Town still wait for their first win of the season after two second-half Lukas Jutkiewicz goals denied them victory over Birmingham at St Andrew’s having been two goals in front via Jon Nolan and Matthew Pennington at half-time, the game ending 2-2. Nolan netted on 26 and Pennington - who was sent off for a second yellow card late on - doubled the lead in the 41st minute as the Blues looked set to claim three points under Paul Hurst for the first time but Jutkiewicz struck on 48 and 68 to dash their hopes.

Town, wearing their all orange second strip, fielded an unchanged XI for the first time this season, while Ellis Harrison dropped out of the 18 due to injury and Andre Dozzell was on the bench for the first time since the opening day game against Blackburn.

The Blues, watched by former assistant manager Terry Connor and England U21s coach Aidy Boothroyd from the directors’ box, found themselves under pressure from the off and the home side went close to going in front in the fourth minute.

Following a Jota corner, Gerken first saved from Lukas Jutkiewicz, then reacted quickly to crowd out Che Adams’s follow-up.

The ball subsequently fell to Gary Gardner on the edge of the area from where he curled a shot past Gerken’s right hand but off the outside of the post.

After a frantic first few minutes Town gradually began to get on the ball and on 10 Grant Ward struck their first shot, albeit a weak effort from distance which gave Lee Camp in the Birmingham goal little trouble.

On 15 Nolan stabbed the ball into the path of Jonas Knudsen on the left and the Danish international crossed deep to Gwion Edwards, who shot over from a very tight angle wide of the back post.

Birmingham continued to have most of the ball, although without a creating another chance, but on 26 the Blues went in front.

Pennington played a ball down the right for Kayden Jackson to chase and the former Accrington man cut in and laid a pass back to Nolan, who smashed his first Town goal into the top corner from just inside the box.

Town began to look more confident on the ball having gone ahead before a stop-start period in the game due to head injuries. Following one of those stoppages in the 35th minute, a Harlee Dean freekick from deep was nodded wide by Jutkiewicz.

Birmingham thought they’d equalised in the 39th minute when Haverhill-born Michael Morrison nodded a looping header back and over Gerken from Jota’s left-wing cross but somehow Knudsen managed to hook it off the line.

And two minutes later, the Blues doubled their lead. Chalobah won a corner on the left and Ward whipped over a low ball which the unmarked Pennington turned home from six yards to claim his first goal for Town.

Birmingham were unable to seriously threaten again in the remaining minutes and the half-time whistle drew boos from a home crowd still to see their team win this season.

Conversely the Town players left the field to applause from their fans having ended a half with a two-goal advantage for the first time under manager Hurst.

Having been fortunate not to go behind in the early stages, particularly when Gardner hit the post, the Blues gradually got themselves more into the game, although the Midlanders had continued to look the more dangerous team prior to Nolan’s opening goal.

Birmingham would have been on terms - probably deservedly - but for Knudsen’s brilliant off-the-line clearance, but in the game’s next passage of play Pennington made the most of some lax Birmingham set-piece defending to make it 2-0.

The home side swapped Gardner for Maikel Kieftenbeld ahead of the second half and two minutes after the restart the Blues went close to a third.

After Pennington had been fouled five yards outside the area, Nolan curled a freekick just wide of Camp’s left post.

But a minute later the home side pulled a goal back. Jutkiewicz was played in on goal by Jota and slipped the ball to the right of the advancing Gerken.

The goal livened up the previously sullen home crowd as their side took the game to Town looking for an equaliser.

On 52 Pennington was booked for a cynical foul on Jacques Maghoma after Nsiala had been caught in possession inside his own half.

Five minutes later, Town went close. Chalobah was found by Pennington as he broke forward and crossed to Ward. The former Spurs chested the ball down past his man but his shot wasn’t powerful enough to test Camp.

Despite the blow of conceding the early goal, the Blues were starting to look the more threatening side and on 62 Edwards did well to get past Kristian Pedersen on the right but sent his low cross behind Nolan and a number of other team-mates.

But almost immediately Birmingham, who replaced Charlie Lakin for Connor Mahoney in the 65th minute, twice went close.

First Gerken did well to get a strong arm to palm Adams’s shot from the edge of the box wide, then from the corner Jutkiewicz’s looping header bounced off the top of the bar and over.

