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Ipswich Town 1-1 Aston Villa - Match Report
Saturday, 18th Aug 2018 17:19

Ten-man Town battled to a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at Portman Road, Tayo Edun having been harshly sent off for two bookable offences six minutes before the break. Jonathan Kodjia headed the visitors ahead on 21 but Trevoh Chalobah equalised with his first senior goal in the 36th minute prior to Edun’s dismissal and the Blues were well worthy of their point during the second half despite the numerical disparity.

Bartosz Bialkowski was in goal with former Villa youngster Janoi Donacien at right-back, Jonas Knudsen at left-back and Toto Nsiala - making his home debut - at the centre of the defence alongside skipper Luke Chambers.

In midfield Cole Skuse returned having been left on the bench at Exeter with Chalobah and Jon Nolan, also making his home debut.

Edun was handed his first Championship start for the Blues on the left with Gwion Edwards on the right having missed the game against the Grecians with a quad injury, while Ellis Harrison got the nod as the lone striker.

Freddie Sears, Grant Ward and Kayden Jackson were among the subs having started at Exeter.

There was no place for Teddy Bishop or Danny Rowe in the 18, the pair having made their first appearances of the season following their injuries as subs at St James Park. Villa included former Blues midfielder Conor Hourihane on their bench.

After an uneventful opening, the Blues almost went in front via their first serious attack in the 13th minute.

After Chalobah had headed away a dangerous Villa cross from the right, Edwards made a powerful run down the Town right flank beating a number of players as he did so before playing inside to Nolan.

The former Shrewsbury man in turn fed Edun on the left, from where the on-loan Fulham midfielder sent over a cross which Edwards met at the far post as he broke into the box but the Welshman was unfortunate to see it smash against the bar.

Going so close to a goal gave both the fans and the players a boost with the Blues putting the visitors under pressure for the next few minutes. Harrison was narrowly beaten to a cross from the right by Mile Jedinak, then not long after was just unable to get in a shot on the turn after the ball fell close to him inside the box.

On 19, following a Knudsen long throw which had been flicked on by Harrison, Chalobah saw a shot blocked and Chambers hit his subsequent effort wide.

But two minutes later, Villa went in front. John McGinn whipped over a cross from the right and Kodjia flicked a near-post header across Bialkowski and into the net.

In the 29th minute Edun was very harshly booked for a challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady, which left the Egyptian international requiring treatment, having very clearly won the ball.

It was far from the first decision which had frustrated the Blues’ support with Jack Grealish in particular having shown a tendency to go to ground very easily and to stay there for some time.

From the resultant freekick a third of the way inside the Town half to the right, Grealish sent the ball into the box and Kodjia’s header scuffed the top of the bar.


On 33 Edwards out-battled Alan Hutton on the Blues right and sent over a cross which was just too high for Edun at the far post.

Three minutes later, Town levelled. Knudsen hurled in a long throw from the left, Harrison made a nuisance of himself as it came over and contributed to Villa keeper Orjan Nyland dropping the ball. Chalobah was quickly on to it and hit a low shot on the turn into the corner of the net to claim his first senior goal.

But on 39, only three minutes after getting on terms, the Blues were reduced to 10 men, just as they were in the corresponding fixture last season.

The already-booked Edun fouled Axel Tuanzebe just inside the Town half and referee Robinson issued the England U20 international with his second yellow and then a red card.

The tackle which led to the second card was at most borderline worthy of a caution, Edun had arrived a little late, while the challenge which led to the first wasn’t a foul.

As the very unfortunate Edun made his way towards the tunnel, he was applauded off by the Town support.

Fans’ frustrations with referee Robinson continued as the regular stoppages for apparent injuries to Villa players continued before the official was roundly booed as he made his way off at the break.

The scoreline was a fair enough reflection of a half in which chances had been relatively rare at both ends.

