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Ipswich Town 1-4 Peterborough United - Match Report Saturday, 1st Feb 2020 17:07
Town dropped to fourth in League One after a disastrous 4-1 home defeat to Peterborough United. Ivan Toney netted a penalty on 23, Sammie Szmodics made it 2-0 10 minutes later after dispossessing keeper Will Norris, then in the second half Siriki Dembele and Szmodics again scored on 50 and 74 to secure Posh their first ever league win at Portman Road and their first in all competitions since January 1960. Sub James Norwood netted a 79th minute consolation from the spot for the Blues.
Cole Skuse returned to the midfield for Emyr Huws in an otherwise unchanged Town side, the Welshman having suffered an ankle injury at Rotherham in the week.
Norris continued in goal behind a back three of skipper Luke Chambers, James Wilson and Luke Woolfenden. Luke Garbutt and Gwion Edwards were the wing-backs.
In midfield, Skuse joined Flynn Downes with Alan Judge ahead of them behind front pair Will Keane and Kayden Jackson.
Teddy Bishop was missing from the bench having suffered a knee problem in training, while Peterborough were unchanged for the fourth successive match.
The visitors struck the game’s first shot in the fourth minute but Posh skipper Mark Beevers’s well-struck volley from a half-cleared corner from the left was, rather fortunately for the Blues, hit straight at Norris in the Town goal.
But Town soon began to get on top. However, their first effort at goal didn’t come until the 13th minute when ex-Posh wideman Edwards cut in and hit a left-foot strike over.
The Blues were forced into a change in the 16th minute when Garbutt, who had undergone treatment a few moments earlier, was forced off and was replaced by Myles Kenlock.
Peterborough started to look the greater threat, winning a number of corners, and on 19 Siriki Dembele hit a shot from the edge of the box which was easily snaffled by Norris.
In the 22nd minute Peterborough took the lead from the penalty spot. Dembele was played in on goal on the right of the area by Toney and Wilson slid in, catching the striker. Dembele managed an effort at goal as he fell which was stopped by Norris and then cleared by Chambers.
The Peterborough players protested but referee Andy Woolmer wasn’t interested until he spoke to his assistant and pointed to the spot. Under the old rules Wilson would have been red-carded for a professional foul but given that he made a genuine attempt to play the ball the defender rightly stayed on.
League One top scorer Toney took the kick and rolled his 21st in all competitions to Norris’s left and into the corner of the net.
On 32 Edwards crossed from the right and Kenlock headed well wide as Town looked for an equaliser but two minutes later they conceded a disastrous second.
Skuse played the ball back to Norris under no pressure and the keeper tried to take it past Szmodics just to the right of his goal but was dispossessed and the former Colchester man was able to tap the easiest goal he will ever score into an empty net.
Town looked to hit back in the 37th minute when Edwards made a mazy run down the right. The Welshman’s cross fell to Judge on the edge of the six-yard box but the Irishman was only able to stab into Posh keeper Christy Pym’s arms.
Norris had another shaky moment on 39, failing to hold on to a cross when under pressure on the edge of the box but fortunately the ball fell safely. At the other end, Jackson was hauled to the ground by his neck by Beevers but with referee Woolmer not spotting a foul.
Neither side were able to seriously threaten in four minutes of additional time and the half-time whistle was greeted by muted boos from the frustrated Town support.
Having conceded the opener via the penalty - which looked a correct decision - the Blues had started to show signs of pushing for an equaliser when Norris was undone by overconfidence inside his own six-yard box, not the on-loan Wolves keeper’s first error in recent games.
As half-time approached Town had begun to control the game against a Peterborough side content to sit in their half but without creating a significant opportunity.
Norwood replaced Judge ahead of the second half with the Blues desperately needing more of a goal threat if they were to get back into the game.
Norris was forced into an early save when Toney’s shot was deflected towards his left post, but the keeper got down to his left to save leading to a smattering of sarcastic cheers.
A minute later, the keeper did superbly to tip a Toney header wide but with referee Woolmer having awarded a foul against the Posh frontman.
In the 51st minute Posh made it 3-0. Keane’s knockback inside just inside the Town half fell to Jack Taylor and his well-weighted ball forward found Dembele, who cut inside Wilson before shooting beyond Norris.
