Bristol City 0-0 Ipswich Town - Half-Time
Saturday, 17th Mar 2018 16:00

Town’s wind and snow-affected game at Bristol City remains 0-0 at half-time.

Martyn Waghorn, Cole Skuse, Callum Connolly and Adam Webster returned to the Town side with the Blues returning to their three-man backline.

Webster was on the left of skipper Luke Chambers and Cameron Carter-Vickers, while Jordan Spence and Jonas Knudsen were the wing-backs.

Skuse, facing his hometown club where he started his career, and Connolly were joined in central midfield by Grant Ward ahead of them behind strike pair Freddie Sears and Waghorn.

Bristol City made one change with central defender Nathan Baker missing out with a groin injury and Hordur Magnusson coming into the team.

As a flurry of pre-match snow died down, Bobby Reid hit the game’s first shot in the fourth minute but his low effort from 20 yards gave Bartosz Bialkowski no trouble.

Two minutes later, Knudsen won a corner on the Blues’ left and, after Waghorn’s flag-kick was cleared back out wide, Connolly curled a cross which the blustery wind took beyond his team-mates and wide.

On 12 Sears almost made of some hesitant wind-influenced defending by the Robins when Hordur Magnusson failed to deal with a Carter-Vickers ball over the top, however, Frank Fielding was off his line quickly to punch clear ahead of the Town striker.

Four minutes later, Jamie Paterson caught Waghorn with a high boot 20 yards. The Blues’ top scorer took the freekick himself but hit the wall. The loose ball fell to Knudsen 30 yards out but the Danish international’s strike flew well back into the stand behind the goal.

While the home side had had a lot of the ball early on, Town had looked more threatening, albeit without either keeper having made a serious save and with the windy conditions hampering both teams at times.

Sears and Knudsen looped over wind-assisted crosses from either flank on 15, but Town were unable to profit, the ball failing to fall to Connolly on the edge of the box after the Dane’s ball was half-cleared.

Bialkowski came out of his goal to head clear as Paterson chased a ball over the top on 34, before the snow began to fall much more heavily.

Neither side had particularly threatened after the quarter-hour mark but on 43 Sears and Waghorn carved out a crossing opportunity for Knudsen. His ball found his opposite wing-back Spence in the area but the former Robins’ loanee’s header looped over.

A minute later, with the snow thankfully subsiding a little, the Blues threatened again but Fielding claimed Connolly’s header across the six-yard box from Spence’s cross ahead of Sears who otherwise would have gratefully tapped home his first goal in 35 games.

Moments later the whistle went ending a half in which Town had had the better of the chances in very trying conditions, more due to the wind than the snow.

The home side had had plenty of the ball but without being able to make any headway against the Blues’ backline, while Town had created the better opportunities on the break - the wind perhaps having assisted them more than the opposition kicking the other way during the half - with Spence’s header the best chance created in open play.

Bristol City: Fielding, Pisano, Wright (c), Magnusson, Kelly, Brownhill, Pack, Smith, Paterson, Diédhiou, Reid. Subs: Wollacott, Hegeler, O'Neil, Kent, Walsh, Djuric, Diony.

Town: Bialkowski, Carter-Vickers, Chambers (c), Webster, Spence, Skuse, Connolly, Ward, Knudsen, Sears, Waghorn. Subs: M Crowe, Celina, Hyam, Gleeson, Drinan, Kenlock, Morris. Referee: Darren England (South Yorkshire).

Photo: Action Images

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

Page:
1

martin587 added 16:09 - Mar 17 We have defended ok,and I think we have had only one shot on target.Bristol look a good side but Town have held there own very well under pressure. I cannot see us scoring,it's just a matter of hanging on. It really is very very cold here,but if we get a point I will be very happy.ðŸ˜¨ðŸ˜¨
3