to giving birth to their fourth child.

The Blues again lined-up in a 4-4-2 system with McGoldrick partnering Joe Garner up front and Martyn Waghorn on the right and Freddie Sears on the left of midfield.

Jordan Spence and Jonas Knudsen continued at centre-half with skipper Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith and Adam Webster all injured.

On the bench, Australian striker Ben Folami was included for the first time in a Championship match having been one of the youngsters who caught the eye at Crystal Palace in Carabao Cup on Tuesday. Defender Luke Woolfenden and midfielders Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam were also among the subs.

At a warm and sunny Portman Road Fulham dominated the early stages but without creating an opportunity until the fifth minute when a loose ball in the box fell to skipper Tom Cairney, who blazed over.

Three minutes later, following a swift break forward after Town had lost possession on halfway, stand-in skipper Cole Skuse and Dominic Iorfa both hesitated and allowed Stefan Johansen to get in a shot but the on-loan Wolves man got across to deflect over.

Town’s first attack of the game came in the 10th minute, McGoldrick sending Sears away on the left but the former Colchester man’s cross was behind Garner.

Fulham would have gone in front a minute later but for a great block from Myles Kenlock. The dangerous Ryan Sessegnon cut in from the left and cut the ball back from the byline to Sheyi Ojo who looked certain to score but the Blues left-back managed to get in the way to divert it behind.

Town weren’t too far away from a goal themselves in the 13th minute when a corner from the right was cleared to Waghorn, who struck a low volley which looked goalbound until it hit Kevin McDonald and deflected just past keeper David Button’s right post.

But it was mainly Fulham and on 18 Ojo cut in from the right and hit a well-struck shot which Bartosz Bialkowski batted away down to his right.

The Cottagers continued to pass the ball around confidently and on 22 Ryan Fredericks hit a low shot from distance which scuffed the outside of the post.

Town gradually started to find their feet after a very testing start with the Cottagers confident and slick in possession of the ball.

On 29 McGoldrick worked himself space on the edge of the box but saw his chipped effort loop past Button’s right post. Two minutes later, Iorfa was yellow-carded for a foul, having previously been penalised for an earlier indiscretion.

The Blues had Bialkowski to thank for the scores remaining level in the 33rd minute after the Polish keeper was forced to make two impressive saves.

First, he stopped Cairney’s powerful effort from the edge of the box with Spence reacting quickest to clear the loose ball.

Then a well-worked move played Johansen in on goal and the Blues keeper did superbly to stand his ground and block with the Norwegian appearing certain to score.

But there was nothing Bialkowski could do in the 35th minute when Kebano put the visitors in front. Fredericks crossed from the right and the unmarked DR Congo international headed into the corner of the net at the far post.

Fulham should have made it 2-0 in the 38th minute when Kebano broke away behind the Blues backline on the left and crossed. Fortunately for the Blues Fonte, a £9 million summer signing from Braga and the younger brother of West Ham defender Jose, diverted the ball against the woodwork at the near post when he looked odds-on to score.

Two minutes later McGoldrick had a chance to level when he broke into the area and chose to shoot left-footed with Waghorn and Garner both to his right in space. The Town number 10 was unable to get any power on his strike and Button claimed down to his left.

McGoldrick created another opening a minute later, bring the ball across the edge of the box before finding Garner, who cut back to Waghorn, whose shot went wide.

That was the final chance of the half with the visitors deservedly in front at the break having dominated the period.

The Cottagers had kept the ball impressively, as they did in last season’s corresponding fixture, and carved out enough decent opportunities to be even further in front with the Blues’ patched-up backline stretched on a number of occasions.

However, Town front pair McGoldrick and Waghorn will have made their way to the tunnel feeling they might have done better with their opportunities in the final minutes.

The Blues were the first to threaten after the restart, Garner rising highest to nod Grant Ward’s right-sided corner goalwards, however, Button got down to save.

But six minutes into the half the Cottagers doubled their lead. The ball was played into Kebano inside the area, the scorer of the first goal turned away from Knudsen and hit a shot across Bialkowski which the keeper did well to save it away to his left.

However, the loose ball fell to Fonte at a tight angle on the right and, with Bialkowski getting back to his feet and across goal, the Portuguese striker lashed a shot into the roof of the net to claim his first goal for his new club.

Fulham continued to have much the better of it - Fredericks hit a shot over following a corner - and it was little surprise when Blues boss McCarthy made a double change in the 59th minute with Waghorn and Sears making way for Downes and Bersant Celina, who was making his league debut for Town.

But despite Kosovo international Celina showing glimpses of his skills and direct running, the Blues were unable to make much more headway after the changes and Fulham’s two goal advantage never looked in any danger.

On 89 McGoldrick smashed a freekick from 30 yards into the wall, then seconds before the whistle Nydam took over from Ward.

