Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Fulham 4-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Tuesday, 2nd Jan 2018 22:01

Four goals in seven minutes after Town defender Jordan Spence had been red-carded saw Fulham come from behind to beat the Blues 4-1 at Craven Cottage. Joe Garner gave Town the lead a minute before the break but the match turned on Spence’s dismissal for an off-the-ball barge on Aboubakar Kamara in the 54th minute with Ryan Sessegnon equalising on 69, Kamara securing the lead on 72 and then the pair each scoring again on 74 and 76.

Cole Skuse and Tommy Smith returned to the Town line-up for Kevin Bru, who dropped to the bench, and Adam Webster, who was ruled out due to the achilles injury which forced him off at the weekend. Skuse, back after his ankle injury, took up his usual role in the Blues midfield.

Centre-half Smith was making his first Town appearance since the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff on October 31st having recovered from the calf injury he suffered while on international duty with New Zealand.

Luke Hyam was included on the bench for the first time this season following the knee operation he underwent in September. Hyam’s most recent appearance for Town was at Derby on the final day of the 2015/16 campaign. David McGoldrick was again among the subs.

Adam McDonnell, who has been on the bench in recent matches, missed out as he was unwell.

For Fulham, Ollie Norwood and Kamara started with Tomas Kalas and Kevin McDonald dropping to the bench.

In the opening minute Celina, who initially appeared to be in a central role behind strike pair Garner and Martyn Waghorn before moving to the left of a 4-4-2 system, sent in a Blues freekick from the left which the home defence headed clear.

In windy and rainy conditions, the Cottagers created their first opening a minute later, Ryan Fredericks cutting a low ball across the area from the right but just too far in front of Kamara, scorer of both the West Londoners’ goals in their 2-2 draw at Hull City on Saturday. On six, Stefan Johansen shot just over from 25 yards.

Jordan Spence diverted a dangerous Floyd Ayité cross from the right over in the eighth minute with the Whites started to dominate as they did in their 2-0 defeat of the Blues at Portman Road in August.

Bialkowski was forced into his first save of the game in the 12th minute, palming away a Kamara shot from the right of the area. A minute later the Frenchman hit an effort over.

Fulham continued to dominate, although Town pressure led to the home side surrendering possession on the right on 17 but Waghorn was crowded out as he cut into the box.

Three minutes later, Johansen shot wide from not too far outside the area but referee Keith Stroud awarded a corner.

The Fulham pressure continued with Sheyi Ojo hitting a low shot wide from the edge of the box, then Norwood hit a 25-yard freekick over.

With the rain continuing to fall heavily and the swirling wind making high balls and long passes difficult to deal with, Town pressured the Whites into a 28th minute mistake which might have yielded a goal.

Norwood was forced to make a risky pass across his area which Celina read ahead of Denis Odoi but the Kosovan international was unable to get the ball under control in the sodden conditions.

Having withstood the spell under the cosh the Blues started to see more of the ball and just after the half hour Waghorn struck a shot on the turn well over from distance.


Moments later, the former Rangers man was fed in on the left of the box but Tim Ream saw the ball through to his keeper. On 34 Ayité was replaced by Neeskens Kebano.

As the half moved into its final 10 minutes Fulham turned the screw once again and the Cottagers should have scored on 39 when sub Kebano cut the ball back from the left without the outside of his right boot but Kamara was unable to add the final touch at the far post.

A minute before the break the Blues were forced into a change when Ward, who had undergone treatment a couple of times during the half, was replaced by Freddie Sears as Town prepared to take a freekick.

And from the set piece, the Blues took the lead. Waghorn’s earlier freekicks had all been hampered by the wind, but on this occasion Town’s 10-goal top scorer whipped it in from the right and Garner headed his eighth goal of the season into the net.

Whites keeper Marcus Bettinelli had arrived late and collided with the Town scorer as he nodded home but after treatment was able to continue.

Fulham went looking for an injury time equaliser, Kebano hitting a low shot from outside the box to Bialkowski’s right but the Blues keeper saved confidently and they were unable to threaten again before the break and Town went in a goal in front.

Having repelled everything the dominant home side threw at them, occasionally riding their luck, the Blues once again profited from a brilliant Waghorn set piece and Garner header.

Town needed a repeat of that steadfast defensive performance in the second half if they were to open 2018 with a victory.

With the wind and rain having largely subsided, Ojo turned the first shot of the second period well over three minutes after the restart.

Connolly was shown the game’s first yellow card a minute later after a foul on home skipper Tom Cairney 25 yards out to the right. Johansen’s freekick was hit straight into the wall, then Norwood shot wide.

