Goals from Kayden Jackson, James Norwood, Alan Judge and Will Keane saw Town to a 4-1 victory over Accrington Stanley at Portman Road, ending their eight-game League One winless run. Jackson finished a fine move from close range on 12, Norwood deftly chipped the second in the 29th minute and Judge scored his first Town league goal a minute before half-time to give the Blues' a 3-0 lead at the break. Sub Offrande Zanzala netted a late penalty consolation for the visitors before Keane celebrated his birthday by making it 4-1 in injury time.

Boss Paul Lambert named the same team which drew 1-1 at leaders Wycombe on New Year's Day with Will Norris in goal, skipper Luke Chambers, James Wilson and Luke Woolfenden the back three and Gwion Edwards and Luke Garbutt the wing-backs.

In central midfield, Flynn Downes was joined by Emyr Huws with Judge ahead of them behind strike pair Jackson and Norwood.

Accrington, who beat Town 2-0 at the Wham Stadium in October, made three changes from the team which beat Fleetwood on penalties in the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday with Mark Hughes, Colby Bishop and Wilson Carvalho starting, while Aji Alese, Ben Barclay and Zanzala dropped to the bench.

Town, looking to end their 12-game all-competitions winless run, started brightly with Jackson making a promising third minute run into the box. However, the former Accrington striker was forced wide and his cross was diverted behind. The resultant corner fell loose in the area but was cleared.

On nine Edwards whipped over a cross from the right which Callum Johnson nodded away ahead of Norwood at the far post.

A minute later Stanley, who have become something of a bogey side for the Blues over the last couple of seasons, made their first foray into the Town box but Joe Pritchard went to ground very easily in the box.

But it had mainly been the Blues, with 105 Fortuna Düsseldorf fans giving them their backing from the Cobbold Stand, and in the 12th minute they went in front. Garbutt played a clever pass in behind the Accrington left-back and overlapping centre-half Woolfenden cut across to Jackson, who stabbed home from a few feet out against his old club.

The striker was delighted to net his eighth of the season and end a 12-game goal drought, his last having come at Southend in October.

Two minutes later, it might have been 2-0, Norwood failing to make a connection when well placed after Edwards had knocked down a deep cross from Woolfenden.

Town continued to dominate with both outside centre-halves, Woolfenden and skipper Chambers, pushing forwards.

On 23 Accrington keeper Josef Bursik failed to hold a Jackson cross from the right after a neat interchange on the right but Garbutt could only loop the loose ball behind from a tight angle on the left.

Six minutes later it was 2-0. Huws played a long ball over the top from inside the Town half sending Norwood away behind the Accrington defence. Keeper Bursik made an uncertain half-advance to the edge of his area and into no-man’s land, and the Blues’ striker delicately chipped over him and into the net for his 10th of the season.

The visitors managed their first shot at goal on 33 but Sam Finley’s effort was allowed to roll past his left post by Norris.

Town should have made it 3-0 in the 36th minute when Jackson used his pace to break away on the right before cutting back to Norwood from the byline. However, the former Tranmere man scuffed his first-time shot well wide.

The Blues had another chance to extend their lead in the 42nd minute when Judge sent Jackson away in on goal but Bursik came off his line to block.

But two minutes later it was 3-0. Chambers picked up the ball deep and brought it forward before feeding Norwood, who returned the ball to his captain by now on the edge of the box. Chambers turned it on to Judge to his left and the Irishman beat Bursik to claim his first league goal for the Blues in his 39th league appearance for the club.

Not long after the whistle ended as good a first half as the Blues have enjoyed this season. Virtually from the off Town were on top, with the centre-halves notably breaking forward Sheffield United-style.

Jackson’s well-worked early goal settled any nerves there might have been following the Blues’ winless run and the scoreline could easily have been 5-0 at the break had Norwood and Jackson taken their later opportunities.

The Blues were last 3-0 up at the break at Rotherham in November 2015, a game they eventually won 5-2.

Town began the second half as they had ended the first. On 50 Norwood was played in on the right of the box and probably should have cut across to Jackson but shot against a defender with the ball deflecting behind.

On 55 Accrington swapped Carvahlo for Zanzala, then three minutes later Aji Alese took over from Pritchard.

Norwood headed wide at the far post from a Garbutt corner on the right in the 61st minute with the Blues continuing to create chances, albeit with the game lacking some of the intensity of the first half.

Two minutes later, Judge curled a weak effort into Bursik’s arms, then on 71 Cole Skuse replaced Huws in midfield.

Alese was shown the game’s first yellow card in the 73rd minute for a foul on Judge, who sent over a teasing cross from the left a minute later which was too close to Bursik.

Teddy Bishop took over from Judge, who continued his resurgent form and will be relieved to finally score his first league goal for the Blues, in the 75th minute. Two minutes later, Jackson was swapped for Will Keane.

The game, effectively won by half-time, was petering out but on 80 Finley struck a powerful shot for Accrington which was deflected wide.

Stanley might have pulled a goal back on 84 when the ball fell to Dion Charles inside the box but the striker’s shot was deflected over.