Town can have no complaints regarding the result with the visitors much the better side on the day, dominating much as they did at Portman Road on Boxing Day last year when they won by the same scoreline with midfield trio Cairney, Johansen and McDonald very impressive. But for some profligate finishing and Bialkowski the margin of victory would have been wider.

As ever, the Blues kept working but were never able to impose themselves on the opposition and only fleetingly threatened on the counter-attack, most notably just before half-time when McGoldrick and Waghorn will both feel they might have done better.

Despite today’s loss ending the 100 per cent league record, the Blues are still second and can be pleased with their August form with 12 points from five league games better than most were expecting going into the season, particularly after the 6-1 thrashing at Charlton in their final pre-season match and given the injury and illness situation, which hopefully will be much improved when Town travel to QPR in a fortnight’s time following the international break.

Town: Bialkowski, Iorfa, Spence, Knudsen, Kenlock, Skuse (c), Ward (Nydam 90), Sears (Celina 59), Waghorn (Downes 59), McGoldrick, Garner. Unused: Gerken, Rowe, Folami, Woolfenden.

Fulham: Button, Fredericks (Odoi 89), Kalas, Ream, Sessengnon, McDonald, Johansen, Cairney (c), Ojo, Kebano (Norwood 83), Fonte (Kamara 76). Unused: Bettinelli, Djalo, Edun, Cisse. Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire). Att: 16,844 (Fulham: 1,236)

Photo: TWTD

Lower_North added 21:07 - Aug 26 4 wins from some pretty lowly opposition got the pulse going. Came up against some quality opposition today. Where now...
4

carsey added 21:43 - Aug 26 Like many I have enjoyed our winning run but unlike most I wasn't getting carried away. We have been far from convincing in any of the games and having come up against Fulham today who are a quality side with quality players all of whom are technically better than anyone we have all comfortable on the ball we were shown to be lacking. I'm not convinced it would have been any different even if we had had the missing injured players available. We still lack the midfield general who constantly shows for the ball and directs play. I only hope McCarthy doesn't resort to type and we go back to constant hoof ball.

11

SpiritOfJohn added 22:18 - Aug 26 We made Fulham look like Real Madrid today. Bart is heading for a hat-trick of Player of the Year awards if this continues. We did not get in their faces. We made it so easy for them to play around us and left their best players in acres of space. Is Iorfa better than Emmanuel? Not on today's showing. We improved when Downes and Celina came on but the game was lost by then. Positives: Knudsen's display at centre-half and the Norwich result.

5

milliem added 22:23 - Aug 26 Err Lower North, the only reason that they were lowly opposition is because Town beat them. With only four games played before today you'd hardly expect those teams to be up the top because that's how mathematics works.
-1

GiveusaWave added 00:05 - Aug 27 Ok, I've praised the team to date so think the team today are due a little criticism. Bart: yet again, an unbelievable performance and looks on course to be POY once again (if we can keep him). Save after save. Knudsen and Spence: threw themselves at everything today, though neither of them are centre backs. I know Rimmers-Brace thinks anyone can play centre-back.....but I prefer these two either in a back 5 or at LB and RB. They also had zero protection today and if I'd have been either of them I'd be livid at the end of the match. Full-Backs: all at sea today. Passed far too easily which added pressure to Knudsen and Spence. Kenlock disastrous game except one noticed interception. Awful display. Midfield: no control. We still need IMHO a John McGinn like character. Adeyemi may well fill that role. Sooner we get back Huws etc, the better. Lacked energy today and look knackered. Wingers: Sears worst game I've seen him play. If I were MM, I'd stick Celina in there for the next one as that's deserving of a loss of place. Strikers: though we didn't score, they did try to work their way into suitable positions and in the first half we countered well. We've had a great season to date but this was a bit of a reality check today. Good news is we are still many points in front of Nodge and have players coming back. Feel though that we do need twin centre-backs at the moment, not just one. And we are still missing that midfield-General. We haven't had one of those in a long time.

7

runaround added 01:50 - Aug 27 Men against boys. They were good, we were poor. With the formation of both sides as it was, we really needed Skuse & Ward to have great games against their strong centre midfield 3. Unfortunately both were very poor today as we our full-backs & Sears. We cannot afford to carry 5 players in a game against good opposition. It felt like our luck & energy ran out today. Still, it's been a great start to the season but the next 2 months are when we tend to have a poor run under Mick so the QPR game is likely to be pivotal. Win that & we can potentially start a decent run again, lose & suddenly we're in the midst of a poor run. We need some players back plus reinforcements by then

5

ChrisFelix added 08:17 - Aug 27 Yesterday was one game when we needed a strong reinforced midfield. Hindsite is a great thing. Great start to the season, but a patched up defence & no support from the middle of the park was always going to end in a defeat
3

Steelmonkey added 08:38 - Aug 27 Can't believe we left their wide players alone for so much of the game. Too many crosses were allowed to be put into our box. Absolutely invited them to score. Cannot think why McCarthy did not address this at half time, first half and Fulham had 71% of the play. Fulham have a very big and skilfull side whose players are more than capable of fooling a referee, the amount of free kicks awarded to them was due to them going down like skittles when challenged. Is it cheating? Well not if they get away with it. Perhaps that's a part of our game that needs looking at. Is it just my view that I see many teams coming here and adopting these tactics. How often do you see an opposing player go to ground disrupting play when we build on a move forward. Thought we were lucky last week against Brentford to come away with three points, didn't deserve one against this Fulham side, poor display. Just goes to show what a gulf there is between us and other teams. When we can put out a fully fit team it may be different, I hope so. Those first twelve points may be very important.