In the 54th minute the Blues were reduced to 10 men when Spence was shown Town’s first red card of the season.

Kamara had shoved Sears over as the pair had battled for a ball which the Whites striker then passed backwards. The Blues right-back then needlessly clattered into the Fulham man, who was sent flying, although appeared to make as much of the incident as he could.

Referee Stroud, who had failed to issue Sheffield Wednesday’s Glenn Loovens with a card of either colour for his horror challenge on David McGoldrick last month, took the advice of his linesman before dismissing Spence, who was clearly incensed by the Fulham player’s reaction and the decision as he left the field. There was, however, no need for his reaction.

Town quickly swapped Celina for Dominic Iorfa, who went to right-back with Waghorn moving into midfield.

Ream was booked for a foul on Garner, then Kebano was fortunate not to join him for a very late challenge on Connolly inside the Town area.

The Blues had managed to withstand an initial spell of pressure immediately after the sending off, but after a brief lull - in part due to several silly Fulham fouls - the home side began to threaten again.

Lucas Piazon replaced Ojo on 65 then was immediately booked for a dive inside the Town box.

But the home fans, who claimed they had been denied a penalty in that incident, didn’t have to wait too much longer for an equaliser.

In the 67th minute Kamara crossed from the left to Kebano, who miscued across goal and Sessegnon nodded home.

Three minutes later it was 2-1. Kebano cut across for Norwood, his shot was blocked but fell to Kamara, who turned in from close range.

And a further two minutes later it was 3-1 to the home side. Johansen worked his way to the byline with clever skills on the right of the area and cut across the six-yard box to Sessegnon, who tapped in his second of the evening at the far post.

And the Fulham goal deluge wasn’t over. On 76 Kamara hit a shot from the edge of the box and a deflection wrong-footed Bialkowski.

The Blues had held out for 15 minutes after the red card but then conceded four goals in seven minutes.

The by now buoyant home crowd were calling for a fifth and on 79 Cairney struck a low shot which Bialkowski saved down to his left.

Hyam made his return to action for Connolly, who had undergone treatment for the second time before making way, in the 82nd minute, 19 months after his last first-team appearance.

Knudsen shot wide right-footed when he should have crossed in the 85th minute, then Bialkowski was off his line sharply to block from Kamara after Johansen had played him in. On 88 Sessegnon was replaced by Rafa Soares to a standing ovation.

Late on, Garner was booked for a foul, then Kamara shot wide for the home side. Deep in injury time Waghorn and Kebano were both booked, the former for a foul and the latter for aiming a hand towards the Town striker’s neck in retaliation.

Just before the whistle, skipper Chambers frustratedly slammed the ball and was shown a yellow card, summing up the evening as a whole for Town.

Having got their lead the Blues needed to continue their solid defensive performance after the break.

That they had managed to do until Spence’s needless and uncharacteristic hot-headed reaction to Kamara’s challenge on Sears.

The Blues held out for a quarter of an hour but once the first goal had gone in the floodgates opened with Fulham carving Town apart all too regularly.

A defeat in 2018’s opening game sees the Blues drop to 12th, seven points off the play-offs with a break from Championship action for the FA Cup third round tie against Sheffield United at Portman Road on Saturday.

Fulham: Bettinelli, Fredericks, Sessegnon (Soares 88), Odoi, Johansen, Cairney (c), Ayité (Kebano 34), Ream, Norwood, Ojo (Piazon 65), Kamara. Unused: Button, McDonald, Fonte, Kalas.

Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers (c), T Smith, Knudsen, Skuse, Connolly (Hyam 82), Celina (Iorfa 57), Waghorn, Ward (Sears 44), Garner. Unused: M Crowe, McGoldrick, Bru, Kenlock. Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire).


Photo: Action Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



MicksZzzTactics added 10:38 - Jan 3


PS: With apologies to the late Mr. George Carlin whose famous quote I sort of reinvented ...just in honor of this highly likely playoff-coffin-nailing but in any event extraordinary embarrassing* Dino-led ITFC performance!