However, the home side didn’t have to wait too much longer for an equaliser. Gerken’s punch from a 68th minute freekick on the right flew straight up in the air, Dean’s header was blocked on the line, Chalobah stopped a subsequent effort with his chest but Jutkiewicz eventually found a gap and smashed in the leveller.

Town found themselves under heavy pressure following the second Birmingham goal, Mahoney seeing a shot from a tight angle on the right deflected behind. On 73 Jota curled a shot over.

The Blues swapped Ward for Freddie Sears in the 81st minute, the former West Ham man taking up a role behind Jackson with Nolan switching to wide on the left.

Mahoney wasn’t too far from a winning goal in the 85th minute with a low shot from the right of the box which flew just past Gerken’s right post.

A minute later, skipper Luke Chambers nodded down a freekick from deep but Sears just couldn’t reach it.

Then on 87 the Blues had a golden chance to reclaim the lead. Jackson, who had enjoyed his best game since joining Town, escaped down the left and cut across to Sears, however, the ball flew just behind the striker and it was cleared from inside the six-yard box.

With two minutes remaining the Blues were reduced to 10 men for the third time this season. This time Pennington was the man to see red following his second yellow card for a foul on Maghoma.

Immediately, Edwards was sacrificed for Janoi Donacien as Town looked to see out the final few minutes for a point.

The Blues found themselves under significant pressure during injury time and Birmimgham nearly won it when Jutkiewicz was found in space at the far post but Gerken reacted quickly to close him down and block. Moments later, the whistle ended an entertaining topsy-turvy affair.

Town will be kicking themselves that they are still waiting for their first win of the season having been two goals in front.

The timing of Birmingham’s first goal gave them impetus and momentum at the start of the second half and despite Town having the occasional moment of their own going forward, the potential for second home goal was always there.

The Blues, who climb a place to 22nd in the table, defended staunchly to hang on to their point in the closing stages, particularly after going down to 10 men, and might even have grabbed a third goal on the break.

Going into the match a first away draw of the season wouldn’t have been viewed as a bad result.

However, in the context of having been 2-0 up at half-time it’s major chance to claim a first victory missed at the 10th time of asking in the league and with two very tough fixtures - Middlesbrough at home on Tuesday which Pennington will miss and Swansea away on Saturday - in the next week.

Town: Gerken, Pennington, Nsiala, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse, Chalobah, Edwards (Donacien 88), Nolan, Ward (Sears 81), Jackson. Unused: Bialkowski, Graham, Downes, Dozzell, Edun.

Birmingham: Camp, Pedersen, Morrison (c), Dean, Colin, Lakin (Mahoney 64), G Gardner (Kieftenbeld 46), Jota, Maghoma, Jutkiewicz, Adams. Unused: Trueman, Roberts, Harding, Solomon-Otabor, Bogle. Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire). Att: 21,612 (Town 1,096).

Photo: Pagepix

bluearmy4life added 05:26 - Sep 30 So disappointing to surrender a 2-0 lead in the end. I couldn't quite believe it when I was checking my phone and we were 2-0 up at half time. I had a feeling that we wouldn't see this through and get that vital first win, I just knew it. Both goals we conceded were so avoidable. Gerks definitely at fault for the second goal. Should of cleared it rather than flapping! Yet another sending off which shows a real lack of discipline in our side! How many sendings off this season? 3 or 4 players now? Before this game it was a game we needed to win. We know go into the next two games against possibly two of the best sides in the league. Great!! I can't see us getting anything from the next two games. We need a win and longer this awful start continues to tougher it will be to get out of it. We don't score enough goals, we concede sloppy goals, no real threat throughout the team, no discipline, lack of quality, this is at present, the worst Ipswich side I've seen. What makes our season even worse is that lot up the road have hit form too. For the supporters that think yesterday was a great result do you want to watch us in league one next season? I certainly don't want to be in league one!

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Butcherboy added 07:27 - Sep 30 Sad times. Fans arguing amongst themselves, crowds diminishing, players unhappy (does PH expect us to believe that they're feeling bubbly), owner conspicuous by his absence as per, verbose manager full of excuses and not a single win. I've read some posts remarking how Bobby didn't win many games to begin with: that was over 40 years ago and the football landscape was very different then. PH is no Bobby. I expect the owner will act most likely in the upcoming international break but whoever he decides to bring in has a huge challenge. Hurst has dismantled the first team and the players he's brought in just aren't up to it. It's a crying shame.