4

Steelmonkey added 08:42 - Aug 27 Would just like to thank Match of the day for showing the old clip of our 0-9 defeat against Man U.
0

Seasider added 10:00 - Aug 27 Have not read any of the comments yet;but no doubt the apologists will be having a go at anybody who dares to criticise. Yes we are still 2nd,and no we were not beaten 4-0 like Norwich,who though were away at Millwall. I am comparing last years 2-0 'thrashing'on Boxing day to a similar defeat yesterday to Fulham.Ipswich were outplayed in a similar manner,and according to the stats the Londoners had more than twice as much of the ball.It seemed to me that it was even more than the 70/30 % reported,as Ipswich were simply outclassed,just as they were last year. What has changed from last season?Not a lot if this game is anything to go by.Ipswich are still having very few shots on goal,and when they come up against a good defence they find it difficult to score. As soon as I saw Cole Skuse,who has been unwell,instead of Downes,in a midfield 2 instead of 3,I feared the worst as we were just overcome,in that department especially,and there width just pulled our players all over the place. Lets hope this is just a one off,as we had several players out;but we shall see in the next month or so when we continue to come up against stronger teams like yesterday. The only thing that is different this year,is that we appear to have better youngsters;so lets play them a bit more,instead of putting in old favourites,especially if they are not 100%. Cue down arrows,and even a minus score,which I have suffered rarely on here!!!

9

dirtydingusmagee added 10:24 - Aug 27 August has been good, even if ending in a defeat, it will be a test to see how the manager and team respond to that loss. We will get a better overview of how things are going at the end of September.For now, our position and that of Norwich will keep me happy .
3

ShropshireBluenago09 added 11:03 - Aug 27 My 1st home game for 4 years - with the family as well (sorry i will stay away in future!) On the plus side - Knudsen and Bart were awesome. Apart from that well done Fulham, passed us to death.
4

BlueMachines added 12:51 - Aug 27 Milliem. The position of the opposition wouldn't be down to Ipswich before kick off so your point is entirely invalid
0

runningout added 13:31 - Aug 27 Cringing at last post, as not a matter of money spent.. Was winnable game we slipped up on. Unlucky Town!
-1

milliem added 15:14 - Aug 27 BlueMachines, after five games logically the teams at the top will have won more games than those at the bottom. I would have thought even you could understand that. Or are you saying that the only reason that the bottom teams at present are in their positions is because of the quality of the opposition? The Budgies' trouncing by Millwall suggests otherwise - Millwall the team that Town put to the sword the other week.

0

StellaSaturdays added 17:09 - Aug 27 Hello everybody and welcome to another cracking report from your one and only stella saturdays! First of all just want to thank all my fans for the continued support and i do really appreciate it i don't mind telling ya. Anyway on to the report now and of course in my previous post i did predict a 2-0 loss (just saying) which of course is disappointing for us fans you know and i think the lads tried their best but wasn't our day i spose. Think Derrick Iorfa struggled a bit yesterday to be honest and also Graham ward is better out wide than the middle but i can't blame the lads they've had a traffic start. Roll on Queen's park rovers away in a couple of weeks think we can get the win there im going for a 5-0 win to town on that one, get me chops round a few stellas should be a good day for everyone involved with the towen. Mother has gone for a 2-2 draw some reason she's in a negative mood this week must be the spicy sauce she had with the omelette. Anyway fans thank you once again and i'll be back in a couple of weeks for some more stella saturdays reviews. Cheerio Stuart x

3

Minneapolis_ITFC added 01:37 - Aug 28 If Fulham are so good as I have read on many occasion, then why did they enter the match without victory in four games before yesterday ? Did they decide to put on a show all of the sudden at our expense or did they encounter a run of misfortune before start of play ? All I know is, it's been a start nobody could have forseen. Would have bitten hands off if offered four wins from five and while the League Cup was a mixed bag, we have a platform on which to build. Will never take to or be in favor of McCarthy (and Evans as owner) but what has passed in recent weeks has provided some much needed belief - even if we were fortunate on occasion to take points. Bottom line, it's essential we maintain momentum in the games ahead. With a fit team to select from and enough consistency, there is opportunity to challenge the promotion places of the division.

0

BlueMachines added 08:10 - Aug 28 Milliem. The teams at the bottom are lowly because several teams have beaten them not just Ipswich.
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls