Jordan Spence netted an 88th minute equaliser as Town drew 2-2 at Hull City, their first draw for 25 matches. The Blues got off to the perfect start when David McGoldrick put them ahead in the sixth minute but the Tigers levelled through Jarrod Bowen on 34, then went in front via Nouha Dicko six minutes after the restart. McGoldrick missed a penalty in the 75th minute but Spence’s third goal of the season grabbed Town their first draw of the season with two minutes remaining.

Boss Mick McCarthy named an unchanged side with the Blues again lining-up in their attacking 4-2-3-1 system with McGoldrick, Martyn Waghorn and Bersant Celina behind Joe Garner.

Callum Connolly again joined Cole Skuse, who was over the injury he suffered in the 3-0 victory over Preston before the international break, in the deeper midfield roles.

There was no place in the 18 for Emyr Huws, who was in contention to return to the squad for the first time since joining the Blues on a permanent basis in the summer after recovering from his achilles injury.

Hull made four changes, Michael Hector, Kevin Stewart, Markus Henriksen and Dicko coming into the side for Max Clark, David Meyler, Jackson Irvine and Fraizer Campbell.

Town started brightly, Henricksen blocking Waghorn’s 30-yard freekick in the second minute.

And four minutes later, the Blues went in front. Hull keeper Allan McGregor impressively tipped Garner’s header over but Town scored from the resultant corner.

Waghorn played a quickly-taken short flag-kick to Celina, who returned the ball to the former Hull loanee, who crossed to the edge of the box. Skuse turned into the area and, after Jonas Knudsen had mis-kicked a loose ball, McGoldrick hit his eighth goal of the campaign into the corner of the net.

Having got their noses in front, the Blues continued to look the better side with the home team unable to make an impression on the game, much to the frustration of the home fans, already in a fractious mood due to their team’s 20th position in the table going into the game and their unpopular owners.

On 17 Garner tried an ambitious chip from not far inside the Hull half which McGregor was able to watch loop wide of his goal.

The Tigers struck their first shot of the game in the 22nd minute but Bowen’s 25-yard effort was straight at Bartosz Bialkowski in the Town goal.

As the game moved towards the half-hour mark Hull put the Blues under pressure for the first time with a number of balls played into the box but the Town backline remaining resolute.

However, in the 34th minute the Tigers levelled. Kamil Grosicki cleverly turned his way past Connolly as he broke into the area on the right, his cross hit Adam Webster, wrong-footing his team-mates and falling to Bowen at the far post and Bialkowski could only palm his shot and ninth goal of the season into the roof of the net.

The goal gave the home side increased impetus and on 40 Webster was forced to pull back Henriksen as he broke away towards goal after the Blues had lost possession and the former Pompey man was shown the first yellow card of the game.

Grosicki saw a strike blocked as the Tigers ended the half on top having grabbed their equaliser, deservedly on the balance of the first 45 minutes as a whole, Town having been the better side earlier in the period when they should have made more of having gained the lead.

Hull midfielder Seb Larsson was booked for a foul on Celina in the first minute of the second half.

Three minutes later, the Kosovo international unleashed a strike from the edge of the box but McGregor saved.

But in the 51st minute the home side went in front. Skipper Luke Chambers initially failed to deal with an aerial ball from deep, Dicko then held him off and ran through one-on-one with Bialkowski before beating the Blues’ keeper.

Town boss McCarthy will have been frustrated by the manner in which the goal was conceded, hardly the first poor goal shipped by his side this season.

Grosicki shot wide for the Tigers, now with their tails very much up, when he might have done better, then Bowen and Connolly had their names added to referee David Coote’s book for fouls.

Having made such a disappointing start to the half, the Blues started to come back into the game, Hector making an important interception ahead of Waghorn as Celina cut back.

At the other end, Dicko shot wide from 25 yards on the hour, then Garner was booked for the latest in a succession of indiscretions.

Moments later, the former Preston and Rangers man may have been a touch fortunate not to receive a second yellow card for clashing with Hector - who he had fouled to pick up his caution - having been felled by the on-loan Chelsea defender.

Knudsen joined the lengthening list of booked players for a foul on Bowen on 67, the Dane’s fifth caution of the season which will see him miss Wednesday’s game against Sheffield Wednesday. A minute later, Hull swapped Grosicki for Jackson Irvine.