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chalky added 08:30 - Sep 30 As for PH seeing the positives in yesterday's performance, he would probably see positives in a nuclear holocaust ! The solutions appear simple to me. First abandon this ridiculous system of playing one so-called striker up front. Look at sides like Liverpool, Man City and soon and you'll see sides attacking in numbers and making the opposition do all the worrying, not themselves. Second, for God's sake appoint a manager who respects the Ipswich tradition and legacy of Robson and Burley. Third, when you have successful Academy players who are actually winning matches, give them a chance in the first team. Robson would have done. How long must Andre Dozzell wait for his real chance ? There's nobody truly more promising than him in the present squad. If Marcus can't run his club better than this, then please do the decent thing.

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barrystedmunds added 08:39 - Sep 30 Point 2 Chalky, Who's that then?
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geminimustang added 08:54 - Sep 30 To avoid relegation,a team needs to average a point per game.10 games in,6 points so only a win and a draw from the minimum target.Still plenty of time and far too early to panic.
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Michael101 added 08:58 - Sep 30 Chalky,your point about the manager is right but we have not had one of them since ji m my mac,and look what Evans done to him
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Michael101 added 09:06 - Sep 30 Butcherboy,I agree with all your points apart from the last one,mad Mick should have had the tom tack 5years ago but Evans never done oou t .as for every thing else it's same sh😈t different day
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TimmyH added 11:07 - Sep 30 Butcherboy - largely agree with your post but not the point that Evans will act in the international break if the results remain the same. Evans has a history of incorrectly giving managers a fair crack of the whip and with Hurst it will be no different (after all I fancy Evans had Hurst in his eye line for sometime as the next Town manager) - personally feel both ME and PH are responsible for the current predicament although fairly early days.

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happybeingblue added 11:15 - Sep 30 So Bolton who we apparently should have beaten easy according to the anti mob on here beat little old derby,and Rotherham drew with stoke who have premier league squad worth millions,yet you still get the numpties ringing up Suffolk after the game and sounding off and on here,and they still haven't worked out the championship yet.the way people are talking we are playing Man City Tuesday and not Boro and spurs next sat and not Swansea...the mind boggles

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TimmyH added 11:37 - Sep 30 and that's the point happybeingblue anybody can beat anybody on their day - so far we 10 games in and we haven't 'had a day'...it is a tight league and their isn't much between the majority it's just some consistency needed.
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dirtydingusmagee added 13:32 - Sep 30 i think anyone hoping or believing Evans will act soon are going to be disapointed. He wont, he wont shell out again, and he wont admit his mistakes [again].This time i think he will go down with the ship. I dont think he could have really talked over what Hurst planned to do, he even said he was surprised by the wholesale changes happening so fast. Both he and Hurst have shot themselves in the foot. Can you really see Evans holding his hands up and saying ''silly me ive completetly f#cked up yet again ''. I cant ..

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loudnproud added 13:52 - Sep 30 The vast majority of us demanded a change from what MM was giving us......In the summer we got our change and had a transfer window so hectic that we couldnt keep up with what was happening!! Our skipper is in my opinion the "thorn in our side". Cant lead and certainly cant defend. Paul Hurst asked the question when he inherited MMs squad...."Those of you that dont want to be at this football club make them selves known to me as i only want players who want to be here" Fair statement i thought. The exodus began Hurst im sure is already seeking defensive replacements. It will come right, The squad wants to get better and improve themselves. We have no journey men. keep the faith

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blue_moon09 added 15:20 - Sep 30 Can't see any wins coming in October. Evans needs to act quickly Hurst needs to go ASAP his taking Town down to L1 his cluess and out of his depth.
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roytheboy added 15:26 - Sep 30 Play your best eleven for goodness sake, Bart is the better keeper, play him.
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dirtydingusmagee added 16:33 - Sep 30 in fairness roytheboy, Bart ,who had in previous seasons been an absolute rock, has had a shaky start,all players have them spells. I dont think resting any player out of form does any harm. We should always field the strongest team, Bart will get back ,when Gerks has a blip in form.He flapped about and cost us Saturday,but equally he saved us getting beat in the last moments .