Town might have taken the lead when Edwards hit the bar, but could also have found themselves two goals behind when Kodjia similarly struck the woodwork having found the net with his earlier header. Chalobah took his chance clinically when it came.

Manager Paul Hurst stuck with the same 10 men at the start of the second half and the Blues began the period positively, Edwards almost making something out of an Edwards error.

Donacien got his name in referee Robinson’s book for a foul on Grealish in the 49th minute, the England U21 international again making an awful lot of the challenge.

Villa began to get more into the half and on 56 it took a number of Town defenders to crowd out Grealish inside the area, Donacien eventually blocking the midfielder’s shot.

But the 10 men were still looking the more threatening side and just before the hour, Harrison headed Nolan’s corner just wide. At the other end, Grealish played in Albert Adomah on the left of the area but the ex-Boro man’s shot scuffed weakly to Bialkowski.

Having made little headway, Villa made a double change on 63, ex-Blue Hourihane and Andre Green taking over from Tuanzebe and Birkir Bjarnason. A minute later Hutton was shown Villa’s first yellow card of the afternoon for a foul on Edwards.

Town, with a noisy Portman Road getting behind them, continued to keep the visitors at bay relatively comfortably despite the numerical disparity but on 72 Hourihane hit a shot which was diverted too high. From the corner, Green flicked the ball over.

As Bialkowski prepared to take his goalkick Jackson took over from Harrison, who was given a warm ovation as he left the field. It appeared primarily a tactical move although Harrison had appeared to be feeling his thigh.

As the game moved into its final quarter of an hour, Hourihane took a rather obvious fall as a cross came over from the left, much to the anger of Knudsen and Chambers, who made their feelings known to the one-time Blues reserves player.

McGinn blazed wide after seizing on a poor Bialkowski clearance and Skuse hesitancy, then on 78 the visitors swapped Adomah for Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.

Moments later, Jackson was sent away but was forced wide to the right of the area and hit his shot over.

However, the Blues were continuing to look a threat on the occasions they got forward and two minutes later Edwards sent over a low ball which Nolan and then Jackson both came close to getting a touch inside the six-yard box.

Soon after, McGinn was booked for a foul on Nolan, then in the 84th Myles Kenlock took over from the ex-Shrewsbury man.

There was a scare for the Blues in the 88th minute when Nsiala somehow diverted a dangerous cross from the left over his own bar from a matter of feet out.

As the fourth official held up his board indicating four additional minutes, Bialkowski spilled a weak McGinn shot out for a corner. In the aftermath of the flag-kick, Green shot over.

Town found themselves under considerable pressure for the first time in the remaining couple of minutes with Bialkowski doing well to bat away a powerful Hourihane strike.

But they were able to hold out to claim a notable and fully deserved point against one of the division’s expected challengers in very difficult circumstances.

Having been reduced to 10 men before half-time it was a tough ask for the Blues to get anything from the game but they more than held their own after the break and even had chances to win it themselves.

It was far from a case of a team hanging on for a point and manager Hurst will be far happier with the display than he was with the performance at Exeter on Tuesday.

Fans, who gave their players a significant ovation at the end, will similarly go home entertained having enjoyed their afternoon at Portman Road.

Town may still be looking for their first win under new manager Hurst but it was the type of battling draw which feels more like a victory and Villa, who previously had a 100 per cent record, will be disappointed not to have capitalised. The Blues are next in action at Derby on Tuesday evening.

Town: Bialkowski, Donacien, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Chalobah, Edwards, Skuse, Nolan (Kenlock 84), Edun, Harrison (Jackson 73). Unused: Gerken, Spence, Ward, Sears, Downes.

Villa: Nyland, Tuanzebe (Green 63), Chester (c), Jedinak, Hutton, Elmohamady, Bjarnason (Hourihane 63), McGinn, Adomah (Hepburn-Murphy 78), Grealish, Kodjia. Unused: Moreira, Taylor, Whelan, Elphick. Ref: Tim Robinson (West Sussex). Att: 17,824 (Villa: 2,027).