There was controversy two minutes later when Jackson again looked to be hauled down, this time when away on goal. However, referee Woolmer gave a freekick to the visitors.
Wilson claimed he was pulled over as a corner came in from the right on the hour mark with referee Woolmer again not interested, then Peterborough swapped Reece Brown for Josh Knight.
On 65 Dan Butler was yellow-carded for a foul on Downes, then two minutes later sub Knight joined him for a scuffle with Woolfenden.
Shell-shocked Town had failed to get going in the second half after the blow of the third Peterborough goal. But as the 70-minute mark approached they began to seriously press for the first time, Jackson sending a ball across the box from the right but too far in front of Keane at the far post. Moments later, the former Hull City man was replaced by Freddie Sears.
On 73 Jackson flicked a header wide from a Woolfenden cross from the left, then Posh switched Joe Ward for Niall Mason.
Moments later, Town’s disastrous afternoon got even worse. Toney flicked on a long Pym kick, Dembele played it over the backline and Szmodics confidently beat Norris to make it 4-0.
Streams of Blues supporters immediately decided they had seen enough and departed Portman Road.
Edwards was booked for a foul in the 77th minute, his 10th yellow card of the season meaning the Welshman will miss the next two matches.
Town pulled one back two minutes later from the game’s second penalty. Norwood ran round the outside of Beevers on the right and the defender slid in taking both ball and player. Referee Woolmer again looked to his assistant before pointing to the spot. Norwood himself took the kick and beat Pym to his left to claim his 11th of the campaign.
Posh replaced Nathan Thompson with Rhys Bennett in the 83rd minute before Toney stung Norris’s hands with a 20-yard strike.
The latter stages of the game - including five additional minutes - were played out with the result settled.
Close to the end Skuse was booked for a frustrated foul before the whistle confirmed the end of an awful afternoon for Town.
The Blues were very much the architects of their own downfall in the first half, allowing the visitors two soft goals. The third and fourth in the second half were little better and aside from Norwood’s penalty Town never looked like a goal.
Town’s decent run from the start of the year which took them to the top of the table has been brought to an abrupt halt with the defeats at Rotherham and now at home to Posh, a slide which has to be arrested far more quickly than the downturn prior to Christmas.
The Blues are next in action at Sunderland, who were beaten 2-0 at Portsmouth today, next Saturday.
Peterborough should have beaten us at London road, but didn't in part, because we had a spine and didn't give goals away. In both games they played with skill, composure and confidence. Something we are totally lacking. Apart from 20 minutes here and there, when have we dominated teams? What opposing keeper have we really tested this season? Again, from the first minute we humped the ball up the pitch, for it to be won by a towering posh defender. The scene was set. 0-2 down at half time, having had one shot on target, surely we would come out all guns blazing? No, it's the same again, another limp second half performance.
What a shambles. Every League 1 side have 2 enormous defenders so why do we go back to the long balls? The keeper's error knocked the stuffing out of the team but I cannot understand our mental frailty. How can confidence suddenly disappear from a side who a couple of matches ago were top of the league? We were never at the races today and only one team on the pitch were up for it. I am doubting the manager's motivation of the team. We are still 4th but in my view have only looked good in 2 or 3 matches this season. Playoffs are the only realistic target.
This club is in a very sorry mess. There can be no defending that performance or the fact it's February and we are yet to beat a top eight side - in a very poor League One.
What I remain completely baffled by is Evans woeful decision to give Lambert a five year deal. It's staggering. Equally, with no financial backing whatsoever (the January window saw just one inexperienced loan arrive), why did Lambert accept? Presumably, with his record at ITFC he doesn't expect to be offered too many other positions.
It's one thing beating Tranmere, Lincoln and Accrington. Those wins against very poor opposition papered over the cracks. We aren't good enough to beat the so called better sides. Posh were worthy winners and we looked light years behind them.
The crowds will likely fall and I remain worried about the future of the club under Evans ownership. I just can't see us getting promoted. Not good enough.
Words cannot describe that performance. I was one of a few still there at the final whistle and that was only to vent my frustration & anger at Lambert & co.