Dicko almost profited from an under-hit Knudsen backpass as the game moved into its final 20 minutes but Bialkowski reached the ball and cleared ahead of the one-time Wolves man.

In the 74th minute Town were awarded their first penalty of the season after Waghorn had been clumsily tripped by Stewart as he cut into the area on the right.

Town’s earlier goalscorer McGoldrick took the kick but hit it too close to keeper McGregor, who saved to his right.

The Blues made a double substitution in the 80th minute, Grant Ward and Kevin Bru taking over from Waghorn and Connolly. Hull swapped Larsson for Meyler.

On 86 Freddie Sears replaced a frustrated McGoldrick with the Blues having started to put the Tigers under some late pressure.

And in the 88th minute they levelled. Webster nodded on Chambers's ball into the box after Ward had played a freekick short to him and Spence flung out a leg to divert home off the inside of the post.

Hull switched Dicko for Adama Diomande as the game moved into five minutes of added-on time. Soon after, Ward became the fifth Town player to pick up a yellow card for foul on Bowen, then Stewart joined him for a cynical foul as the Blues broke.

The Tigers should have won it at the death when Meyler found Diomande at the far post but the sub headed wide when he ought to have have scored.

Referee Coote brought the game to an end soon afterwards with the Blues claiming a point from what was an up and down afternoon.

Having started well and grabbing the lead, Town allowed a struggling Tigers side to get back into the game and then to go ahead.

The Blues had rarely looked like getting on terms before McGoldrick’s disappointing penalty. But Town showed their now familiar stoicism with Spence to man to pop up with the important late goal, not for the first time this season.

Overall, a point from a trip to a relegated former Premier League side is never a bad result, however, the Blues will feel that having gone ahead they might well have claimed all three. Equally, they looked destined for defeat for much of the second half.

The draw was Town's first for 25 matches (23 in the league) since the 1-1 with Birmingham on April 1st.

Going 15 league games at the start of a season without a draw is a new club record, beating the previous similar run of 14 established at the beginning of the 1954/55 campaign.

The result moved the Blues up a place to seventh before Derby's 1-1 draw at Fulham saw them return to eighth ahead of Wednesday’s live Sky game against the Owls at Portman Road.

Hull City: McGregor, Aina, Tomori, Dawson (c), Hector, Stewart, Larsson (Meyler 81), Henriksen, Bowen, Grosicki (Irvine 68), Dicko (Diomande 90). Unused: Marshall, Masuch, Clark, Evandro.

Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Webster, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse, Connolly (Bru 80), Celina, McGoldrick (Sears 86), Waghorn (Ward 80), Garner. Unused: Gerken, Iorfa, Nydam, Kenlock. Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire). Att: 15,516 (Town: 985).

Photo: PagePix

blue75 added 08:13 - Nov 19 First off a point at Hull is good we'd all have taken that before the season started, and win at home draw away is how you win this league. As a McCarthy outer I'll never moan about getting points on the board I won't even moan about him in this post. But I will point out to his supporters on here I never hear any support for him in the ground! When was the last time Ipswich fans sung his name maybe last season at home, I don't go away so maybe it's all Mick mar on away days, you don't hear the fans on the radio during commentary. So I look forward to Wednesday night and seeing you all up supporting McCarthy as I keep reading its the minority that want him out. At least today we're another point closer to the magic 50 and not moaning about another really poor performance and defeat.

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Geddis78 added 08:21 - Nov 19 Brave Dave, fantastic post sir. Pretty much sums it up on here sometimes. Bottom line is many don't like McCarthy as a person so whoever he picks, whatever tactics he uses, it will be wrong. Don't get it myself. I like his brutal honesty and if I were a footballer, he is the sort of guy you would put your body on the line for. That said, I do find it an ever more depressing experience going to Portman Road seeing all the empty seats and perhaps the only way to get the fans back is with a change. Not that I think either the results nor performances will improve with a new manager.