Photo: TWTD



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happybeingblue added 19:09 - Aug 18
Good result thought we were playing Tunisia first half the diving from villa was embarrassing we managed second half well and kayden could have scored with a bit more belief should have hit it earlier but I'm pleased and we defended like trojans, kodja chambo tussle second half was a good watch
4

Esseeja added 19:14 - Aug 18
How many more referees are we going to have that helps our opponents?

Class from the 10 lads to pick up a point against a team who came in to the game with 100% form.
2

GTRKing added 19:14 - Aug 18
Looked a good game

They players played for the shirt and worked there socks off

the ref was appalling and villa kept cheating

so lets hope we can beat derby on Tuesday
4

pragmatic added 19:17 - Aug 18
Sorry Rimsy meant to mark up you are totally correct with inept ref & officials with Bruce even on field of play 2nd half & not spoken too, what a player Edwards will be not only can he take on & beat people he has a tackle in him as well!
1

dirtydingusmagee added 19:24 - Aug 18
WELL DONE Paul Hurst and the team, i feared we would get stuffed today, well we were ,but not by Villa but by a bloody awful referee. However despite his best efforts we came out of it with a point , pride, and a good helping of confidence. I must say having seen from this match what PH is trying to achieve the next few games dosnt worry me as much as it did.If we can secure the couple of additions we need i think we will get through this season,it may be scary but im not expecting more this season . Add to that and the atmosphere in the ground was the likes we havent had for a long long time.Thanks PH and the team for giving us something to cheer about .
8

Swn98 added 19:29 - Aug 18
Just in from game,when the going gets tough the tough get going and that was certainly true of today's game.
A game that was marred by terrible refereeing decisions and a truly disgusting unsporting Aston Villa side '
The experienced heads of Chambo and Skuse lead by example and kept all the younger and less experienced players up to the mark.
One player who does seems not to be up to speed at the moment looks to be Jonas hoping its due to his lack of training due to the world.
Must admit i did have doubts about Hurst and his new players but did see some nice touches today my worry is i think for all the creativity we are going to find goals hard to come by ,still onwards and upwards well done to the lads and bonus that scum got beat.
9

dirtydingusmagee added 19:32 - Aug 18
well if anyone ever doubted that Swn98 was a troll scummer,they should be totally convinced now,what a complete t#t.
0

dirtydingusmagee added 19:34 - Aug 18
mib,ask Swn98 ,he would know he goes to all their games,[ except when he is in Spain of course.]
0

dirtydingusmagee added 19:40 - Aug 18
sorry now seen its a post by Swn97 , my apple gees.
0

RoyalAscotBlue added 19:42 - Aug 18
We will win our next home game.
0

rfretwell added 19:50 - Aug 18
Donacian, Nolan, Nsiala, Edwards, all tigrish in the tackle, really great to see at long last. It used to be just Hyam. Well done the lads
3

blueherts added 19:52 - Aug 18
Alot of pressure on Derby now . Fancy we can nick something
2

TimmyH added 20:05 - Aug 18
hhhmmmm... swn97 and swn98 - 97 maybe the even nastier alter ego?
3

Cakeman added 20:06 - Aug 18
Well done Town you were absolutely brilliant today.
What I observed today:
1, entertainment is back at Portman Road. 2, Paul Hurst is developing a team of great grit and determination. 3, I would not want to watch a theatrical Aston Villa every week. 4, I saw the most incompetent set of officials in many years of watching both professional and local football and 5, is supporters have our club back and one we can be proud of again.

11

Dab added 20:11 - Aug 18
Best bit about today is that EVERY Town player went into every challenge whole-heartedly . For such a small bloke Edwards really knows how to tackle..
Superb performance by all and Villa bottled it in the face of good football and passion - £30 Million for "Squealish" - Pull the other one!
Well done Lower North - Superb atmosphere!!!!
7

grumpyoldman added 20:12 - Aug 18
TimmyH no 97 has a sense of humour, only person to mark me down was 98, no sense of humour! I think he believes I am bothered by down marks
0

jas0999 added 20:20 - Aug 18
Pleasing result considering the circumstances. More pleasing though was the performance, particularly the fact we were down to ten men and still tried to WIN the game. Progress.

