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Ipswich Town 2-0 Bolton Wanderers - Match Report
Saturday, 16th Sep 2017 17:16

Second-half goals from Cole Skuse - his first in 29 months - and David McGoldrick saw Town to a 2-0 home victory over bottom-of-the-table Bolton Wanderers. After a first period in which chances were rare at either end, Skuse’s deflected strike - only his second goal in his four years at the club - put the Blues in front three minutes after the break, then McGoldrick added the second in the 89th minute.

The Blues returned to the 3-5-2 system in which they started the season with skipper Luke Chambers returning after his ankle injury and midfielder Tom Adeyemi making his first start for the Blues. However, Jonas Knudsen missed out having picked up an injury in training earlier in the week.

Skipper Chambers was joined in a back three by Jordan Spence and Dominic Iorfa with home debutant Callum Connolly at right wing-back and Myles Kenlock on the left. Bartosz Bialkowski was in goal.

Adeyemi was in central midfield alongside Cole Skuse with Grant Ward ahead of them, while David McGoldrick joined Joe Garner up front.

Martyn Waghorn and Flynn Downes dropped to the bench having started at QPR last week alongside Freddie Sears, Bersant Celina, who didn't train for several days this week due to a dead leg, and Tristan Nydam, who is back after suffering a knock while away with the England U19s.

After a scruffy start, the Blues hit the game’s first shot in the 11th minute. McGoldrick found Kenlock to his left on the edge of the area and the wing-back hit a right-footed shot which deflected behind. From the resultant corner, Garner and Bolton keeper Ben Alnwick both required treatment after a clash of heads.

Bolton, who had started in a 3-4-3 formation, threatened for the first time a minute later, Filipe Morais whipping over a dangerous freekick from the left which David Wheater was close to reaching before Garner eventually cleared.

On the quarter hour Iorfa won the ball just inside the Town half and brought it forward at pace but overhit his pass to McGoldrick to his right. The striker turned back to the on-loan Wolves man who fouled a Bolton defender as he looked to find space to shoot. At the other end, Noone hit a shot from the edge of the box over the bar.

The former Cardiff man struck an effort straight at Bialkowski when given space just outside the box on 21, then Kenlock worked himself an opportunity at the other end but his strike, again with his less-favoured right foot, was blocked.

Noone continued to be Bolton’s main threat, hitting a shot which deflected wide on 25 with Chambers doing well to get his head to the corner. McGoldrick eventually cleared by leaving a Wanderers player in his wake with a clever bit of skill on the edge of the box before almost finding Garner with a 40-yard cross-field pass but a defender cut it out.

Skuse made an important interception for the Blues on 27 after Chambers had misjudged a bouncing ball in the centre circle and surrendered possession to Wheater. The former England U21 international defender fed Madine, who looked to play skipper Jem Karacan in on goal but Skuse had tracked back and slid in to cut out his pass.

Bialkowski was forced into his first serious save of the game in the 33rd minute, the Pole pawing Madine’s snap shot from 25 yards out on the left behind at his near post.

The Blues weren’t too far away from opening the scoring in the 41st minute when Iorfa rose highest to meet a Ward corner from the left. The England U21 international nodded the ball into the ground but wide.

In the final scheduled minute of the half, the season-long loanee from Wolves won the ball in the air again, this time from a Ward freekick on the right - awarded after Antonee Robinson had clattered into Connolly’s ankle from behind - but his header was straight at Alnwick.


Following a Bolton corner, from which Connolly picked up another knock as he looked to clear, referee Andy Madley ended what had been an evenly balanced half.

It had been largely a battling midfield-dominated period of few chances with neither keeper particularly tested.

Town had looked at their most dangerous when McGoldrick got on the ball in the Bolton half, while Kenlock had been a threat on the left.

Connolly, who had suffered those knocks late in the half, was replaced by Celina ahead of the second half as the Blues moved to 4-4-2 with Iorfa moving to right-back and Ward to right midfield.

Two minutes after the restart the Blues took the lead via an unexpected source. After good work from Celina, McGoldrick cut the ball back and Skuse hit a 25-yard shot which deflected off Josh Cullen and beat Alnwick.

The former Bristol City man, whose only other Town goal in his 175 starts and one sub appearance came in the 3-1 home victory over Cardiff in April 2015, reeled away in celebration in front of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, while Madine picked up a yellow card for dissent.