Only in the original quote Mr. Carlin obviously wasn't talking about certain possibly? severely vision-impaired but undebatable both ignorant & mindboggling points-fixated-ONLY (or their lesser evil counterpart: The "merely" eternally fickle-prone!) types of ITFC fans -- he was talking about H@m@ Sapiens in general!
Oh and nor was he remotely as sensitive/moderate as I jolly chose to be in my reinvented version here -- as Mr. Carlin never really did hmmmm succumb to velvet-gloved political correctness of any kind by using words like "credulous", but rather stuck with the noun of his always encompassing & all-time favorite talking subject = stupidity! :-) :-)


[*Extraordinary embarrassing as seen not only from the stance, obviously! but also seen for instance already with the halftime numbers where Fulham had something like 320 "ACCURATE PASSES" and Hoof Town had barely eclipsed the 100 mark! (At full-time it was an INCREDIBLE 596 to 143 in favour of them!!!!!!!!!) to go with them already WHILE 11 vs. 11 also having 70+ % of the possession and also heavily heavily outshooting, outdribbling, outtackling and of course inevitably "outmanaging" us too even then! Meaning not only in the last 37+ minutes! So please spare us from these fairly misleading cries about the poor ref being the cataclysm of our downfall and similar biased & blue-tinted "observations" thank you!
-
(For those who didn't watch last night's game, see here for ex.: https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1192565/Live/England-Championship-2017-2018-Fu
and please be a good chappie and click on the "more" buttons underneath each stat-category to get the quite unacceptable and scary details! ...but at the same this here performance was imho simply the very latest of a string of shall we call them: "Will the REAL Dino-led Ipswich Town please stand up" showings (and personally I think it did so i.e. stand up, already & very definitively at the apparent www.match.com sponsored "Ollie luves Mick" Zzz-debacle that was the beyond breathtakingly & super romantic (but zero "action"!) QPR dating encounter!) I bet it made even Barbara Cartland roll over in her grave LOL!
-
And speaking of said UNFORGETTABLE & hyper sincere "Ollie luves Mick" *proper-blokish* TWTD article, I, exactly like several other Town fans, was asking myself WHY exactly it was uploaded here????????? -- well the horse-manure FILTERED & non-blinkers wearing among us already know deep-down why don't we now LOL -- and personally I have yet to see something resembling an valid answer from this site's administrators to this by & large extremely interesting and DEFINING question! :-) :-) ]


And on that mystery note a Happy New Year greeting to every NON-Happie-Clappie out there :-) :-) ...Ahhhh alright alright to everybody then! ...But beware all you muppets there is absolutely no real indications nor on or off the pitch that THIS year -- the 12th with equal parts football-clueless equal parts football-indifferent Marvelous Marcus as the club's owner, and entering the 7th with the "My DEFAULT idea of playing football throughout the 21th century is STILL: Lots of proper blokes, hard grinders and last but not least hedgehog-like & thus luck-dependent 'Let's Nick It' tactics! F@ck Yeahh!"
a.k.a. the foulmouthed & fanUNfriendly 'Tyrannosaurus Terribilis Arrogantus Rex of Suffolk' a.k.a. the severely Delusions Of Grandeur suffering/inspired 'I'm the Special One #2' as the club's manager -- isn't gonna be more or less exactly along the lines of the hmmmm slightly balance-troubled butler named James and his famous exchange with Miss Sophie in the evergreen sketch classic Dinner For One:

"Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?"
"The same procedure as EVERY year James!"
4

liam88 added 10:46 - Jan 3
Didn't make a be careful what you wish for comment or either sack or keep mick. Sure I said labelling people for their opinions is a form of bullying imo. Oh well seems every comment is offensive sorry to cause a stir.
0

Elizabeth added 11:04 - Jan 3
What an absolute disgrace! Not only Spence walking for an idiotic challenge but collapsing like a pack of cards . You can manage quite well with ten men if others all put a shift in ! Youngsters in on Saturday who may show some passion !!
2

Bert added 11:20 - Jan 3
May be useful for all posters to look up the definition of 'football supporter'. Whilst everyone is entitled to express their opinion, it would help if we all remembered that hiding expletives is still offensive to people particularly female posters. I accept that MM should do the same.
-2

Northstandveteran added 11:24 - Jan 3
Clean sweep and get the youngsters in permanently Elizabeth.

"Yee cannae win the title with kids" Remember that one Mr Hansen.

Not saying the results would improve but by Christ they'd get the fans backing, vocally and in an increase in attendance.

As stated previously, grown up together, have a sense of what it means to play for the club and would do so with gusto and pride
This bunch of Muppets clearly show no pride in the club

1

blueherts added 11:30 - Jan 3
Most refreshing games for me this season Luton and Palace
Young players playing with passion and pride and actually made some forward runs at the opposition .
Instead of the Webster to Chambers to , errr run back to your own goal , square to Webster , look up and hoof . I would love to watch a training session . Saddest thing is Webster can actually play the game , but like many other he has had the hoof mentality beaten in to him .
6

Swn98 added 11:45 - Jan 3
Micksszzzzzzposts make a come back we must of had a few poor games.
-3