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crawford1962 added 17:12 - Sep 30 Normally I would not comment as generally most posts sum up how I feel.............but how a manager can sideline so many players with Championship experience, and using League 1 and 2 players in preference, is beyond my understanding. I was looking forward to a new manager with an attractive footballing style to take over from MM, but this is going on too long with this collection of 'no-hopers'; the only exception seems to be Nolan and the 2 young loan players. Hurst's comment about the big step up from U23 to playing first team football was an insult to players like Dozzell and Downes who were doing just that over the past 2 seasons. Enough of my rant........except to say I have been supporting ITFC since their 3rd Div days. COYB

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Cakeman added 17:24 - Sep 30 A lot of expected criticism aimed at Paul Hurst. However our poor start goes much deeper than to blame the manager. Yes he has made mistakes but havent we all? Hopefully he will learn quickly from his. I give him credit for identifying our weaknesses of last season and trying to act upon it. I say trying because he has had one arm tied behind his back owing to a lack of serious investment. He said we needed wingers. He got some but were they really the ones he wanted or was it a case of who the club could afford? Edwards I would say could be a very sound signing but Roberts and Graham I would say not so. He identified a poor defence but despite a lot of effort the club could not afford to buy his ‘reported' prime target Curtis Tilt. He also had to contend with the club releasing Waghorn, Garner and McGoldrick. That is a considerable strike force to replace with a budget of £10.50 plus free lunches! What I am saying is that Paul Hurst knows our problems but has not had enough money to buy the required quality. Instead we have league one and two players which is why we are where we are in the league table. The owner for whatever reason will not invest more so there we have it, our club drifting into league one. This in my opinion is not Paul Hurst's fault.

3

armchaircritic59 added 18:05 - Sep 30 Cakeman, interesting take on the current problems. I'm at the least in some agreement. The way i look at is as follows, and this could apply to any club anywhere. All players have a ceiling level of ability. It's not feesable to expect a player to perform better than he is capable. If he finds himself at a level he can't compete at, then it's a managers fault for bringing him to a club. Which then leads on to the fact that it's the controller of a clubs fault if he employs a manager who finds himself out of his depth. So, we can see where any buck truly stops! I do wish PH all the best and really hope he can turn things around, the main question being, how long are we prepared to wait , if it happens?

3

ChrisFelix added 18:24 - Sep 30 Mick wouldn't have surrendered a 2 goals lead .But his team wouldn't have been 2 goals up. Gerken made several good stops but was at fault for their second. Time to bring back our number 1 keeper
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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 18:25 - Sep 30 It's not all doom and gloom. We're number one in the league for red cards. 3 in 10 games! And longest winless streak. And second worst goal tally. Ugh... If we're still having this discussion in 10 more games, it's time to panic...
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Surco72 added 19:05 - Sep 30 Am in a lot of agreement with Cakeman .. Did Hurst take the job on knowing we were selling the whole strike force from last season , and our most able defender ? Lampard would not take the job due to the funds available pretty much sums up where our chairmen has put us , making profit on transfers will not see any club promoted . I think Hurst has made some errors in selection but is actually still trying to find his best team , for me which must include Bart . As I stated a few weeks ago Gerks is ok at shot stopping but doesnt command his area for crosses ,flaps a lot which has the defence panicking and his kicking is poor . Our defence has been poor for years hence when we were nearly top scorers in the league , had the top scorer of the league but only scraped into the playoffs because we let so many in . Unfortunately 3 of the biggest culprits for that weak defence IMO are all still playing week in week out Chambo , Knudsen and Skuse . Two of Hursts defence targets we couldn't sort a deal for Personally think he should have more faith in our youth , how many times have we said that youngsters are not ready or not good enough only for them to come back looking like good championship players because they had the chance to play,Rhodes,Houraine ,Marriott ? Give Dozzell , Downes , Morris , Folami a proper run Hurst it cannot do any harm

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Essexipswichboy added 21:26 - Sep 30 Right here we go! Please look at last year.... Where are we now?? I'm no expert but let's ask questions ...at least Do you think MM should have gone on reflection? Do you think we have improved? Do you think PH is up for it ??? He come here ... 'late ' we all know that Would he have come if he got promoted?...... What about Ellis Harrison is young and hungry
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Essexipswichboy added 21:35 - Sep 30 So much I want to say Paul Hurzst z......its over ?.....10 games no win FO
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blueboy1981 added 23:00 - Sep 30 Seasider !! ......... Where are you this season ? - a poster of such genuine feeling for our Club, always rational, and interesting posts. Always looked forward to them. Hope all is well with you.
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Razor added 10:28 - Oct 1 Is there any chance we could start with the midfield that started against West Spam in pre-season friendly----didnt do too bad as I recall?
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