Bolton almost hit back immediately, Bialkowski saving low to his left from Karacan, before Celina and then Iorfa both put the Blues under pressure by needlessly surrendering possession in their own half.

There was a big scare for the Blues in the 59th minute when a cross from the right was dummied by Morais, which wrong-footed Iorfa leaving Madine and Wheater in space inside the area. As Town defenders got back to cover, Wheater hit a shot goalwards but Spence dived in to make a superb block.

Bolton threatened again a minute later, a ball over the top down the right channel somehow found Madine, who looped his shot over when he ought to have done better.

At the other end, McGoldrick broke towards goal rising a Wheater tackle when it appeared his touch had given the ball to the ex-Middlesbrough man and hit a low shot which Alnwick palmed behind.

On 67, after Iorfa had made an important interception from a Noone cross from the right, Celina made a pacy run at the Bolton defence and was cynically felled by Wheater, who was booked.

After on-loan Newcastle striker Adam Armstrong had replaced Mark Little, Robinson sent over a deep cross from the left which Madine headed well over at the far post.

A minute later, Adeyemi broke into the area on the right and cut the ball across the six-yard area but no one was on hand to add the final touch and it was turned behind at the far post.

As the half moved into its final scheduled quarter of an hour, McGoldrick found Celina on the left and the on-loan Manchester City man hit a shot which deflected behind.

The Kosovo international took the resultant corner, the ball was cleared back to him and he cut in and hit a shot which Alnwick punched away.

On 78 Bolton made a double change, Aaron Wilbraham and Adam Le Fondre taking over from Madine and Morais.

Town might have doubled their lead a minute later when Garner knocked down Celina’s freekick from the left. With the goal gaping, McGoldrick couldn’t quite get on to the loose ball but it deflected out to Ward behind him, however, his shot was blocked.

In the 82 McGoldrick tricked his way into the box on the left with a trademark piece of sublime skill but blazed over. Burke was subsequently booked for a foul on Celina in the build-up.

Having got into the position he had, the Ireland international will feel he should have scored, but in the 89th minute the Blues number 10 sealed the three points.

Garner flicked on a ball down the middle, McGoldrick cleverly worked himself space before deftly beating Alnwick to notch his fourth goal of the season.

Downes replaced Ward, then McGoldrick made way to a standing ovation, Nydam taking over.

There was just time for Garner to pick up a booking before referee Madley confirmed the Blues’ third home Championship victory over the season.

On the strength of the second half Town deserved the three points having had chances to add to their lead before McGoldrick’s late second.

Skuse’s goal, which owed much to the deflection, came at the right time for the Blues, forcing Bolton to take the game to them and giving Town - and particularly Celina - the opportunity to counter-attack.

The Kosovan will be pleased with the impact he made having come on, the goal soon after half-time having added to his effectiveness, although he rather drifted in and out of the game and gave the ball away in dangerous areas on a couple of occasions.

Bolton, bottom without a win in their first eight Championship matches, will feel they should have got something out of the game, making little of the opportunities they had.

The match was watched by only 14,164, the lowest Portman Road crowd for a home game in the league since 13,212 attended Town's 1-0 victory over Swindon in October 1998.

The result sees the Blues move up to fifth, two points off the top with a game in hand on leaders Leeds, who lost 1-0 at Millwall today, who Town face at Elland Road next Saturday.

Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers (c), Iorfa, Connolly (Celina 46), Skuse, Adeyemi, Ward (Downes 90), Kenlock, McGoldrick (Nydam 90), Garner. Unused: Gerken, Waghorn, Sears, Woolfenden.

Bolton: Alnwick, Wheater, Burke, Beevers, Little (Armstrong 70), Karacan (c), Cullen, Robinson, Noone, Madine (Wilbraham 78), Morais (Le Fondre 78). Unused: Howard, Taylor, Dervite, Pratley. Referee: Andy Madley (West Yorkshire). Att: 14,164 (Bolton: 337).


Photo: TWTD



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pagey69 added 18:30 - Sep 16
A win is a win and 3 more points but did anyone see the lad at half time chip his third penalty down the middle at half time. Class !
3

ITFCGloryDays added 18:35 - Sep 16
Leeds away next week -
Celina in for Ward
Waggers in for Garner
2

Lightningboy added 18:38 - Sep 16
Vital win to halt the inevitable slide.