We lost our club identity the day Evans walked in and sacked Magilton. The past 11 years has been a painful process of watching us fade away little by little each season. Losing 1-4 at home in L1 is now the new lowest point in my supporting years. A sad day.
Totally gutted and deflated after that. Serious question marks over the on field leadership and drive. But that's been there for years now. Sentiment over performance which is the clubs down fall. The team goes missing for long periods, in today's game throughout. We will of course stick to this failed formula, which ultimately will see us fail to go up, and finish the season in our lowest ever position.
It's beginning to look like we have missed the boat now.The squad should have been strengthened in the last transfer window.There are errors all over the team now.We cannot even beat a team in the top eight which highlights our weakness. I hate to criticize any player BUT the keeper needs to stand down now for he has made far too many mistakes over the last weeks.The defense at times is indecisive and the midfield has very little bite and lacks any kind of vision to produce a telling pass. The strikers do there best and run there socks off without much success.We do have a squad that should be capable of producing a much better performance so is this down to the manager or the players.we are stuck with what we have now so let's get it sorted quickly otherwise it will be another season in league one.I keep saying this but next weeks match at Sunderland is crucial.
Just listened to PL on radio Suffolk who when asked the question about bringing in reinforcements responded with "we have no money available ".I would like to ask Mr Evan's at what point will money be available?As a business Mr Evan's must have had a budget based on the money coming into the club.At a rough guess I would have thought a budget would be set based on crowds in the region of 16000.At this present time average crowds are approaching 20000 bringing in more money than expected .This would equate to approx £60000 per home game based on a conservative £15 a ticket.Over the course of the season 23 x £60000 = £1380000.This figure does not take into account extra revenue from programmes, food,drink etc.. Again I asked the question Mr Evan's!
@Lathers My sentiments exactly, Super Jim had done fake all wrong and had us playing in a manner we could only dream of achieving 11 years and several dire managerial appointments later! If Marcus Evans isn't a Naarwich fan in disguise I'd be gobsmacked!
Would be interested to hear Dolphinblue's take on the game this afternoon. "Easy win" didn't you it would be for us today Dolphin? Please see your comment here:
Town Host Posh Aiming to Maintain Home Improvement31st Jan 2020 15:04 Town host Peterborough United in a third-v-fourth clash at Portman Road on Saturday looking to maintain their recently improved home form.23
So what went wrong? Please would you be as kind as to explain it to "thenegcrew" (as you like to call any of us that have dared to cast any doubts on our capability of securing automatic promotion this season)? Has your faith in Lambert been shaken at all after today or do you think we'll be competing for Champions League football in a few seasons once we finally get Teddy & Freddie fully fit again!?
Totally beaten by a team that were physical, pacy and had goalscorers. I can't decide what was more frustrating To watch our performance or the officials, the officials more. Like the Wycombe game, no flag??? for penalty, Ref gets takes into going to see him by opposition players and they conclude it is a penalty, So if it's a penalty it was a red card offence as well..... then give us one that wasn't at the end? Where do they get these people! ??
We were BOTTOM of the Championship spending league over the years we we in it and we look like being close to bottom of the L1 spending league this year. You can't expect managers to punch so far above spending weight.
Downes, Jackson and Edwards can hold their heads high. The rest, hang them in shame. Naive off the pitch and Naive on it. Hats off to Peterborough who knew how to play the game and the ref
Didnt want to let you down 1973 posting on here is much more entertaining than watching those clowns trying to play league one football although i did stay till the end unlike many.
@londontractorboy57 when we had Mick in charge we gave the Posh a real lesson in football, we managed to grind out a devastating nil nil bore draw with Jay Tabb and Luke Hyam kicking anything that moved! https://www.11v11.com/matches/peterborough-united-v-ipswich-town-09-march-2013-3 Not as bad as 4-1 but do we really yearn for more of that (i.e. 0-0 Mick specials!)? Can't we wish for better than 4-1 or a 0-0? I want to see some Total Football, not Total Hoofball! Mick's hardly been ripping it up with Ireland. I hope he does better in the Play Offs for Ireland than he did with us against Norwich. His team selections used to drive me to despair, i.e. Luke Varney starting at home against Norwich in the first leg. We may as well of just played with 10 men! Look up Luke Varney's goal scoring record and you'll see what I mean!
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