Rensham added 12:04 - Jan 3
if mick isn't going to be here next season, surely this is the time to sack MM up and get a new man in asap.
7

planetblue_2011 added 12:08 - Jan 3
To be honest it was gonna be hard to hold on with 10 men against Fulham.
We did for 14 mins then they equalised & we just collapsed after they went 2-1 up.
It's clearly not good enough when we were winning 1-0, if we had 11 men on the field it wouldn't of been 4-1 no way.
This is a sign for Mick to hopefully dig in to the transfer market - CB? CM? I think.
We need to be stronger to compete in this league & last night showed we just are not good enough to do that. Just hope we can bounce back.
2

warktheline added 12:15 - Jan 3
@swn, no I didn't attend last night, and no I haven't attended for quite sometime, and no, I don't intend to attend whilst this ruddy 'groundhog day' continues! In regards to your 'match day' report! Well where do I start? Pure propaganda and lopsided spill in a constant (very poor) attempt to covering up 'your man's' shortcomings! Every excuse in the book you've used and continue too! You are a buffon! A golden ticket 'fan' ......oh if only I hear Evans and McCarthy say! 20,000 more like you! A 'wise monkey' so you are! For every one of you the club lose at least five! My 9 yr old son asked for a WATFORD kit this Xmas , another one gone 'south' ! Evans would do well to add you to the 'nodding head' boardroom !
1

bobbyrobsonisgod added 12:22 - Jan 3
A lot of mistakes made last night - it started with Sears being bought on instead of McGoldrick. The one player who has no confidence at all at the moment coming onto the pitch when we were right under the cosh and couldnt get the ball to Garner. Its so pityful that in the second half he just booted the ball up the line and it went off for a throw and we felt the need to sing his name? is that all it takes now?
Jordan made a foolish mistake - but we all know the linesman caused the frustration - an easy foul and yellow card against sears was not given.
Knudsen was skinned every time in a race for the ball. Sessignon was non existent first half and i said to my son "look where he is playing now - more like a winger" as we went further and further backwards - and guess what - 2 goals. Chambers and Smith did not play well. I thought Iorfa was better than Spence. Celina gave the ball away a lot. Singing for Bart to stay - he didnt acknowledge the chants....says a lot...so disappointing and i dont hold out much hope for the remainder of the campaign now.
4

runningout added 12:24 - Jan 3
Keeping it short. We are playing way short of our true ability
2

shefkuqi32 added 12:58 - Jan 3
A few weeks ago MK Dons held on to a 1 nil lead for more than 68 minutes with NINE men. Spence's sending off wasn't ideal but no reason for 4 goals in 7 mins and a complete capitulation. Very poor.
3

warktheline added 13:07 - Jan 3
Swn " we must of had a few poor games" in reference to Mickzzzzz post! Understatement of the LAST THREE YEARS! 😂
2

TimmyH added 13:48 - Jan 3
Just got off my sick bed to type this - pretty much disgusted but not surprised at the club as we sink further down the league and what a collapse last night after we went down to 10 men, I thought Mick might relish the challenge to keep them out but it just shows how poor he is as a defensive manager as opposed to when he first came here, the sooner he goes the better for all involved with Ipswich Town Football club.

Back to bed :(
8

blueherts added 14:08 - Jan 3
For a former defender and such a 'defensive person ' we leak far too many stupid goals
4

Swn98 added 14:34 - Jan 3
I rest my case Warktheline.
-2

Swn98 added 14:37 - Jan 3
i can assure you Warktheline i'm not a buffoon
-2

Gcon added 16:21 - Jan 3
Might be worth reminding a few of you that we were winning 1-0, after an hour of play, when Spence was sent off. How you manage to blame MM for everything is extraordinary and shows total ignorance.
-2

warktheline added 16:28 - Jan 3
@swn, make up your mind! Are you resting your case or not buffon!
-2

blue75 added 16:43 - Jan 3
Gcon games are generally 90 mins long!! We may of held on for the rest of the game with 11 players but Fulham had way too much of the ball not to score at some point. McCarthy's tactics are alright until something goes wrong i.e concede or have a player sent off then there's no plan B.
3

blueboy1981 added 18:18 - Jan 3
..... sorry warktheline - marked you down by mistake on your last post.
0

Warkys_Tash added 20:33 - Jan 3
Regardless of Spence's moment of madness it was another backs to the wall display, 27% possession trying to nick a result. I am so fed up of my beloved team being known as this. Anyone else fed up?
5

warktheline added 21:00 - Jan 3
@warkys Tash, the vast majority have had more than enough! Swn and gcon are up for second helpings!!!!
2

warktheline added 21:03 - Jan 3
.....oh look! Bravedave and Bert have joined them for second helpings!
1


You need to login in order to post your comments

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls

About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© TWTD 1995-2024