What worries me is we're riding our luck against poor teams and the standard of football doesn't seem to be improving PLUS I thought he could've thrown Waghorn on towards the end - the guy has been a revelation since signing - I really hope McCarthy isn't going to start destroying his confidence now like he's done with Sears.

9

vanmunt added 18:48 - Sep 16
Still on my muck boycott, not going to pay to watch his team play boreball.. win is a win and the town will and always be my only team but I am counting the days until he is gone.
11

itfcbam added 18:57 - Sep 16
Very scrappy 1st half with formations cancelling each other out. Bolton very happy to take a point and see what they could get on break. 2nd half once we changed and game opened up we were better. However defensively we were very poor and uncertain. That said we kept a clean sheet, probably more down to opposition wastefulness. Most worrying for me was a lack of communication across the entire back line (Bart included). There were several instances he should have come and taken control of a situation and didn't, prompting uncertainty. The only stable at the back was Chambo. Kenlock looked ok pushing forward but several occasions was caught too far upfield. Iorfa and Spencer, too often were both caught going for the same ball.
Hopefully that area will improve ahead of Leeds, otherwise I do fear for us.
That said, 3 points and if you said we would have won 5 out of first 7 I'm sure, give expectation at start of the season, we would have taken that. Still onwards and upwards onto tougher fixtures, at least we have a decent points tally thus far.
2

dukey44 added 19:00 - Sep 16
Great result as we got 3 points but still only just over 14k at home, Marcus Evans surely must realise people aren't happy?
7

terryf added 19:03 - Sep 16
My first visit to P P this season, courtesy of a friend's ticket. Can't say I've seen enough to renew my season ticket just yet, but at least it was 3 points against a very poor Bolton side. Thought the young Everton lad got caught out of position a few times and it didn't surprise me that he was replaced by Celina at half-time. We certainly looked more of a threat second half, but there were times when the defence looked disorganised. Against better opposition we could have conseded a couple of goals. Thought it was a toss up between Skues and McGoldrick for man of the match. It will be nice to get everyone fit and see where the season takes us. Certainly performances will have to be better though to stay in the top six.
3

GeoffSentence added 19:05 - Sep 16
Why all the comments about Bart keeping us a clean sheet? He had sod all to do and what he did have was straightforward,

Decent from Didz, albeit his finishing was mediocre, until the goal.

Our main threat in the first half was from Kenlock of all people.

Celina was right bright when he came on.

Chambers out in a good solid performance, glad to have him back.

It's easy to see why Bolton are bottom, they weren't much worse than us, but when gifted a couple of chances they blew it. If they had anything up front they could have got a result to day and would maybe have picked up a few points this season. Without goals they haven't got any chance of staying up.

Fair play to the ref, no-one could accuse him of being a homer.
2

Cakeman added 19:07 - Sep 16
plus side is the three points. The negative side was that there were ominous signs of replicating how we played last season at home.
Entertainment was lacking but a win is a win albeit against a team that could be the first team to be relegated this season.
PS why was Waghorn dropped? Was it because he has scored too many goals!
11

pragmatic added 19:07 - Sep 16
Stoke high you summed up what real supporters think, it was never goin to be a 5/6 nil win, so 3 points which will dissapoint those touting relegation because if 55 points is needed for safety we need 40 out of nxt 117!!!!
0

Cloddyseedbed added 19:20 - Sep 16
Dreadful 1st half where I feel Bolton shaded it. They had more possession and more intent to attack. Ipswich had no midfield 1st half and for me Ward isn't the player needed in there. He doesn't do enough, I think Downes is a better player. We all knew the more the supporters were calling for Celina to start the more a certain manager would hold him back and saying it's hard to fit him in the team. I think a more truthful answer would be we need a player like that in the team. When he came on he not only lifted the supporters but you could see he also lifted his team mates and the whole team started to look more positive going forward instead of 1st half negativity. Up front Garner was supposed to be partnered by McGoldrick, but as so often the case McGoldrick drops deep and that left Garner fighting for scraps and getting frustrated. He needs a partner and far too often McGoldrick was only out looking for glory himself and selfish in the extreme that he never looks up to square a ball or slip somebody else in for an easy shot. McGoldrick would rather try to go for glory himself and too often possession or a better chance for a team mate is lost. Until Celina came on we had Zero creativity. It was good to have Chambers marshaling the defence again and another player that was short of match practice, but came straight back into the team, as would Skuse and as will Knudsen. But Celina a skillful player who we all want to see play as paying supporters, we will be starved of, just you wait and see. I see no logic, other than MM not taking to certain players at the detriment of the team and that my friends is why the gates are so low. Poor entertainment value, we maybe nearly at the top at the moment, but we really are riding our luck playing the way we do and how MM sets the team up to play. Just remember until Celina came on we were nothing against Bolton, a team at the bottom. The stadiums boredom was lifted as he graced the pitch. He needs to be playing.
17