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Jonaldo added 09:00 - Nov 19 The game was there for the taking. Its a shame we didnt show the same ambition that we did in the first 20 mins. That was dominating aggressive and ambitious. Did enough to earn a draw but could have been so much more.
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runningout added 10:15 - Nov 19 Our results v Hull are poor, this was a chance to nab 3 good points and we let them off. Couple of our so called stalwarts need to step up, or step aside. I Can't be too encouraged by a draw. Don't care who we are playing. Maybe Im still living in the 80's
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TimmyH added 10:39 - Nov 19 The fact is we're clinging on to the 4 match winning streak at the beginning of the season, since then we have been bang average at best but you don't have to do much more than that just to stay off the play-off pace in this league this season if you have had a winning streak. If you look at the clubs I have mentioned in an earlier post a majority of them have had such a spell but continue to be generally inconsistent as we are. Can we have another good streak?...if we can then yes we maybe we are genuine play-off candidates...can we win another 4 on the bounce? my heart would like to think so but my head says not on your life...still remains to be seen if we'll be up there when the crunch time comes.

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Ipswichbusiness added 11:33 - Nov 19 The Romford Blue, I agree with much of what you say. We are in a good position, especially considering some of the injuries. However, 1). we really should have signed a Berra replacement during the summer and 2) an away point against Hull is not good enough. They are at the wrong end of the table. Real contenders beat those sides both home and away.
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cat added 12:15 - Nov 19 Interesting view points on here and still the continued slating of opinions from the ‘content' posters towards those who's views differ from theirs. Basically what your saying is that if i don't adhere to your way of thinking then I am clearly wrong. I want McCarthy gone and that's been the case for over 3 years now, it's not about stubborness, progress or results, it's for all the reasons that i continually find myself repeating on here. I've attended some games at home & I've been away this season and I will be travelling up to Villa next Saturday, I don't need to prove my worth as a long standing supporter, I can support ‘most' of the players without my negative opinions affecting them as the club will always come first. So my opinions are based on what I've seen, not listened to on the radio or read on the post match reports as anyone who attends games knows that you don't get a true perspective of the game, systems, style or tactics as you do physically watching it, which brings me seamlessly onto Currie10 - seem to recall from earlier posts you are based in Australia?? but here you are again continually spouting off & spending most of your efforts on other posters who thoughts you clearly don't understand or opinions that don't roll/fit with yours, but if this is indeed the case that you are in OZ you can hardly comment on the games themselves, can you?? Romford - MM stated at the start of this campaign that most supporters are fickle when he said that wins will keep the fans on side and happy, and that appears to be the case with you, errrrr fortunately that does not apply to me, cause win, lose or draw I've had enough and I can pin point that back to around Jan 2015, Wigan at home. My opinions are based on MM the manager, not MM the bloke! Great attendance record btw, fair play to you on that one, I had similar stats to them in the mid 80's, personally my best years of following the blues almost everywhere, and we were not successful during those years! So to ‘summarise' it, (lol BraveDave - enjoyed your humorous post btw) respect my views or if you can't then deal with it, cause I have too. There are a few posters on here who views completely differ to mine who I actually like & respect and mark them up on ‘rare' occasions, so I'm not blinkered or blinded by my own beliefs & are respectful of others, adopting a kind of live and let live mentality, and they know who they are, shame it's not a 2 way street on that front. Attendances are down and there's no denying this fact, this is the true & accurate measurement to gauge supporters true feelings, not what's written on here or anywhere else for that matter.

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SheptonMalletBlue added 12:15 - Nov 19 If we make the play offs and somehow get promotion, can you imagine the carnage week in week out with McCarthy in charge of us in the Prem? !!!!
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Swn98 added 14:06 - Nov 19 SHEPTON it wouldnt matter who the manager is if we go up and ME dosent spend 20mill plus it will be carnage.
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The_Romford_Blue added 14:33 - Nov 19 Fair play cat. That was a far more balanced post than your original response to mine. Supported us now since 2003 when I was 5. Never seen us play outside of this poxy league. So perhaps that's why for me it's results over everything else. I'm willing to watch us play absolutely awful (Burton away first half and Barnsley away first half for example), if we were to pick up a win. Points mean prizes as they say. As bad as the football can be sometimes (there's no denying that), we are scoring goals and getting wins at the moment and that is enough for me.