It was a real battling performance to be proud of. Everyone played as a team and got their reward. We also remain unbeaten at home which is great.

Sending off was harsh, as first yellow was a poor decision. That said, when on a booking Edun did show some inexperience with the second challenge, but even that decision was debatable.

Of course we do remain winless in all competitions with four games played. Let's hope we beat Derby. For me, the strike force still needs to be bolstered. Sooner rather than later.

Overall, very pleased.
9

Swn98 added 20:21 - Aug 18
Today Dirty has been to good a day to be contesting your moronic posts i doubt if you were even at Portman road today.
-12

SUPERBLUE59 added 20:27 - Aug 18
Was I missing something? why did Grealish NOT leave the pitch after recieving treatment from the villa trainer after a challenge............just got in after a 300 mile round trip to see town and feel better than I have for years. - COYB
2

warktheline added 20:33 - Aug 18
Swn, we put up with your ‘moronic' brain every day! Lusting over McCarthy......even when you ‘compliment' a performance it's ‘laced' with ‘yesteryear'!!!!!
7

cat added 20:44 - Aug 18
Credit to Swn98 for his rather humbling first post (straight up) As he's obviously into his betting, which he been mentioned on numerous occasions, here's a couple of ‘the cats' top tips. 1/ never bet against your own team 2/ never announce it on a forum if you choose to do so (lol)
9

NBVJohn added 20:48 - Aug 18
A memorable performance- full of determination. A dramatic improvement. I'm delighted for the team and for PH. Really well done.

Villa are a good side who were nullified by a well organised display from a team who broke impressively quickly a few times. I enjoyed what I saw today.

The downside was a referee who was woefully out of his depth and intimidated by Villa's big club sense of entitlement. The EFL won't do anything about it. Expect him back at PR before too long. Appalling.
5

blueberry27 added 21:06 - Aug 18
First time seeing PH's team and some initial thoughts

1 - a number of the new signings look promising - Donacien was probably our best player and looked good, Chalobah is impressive, Edwards is exciting and I thought Nsiala showed promise as well

2 - unlike some others, I wasn't hugely impresssd with Nolan - or Harrison - both look a bit lightweight to me

3 - concerned a bit about our formation - which is really 4-2-3-1 - it seems to leave our striker very isolated - to be honest, you need a striker who can hold the ball up in that formation - it would have suited Waghorn (and even Garner) more than it seems to for Harrison

4 - we also seem to be lacking a bit in midfield in terms of numbers and could get overloaded there I suspect

5 - Villa were incredibly disappointing - particularly second half - although I do rate Kodjia - physically he can play that loan striker role well

6 - pleased to have PH as manager - he is clearly a decent man and wants to play progressive football, and scout talent from the lower leagues - all things I admire. Bear in mind that we have received more money than we have spent though. Personally I wouldn't have bought Harrison and would shift out Adeyemi and Huws and bring in a much bigger unit up front - we do look like a team with big heart but not big physical presence

7- I'm looking forward to this season - we might well finish below mid table - but at least we can all see the strategic direction now - and if we get it right the rewards are possible - whereas with MM there was no way we'd ever really progress, just fight hard to standstill - PH has thrown the dice and gambled and that is so much more fun for a supporter to see - some of these lower league players might become real gems and we could witness some much needed joy back at PR

5

JimInGreensboro added 21:08 - Aug 18
Down a man and still generated chances. And that, against Villa. I'm getting cautiously optimistic.
2

Swn98 added 21:19 - Aug 18
Cat i've got to make you correct and will take your advice on board first and last time i bet against my own team.
That said it was a brilliant display by a town team under the cosh.
2


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