Fat_Boy_Tim added 19:23 - Sep 16
Two teams with small budgets and terrible injury problems and the only difference between them? 15 chuffing points!! COYB!!
5

Swn98 added 19:26 - Sep 16
Bolton huffed and puffed but never really looked like scoring, great to see Chambers organise and lead the defence Kenlock had a very solid game.Well played Skuse perhaps that will get a few moaners off your back watching Cellina today reiterates my point of last week if he had come on at half time I'm sure we could of got something from the game.Yes there will be sterner tests but points get prizes and we are clocking them up.
3

oldegold added 19:27 - Sep 16
McCarthy reverting to type...pretty much as i predicted.Against Bolton, we were set up not to attack but stifle...and bore everyone to death. Only one more season and then he is gone...
11

TimmyH added 19:32 - Sep 16
err... I think you'll find that's 13 chuffing points difference @Fat_Boy_Tim and some doses of luck which makes up the difference, though we have deserved to win some games i.e. Birmingham and today's the other games we've partially been outplayed or been close and mainly out shot.

Feel a bit sorry for Bolton they don't deserve to go back to league one a club of that stature, not quite sure what Parkinson is doing managing a club of such name?
2

legoman85 added 19:33 - Sep 16
Awful game lucky not to be punished by several lazy stupid passes 2 from Iorfa and 1 from ward come to mind. But McGoldrick was class today and celina looks like he's going be a quality player.
5

Kirbmeister added 19:34 - Sep 16
At the start of the season we would have settled for 15 points from 7 games but, let's face it, even if we had won every game people won't be happy until Micks been sacked. Im not a particular Mick supporter but just stating a fact.
3

Fat_Boy_Tim added 19:34 - Sep 16
okay..... 13 chuffing points!!!!
1

Westy added 19:36 - Sep 16
I'll take that any day of the week.
0

emergencylime added 19:45 - Sep 16
@rfretwell

Sadly the attendance is a legacy from last season, it'll take time to win back the trust of fans.

On the strength (for want of a better word) of today's display it's hard to kick a habit.

It sounds like Celina has done enough for a start, i hope to see him in action when i'm in town next week for the Mackems game.
2

DerryfromBury added 19:46 - Sep 16
Cloddyseedbed
Absolutely spot on. Nothing much moor to add. I think we all know that Celina isn't MM's cup of tea, but surly he should be above that and accept the Lad's our best option for an half decent season. After Bart he should be the next name on the team sheet.
9

warktheline added 19:46 - Sep 16
Take the points, but disturbing to read a gradual return to 'dull uninspiring football'. Can't say I'm surprised !
8

blueboy1981 added 20:00 - Sep 16
......... won't be long now before Celina asks to be released from his loan - and who could blame him ?

Top Class player brought in - and then treated no better than Mr Ordinary by the Manager.
Will do nothing for his confidence, or progression.

Just watch this space - if he doesn't get more game time real soon..... !!
6

blueboy1981 added 20:13 - Sep 16
....... OK Bert - we'll see ... !!
2

Bert added 20:15 - Sep 16
Strange how some folk on here seem to think they know more about Celina than the Manager. No problem as far as I am concerned bringing him on after seeing what Bolton had to offer. Despite what some say, Bolton were not bad so it was a tricky game. Good performanaces from DM and Skuse. Re Celina, I agree he is going to be an emerging talent but he has to learn that giving the ball away allows the opposition to counter. Great to see his runs but he also has a lot to learn as do a number of the anti brigade.
1


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