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BraveDave added 14:54 - Nov 19 Cat - completely appreciate your comments. Don't completely agree with them, but can see you've thought it through and explained your feelings well. I've no issue with anyone criticising McCarthy, and your views are based on what you've actually seen. What winds me up are the people who have an agenda and will always skew reality to suit that agenda - e.g Skuse is always the worst player regardless of whether he is or not (and he rarely is the worst). And your comment about respecting other people's opinions works both ways - just because I don't think the simple solution is to sack McCarthy, that doesn't mean I'm a 'happy clapper' or 'blinkered'.

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coolcat added 14:58 - Nov 19 Came up from London for the game. From the start felt that we were going to come away with something. I felt like we should have won it but a point is a fair result overall. Thought Bru made a difference when he came on. Shame Didz missed the penalty. But liked the way the team rallied and got another goal. Such is the spirit of the team. Thought 985 away support fans was excellent for a club so far away like Hull. Looking forward to the next game.

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SheptonMalletBlue added 15:20 - Nov 19 Swn98, I wasn't talking about money. Obviously if we got promoted, money would be spent. I was talking about the complete inadequacy of McCarthy. You maybe happy with his cr*p football and all the other negatives that come from him, but I'm not and thousands of others aren't judging by the empty seats at PM.
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chepstowblue added 15:30 - Nov 19 Another day where 80% of passes went astray.Spence was dreadful but redeemed himself,Garner remains the biggest cheat I can recall in a blue shirt.You could slate them all to be honest.Desperately difficult game to watch.The most important player today was Skuse. Tracking back,mopping up, Nobody did their job as well as him. He remains one of the 1st players on the team sheet and rightly so. With Huws and Adeyemi alongside him the midfield will be fine, Forget Downes and Nydam for now. Neither are good enough just yet,too lightweight and easily bullied. A bonus point really today as I don't see a lot coming from the next 4 games. Thankfully we have the points in the bag but I still fear that by xmas we'll be looking over our shoulders. 17th place beckons !

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Bluetone added 15:53 - Nov 19 So two of the happy clappys think that bringing on substitutes with so little game time left. Two on at the 80 minute mark and the final one at 86 minutes is a good idea, The mind boggles at this there is hardly enough time to warm up properly let alone coming up to game speed.
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ChestnutSe added 16:14 - Nov 19 On the attendances point made by some commentators I actually think the biggest factor is the cost of attending home games. Obviously it was a bit of a struggle last season but I doubt the fans would be crowding Portman Rd even if we were the Man City of the Championship. The cost of tickets needs to come down and the commitment of buying a season ticket needs more recognition from the club.

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BraveDave added 16:23 - Nov 19 Bluetone - so who are these 'Happy Clappys' to which you refer. I love watching Ipswich but am rarely happy - that is the nature of being a football fan. And I rarely just clap everything. So, like others, you copy stupid phrases to try to prove a point - 'happy clappers', 'Dino', 'Muck', 'Skuglas'. I don't just accept everything that the manager or team do, but I will always try to be positive where I can. So one point behind playoffs is fairly positive. And as far as the substitutions go - the manager makes substitutions to change a game - McCarthy made some late substitutions and, hey presto, we scored! Maybe, just maybe, that was a great piece of management. But, of course, if you always try to find the negative to fit your agenda, you could never even consider that as a possibility

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oldegold added 16:38 - Nov 19 We won't go anywhere with McCarthy as his style of football went out with the penny farthing, young players are not given a chance i.e Kenlock and name me ONE player that MM has brought on since Nov 2012.. exactly, he INTENTIONALLY plays players in wrong positions i.e Sears, Chambers and now McGoldrick ),operates a "Mates" policy in selecting the team so out of form and out of position players but are his favourites play nonetheless, young players are shunted off to make way for older, inferior and on loan i.e Emmanuel / Iorfa, he is playing out the last months of his tenure at Town when a change should have been made last season to get a juicy payout whereas we should be planning for the future and not losing 3.000 on match attendances...