Two minutes later, the visitors did reduce the deficit from the penalty spot. Wilson and Zanzala tangled and the striker went to ground. The sub took the penalty himself and beat Norris.

But Town weren’t to be denied a victory by three goals even if they did miss out on a clean sheet.

In injury time Keane hustled his way on to the ball on the right of the box before hitting a low shot past Bursik for his sixth goal of the season and his third in four on his 27th birthday.

Soon after, the whistle confirmed the Blues’ second 4-1 win of the season, Tranmere having been beaten by the same scoreline in September.

Town had chances to add to their first-half lead after the break but with the game all but won were largely content to see the game out, which they did with little fanfare until Accrington's late couple of late chances and the penalty. Keane’s late goal restored a three-goal margin which was at least a fair reflection of the match overall.

A confidence-boosting and much-needed comfortable win which sees the Blues up to third in the table ahead of back-to-back away trips to Oxford - who are down to fifth having lost 3-1 to new leaders Rotherham today - on Tuesday and then Tranmere next Saturday.

Town: Norris, Woolfenden, Chambers (c), Wilson, Edwards, Downes, Huws (Skuse )71), Judge (Bishop 75), Garbutt, Jackson (Keane 77), Norwood. Unused: Holy, Donacien, Dozzell, Kenlock.

Accrington: Bursik, Johnson, Hughes, Sykes, Finley, Pritchard (Alese 58), Bishop, Carvahlo (Zanzala 55), Conneely (c), Charles, Opoku. Unused: Savin, Barclay, Rodgers, Diallo. Referee: Charles Breakspear (Surrey). Att: 17,536 (Accrington: 155).

Photo: TWTD

ITFC_Cotton added 18:50 - Jan 11 Great performance COYB!
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ITFCsince73 added 19:16 - Jan 11 100 % on the head NSV.
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jas0999 added 19:25 - Jan 11 Hope all is okay TimmyH - get well soon!
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OldClactonBlue added 19:28 - Jan 11 Much, much better. Accrington weren't very good, but if we had played anywhere near that every week we would be comfortably top of the league. Now let's keep it up.
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warwickblue added 19:30 - Jan 11 TimmyH - Wishing you a speedy recovery. 4-1 helped a bit I hope.
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ringwoodblue added 19:49 - Jan 11 Fantastic win lads. The table looks so much better again tonight and I think the real contenders for promotion are now starting to show their hand - Rotherham, Sunderland, Coventry, Pompey and us. A win against Oxford would show some real intent as we haven't beaten a top 6 team yet. Will Lambo be tempted to bring back Skuse for the start of the Oxford game and if he did, who would he replace on today's performance? I for one hope he doesn't tinker with the team now.

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Lightningboy added 19:53 - Jan 11 Maybe all the whingers can give it an effin rest for a week now.
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ITFCsince73 added 20:05 - Jan 11 Totally agree Lightningboy. Town are fantastic. Chambos fantastic. Even Skuse is just fantastic. We're sitting 3rd,.....Marcus Evans your fantastic also.
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Dolphinblue added 20:08 - Jan 11 Thats the Spirit itfc73 😀......and today Chambers was fantastic! I love being right 😎
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Dolphinblue added 20:17 - Jan 11 We lose 200 comments....we win 4-1 30 odd comments 🤔
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ITFCsince73 added 20:18 - Jan 11 Dolphin 🐬. That's very very correct. But as I've stated many many times, 2 great performances out of 20 doesn't cut any mustard.
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Saxonblue74 added 20:21 - Jan 11 Well done Town, we needed that! We need a run of results now as one or two of the bigger clubs are getting their act together.
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runningout added 20:54 - Jan 11 Fab win. Hope all players are self critical and keep improving.
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ITFCsince73 added 20:55 - Jan 11 Yes Saxon very true. I said a few months back Wycombe would fall away, and the 2 auto spots would come down to Pompey, Sunderland and ourselves. Of course sticking with that.
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Cloddyseedbed added 21:00 - Jan 11 Far better game played with more intensity, movement and understanding. Please keep the same team that started today for Oxford. Scoreline should have been greater with many chances missed and wrong decisions in front of goal. What a confidence boost for the team that played and the crowd. What a difference today's game was and the marks out of 10 clarify that. Everybody on their game, well done.

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Cloddyseedbed added 21:02 - Jan 11 Would anybody else like to swap their number 36 for Kenlock during the transfer window? Him and Garbutt on the left would be a hell of a combination.
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heathen66 added 21:19 - Jan 11 Excellent first half performance with Town operating a 3-5-2 formation (and not the usual 5-3-2) with Edwards and Garbutt as wide men and not defenders. With the impressive Huws and Downes bossing the middle allowed Judge to genuinely play his favoured No.10 position in what was really a 3-5-1-2 formation. Edwards played his best game for a while too, reminding everyone what a quality WINGER he is. Jackson was again superb and fed Norwood to what should have been a simple first half hat-trick. I also thought Wilson defended really well too. However we came out second half reverting to the more deeper 5 at the back and in all honesty looked no better than we had in the last 12 games, and the subs provided very little until Keane scored. First half it was great to see us play square pegs in square holes for the fist time in ages and this certainly benefitted Judge Edwards and the front 2 as we passed the ball a lot more which resulted in us getting behind Stanley almost at will. Some will say Accrington were poor, but they were only as good as we allowed them to be and we were very good first half and it should have been 5-0 at HT If we continue with those personnel in those positions then we will be ok. Back to the tried and failed 5 at the back and we will be in trouble