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gosblue added 16:41 - Nov 19 The last time I went to Hull they were still playing at Boothferry Park so this was a new ground for me. I am not a big fan of these new soulless stadia and once again the football was not easy on the eye but I enjoyed the day out and the usual Yorkshire welcome. I was expecting a point so wasn't overly disappointed but I do think all three points were there for the taking. For twenty minutes we played some of our best football with Didz easily the best player on the pitch. However, after about 30 minutes, he seemed to fade and the game changed. McGoldrick and Celina switched wings and it proved costly. Didz lost possession out on the left and Hull were able to get on the front foot. A couple of minutes later he was caught in possession again in a similar position which led to Hull's equaliser. McGoldrick is our best player and I don't blame him at all but he did seem a little leg weary. After that, Town retreated deeper and deeper towards their own goal and Hull looked the more likely winners. That was until the penalty, which at the time looked dubious (the replay suggests otherwise) and the outstretched big toe of Spence's right foot. Hull have some quality and pace about them, not least Fikayo Tomori, and they'll be ok once they learn to play to their strengths. We are nowhere near our best, yet still in a great position. I remain optimistic.

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BillBlue added 17:11 - Nov 19 Elizabeth - stop moaning -please!
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BraveDave added 17:36 - Nov 19 Oldegold - here we go again. Let's debate things but please stop repeating silly phrases. McCarthy only plays his favourites - what does that even mean?? A manager is always going to pick what he thinks is the best team. You and I can debate what that best team is, but that's not what you are doing. You are saying he is somehow picking what he knows is a weak team, but they are his favourites. And you seriously believe that? McCarthy seriously believes that Skuse is not good enough to play but he will still play him as they drink in the same pub. He INTENTIONALLY (your capitals) plays players in wrong positions. Again, we can debate the best position for a player, but that's not what you are doing. You are saying he is deliberately trying to lose matches and wind the fans up by playing players out of position. Why don't you look at the squad, watch the games, then give a realistic analysis of how things could be done better. Every time people spout off silly suggestions that McCarthy is deliberately working against the interests of the club, everyone else just switches off. Come on, show some original thinking!

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Pilgrimblue added 17:55 - Nov 19 Just looked at highlights and Chambers was at fault for both their goals and very nearly the last minute miss! Also Skuse super pass for lead up to penalty. And what was McGoldrick doing when keeper saved, NOTHING! He just stood there wondering how he missed. Hope he watches and maybe rethink his spotkicks as he's giving keepers easier job. Either Waggy or Jonas should step up. Maybe Mick doesn't bother to practice as we get so few! Anyway so pleased Webster got great header in and Spence proved once again how vital he's been this season, goals and assists.

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oldegold added 18:09 - Nov 19 BraveDave.....I think the logical thinking backs up what I say as McCarthy has made it clear that certain players are virtually untouchable irrespective of their standard of play i.e Chambers and Knudsen and his words clearly stymy the desire of certain youngsters to push for a place in the team i.e Kenlock and Emmanuel especially to whom it has been said that they will not replace his favourites. Clearly such a treatment is considered counterproductive as it signifies that they won't replace them at any cost and irrespective of how much better they are.You mentioned Skuse, not me. It is not baloney and i think my posts judging by the thumbs up are supported by many other supporters. We have the only manager in top flight football who says that the more the supporters call for someone to brought on, the less chance he has of playing which is ridiculous and demonstrates his lack of motivational powers and complete belligerence towards those that effectively pay his wages. He is a tactically limited manager and is responsible for the worst football seen at Portman Road in many a year...simply dreadful. So less of the "Here we go again " abut instead analyse Saturday's game which defines McCarthy football when once again after going in front, we reverted to defending and mere hoofing up...no variety of play, no sustained attacking football, players uncomfortable on the ball ( always the sign of a good player ) and not playing the way Klug is trying to instil in our younger players.Take the blinkers off BraveDave..and accept what I'm writing about is actually what is happening. Under McCarthy we are treading water and going nowhere and our dreadful football is the byproduct of his vision and bone headedness.

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Theipswich added 18:16 - Nov 19 Excellent post Oldegold and you make a lot of sense in highlighting the plight of our club and certainly put BraveDave in his place and his extremely silly ideas. Some people need to take their blinkers off and assess what is really going on.
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BraveDave added 18:32 - Nov 19 Hi TheIpswich Yes, you're right, that's certainly put me in my place. I had completely forgotten McCarthy saying "certain players are untouchable irrespective of their standard of play". And I have to admit that my argument falls to the ground now that I remember him saying "Kenlock will not replace my favourites". And I am angry that so many players complain about his lack of motivation. Once you and Oldegold point out the facts to me, I have to admit that I've got it completely wrong. I'll take my blinkers off, I'll stop happy clapping and spend my time complaining about my club - looks much more fun

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