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 22:15 - Jan 11 I notice the same Dolphin . We lose and 9 pages of comments . We win and it's 2 ! Genuinely think some on here prefer it when we lose . One or two notable absences . Anyway , well done boys . Keep it going .
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runaround added 22:34 - Jan 11 A much needed win & our best performance of the season. Had we taken our chances we could have quite easily had 7 or 8 goals. It was a joy to watch how well we played today & hopefully more performances like that to come. We now go into a massive game in Oxford with good heart
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shakytown added 22:39 - Jan 11 Wow. 1 win against mighty Accrington and we are champions of the world in some fools eyes. Hilarious at best. Will be interesting to see how many changes for the next game and if we can build on this hollow victory. When we can match it with the other sides at the top end then i'll be convinced.
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KiwiBlue2 added 00:06 - Jan 12 Downes and Huws together should be the future midfield two with Skuse only stepping if if either are injured or as a centre back. I dont believe scoring 4 today was an accident as having Judge in front of Downes and Huws means we have three of our best players in their best positions and it is a combination most teams will struggle to contain in this league. Good to hear Edwards got going today and once Kane Vincent-Young is back this line-up should see us through to the top two positions. Hopefully Paul has seen the light and there is minimal tinkering from now on. Only other change would be Holy in goal.... coyb.......

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budgieplucker added 00:16 - Jan 12 Firstly, putting aside the harsh penalty I thought the referee was by far the best official we have had at PR this season. I do though give some credit to Accrington, they did not come to spoil the game and therefore, there was space to be found on the pitch, this somewhat made it easier for the officials. In fact second half they had a higher percentage of the possession stats than us which took the overall to 50/50% Accrington have been doing well in the current form table so this is a creditable result. Terry Butcher quite rightly mentioned on the radio today that most away teams try and stabilise the game for the first 20 minutes to try and frustrate the home fans -and therefore home teams should come out of the blocks fast to try and physcologically break their resistance early. When you get 5 man of the match contenders i.e. Woolfenden, Huws, Judge, Jackson and Norwood then that tells you much about the performance. Also not forgetting good performances from the rest of the team as well - Chambers not far behind the 5 mentioned above. I have to say I have often been critical of Jackson, and whilst I think he is a number 10 more than a number 9 I have to pay tribute to his efforts today and whilst Norwood probably got the goal of the game award I would have kept Jackson on to play alongside Will Keane because that partnership could work well as well and for me Jackson shaded it over Norwood today for me for overall performance.! Norwood needs to make better decisions although a good striker does need a selfish streak. Huws drive and energy to push us forward at a faster tempo than the pedestrian Skuse was a key feature for me today, it was noticeable after Emyr went off that our energy levels dropped although again before that Accrington started getting hold of more possession. Skuse for me now becomes a utility player mainly from the bench, the quicker build up today was very noticible, I saw very little sideways passing for the first 60 minutes or so. Interesting that we are started adopting the Sheffield United approach of raiding centre backs. Making runs from the back certainly make it very difficult for the opposition to pick up hence probably a good decision to loan out Toto to make space for another central defender like the Everton lad who has a reputation of being a very good footballer. Astonishing that Everton paid £6 million for this lad at the age of 16. 3 years on he hasn't made a Premiership appearance!!!! What price does that put Woolfie at? None the less if the Everton lad becomes available on loan then I would certainly welcome it. Think PH has grudgingly got the message about the rotation policy but doing his stubborn Mick impressions. I think we have got the nucleus of a really settled side with 15 players, this doesn't mean you can't make the odd rotation between 3-4 strikers but only one per game and likewise in midfield, sticking to the same. But no more if at all than a couple of changes.

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Brockleyblue added 01:27 - Jan 12 Blimey, bit chippy isn't he?! Paul, your team won 4-1, try and enjoy it! And less of the bad language please, we had a belly full of that under McCarthy thanks. Also, for the love of God, will you please stop droning on about what you did with Dortmund in the last century. As LP Hartley said, the past is a foreign country. Us fans are interested in how Town get on in their next game but we really couldn't give a monkeys about what you did or didn't do in Germany and Scotland decades ago. Plus no one likes a show off.

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therein61 added 07:02 - Jan 12 A welcome relief!! well played you blues hope we keep that formation(first 60 mins) and let it develop, now we need to push on especially as most other results were kind to us.
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shakytown added 07:15 - Jan 12 As soon as Skuse came on we sat deeper and that put our weak defence under pressure and as usual they cracked. Skuse should now be a last ditch hope if we have an injury crisis or players suspended as he offers absolutely nothing positive to the team.
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