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.

Town: Norris, Chambers (c), Woolfenden, Wilson, Edwards, Downes, Skuse, Judge (Norwood 46), Garbutt (Kenlock 16), Keane (Sears 70), Jackson. Unused: Holy, Donacien, Nolan, Dozzell, Sears.

Peterborough: Pym, Thompson (Bennett 83), Beevers (c), Kent, Ward (Mason 74), Taylor, Brown (Knight 61), Butler, Szmodics, Toney, Siriki, Dembele. Unused: Chapman, Eisa, Boyd, Mason, Jade-Jones. Referee: Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire). Att: 21,351 (Peterborough: 1,908).

Photo: TWTD

Cakeman added 20:20 - Feb 1 Initially I looked forward to the new chapter of league one football. My reasoning was the belief that we should start to rebuild, win more matches than we would have done when in the Championship but sadly I was way off the mark. I no longer look forward to the matches. It has become a chore. The quality of what's served up is poor. We are a league one team and with that comes league one officials which adds to me no longer enjoying the matches. Our players all try hard but with exception of the likes of Downes and Woolfenden they are not up to scratch. Our management team are very professional but I fear they are making a simple game difficult. I shouldn't keep looking back but how I wish we could have the good times back or at least some of them. I left the game after 73 minutes today as I did not want to see that spectacle any more. It's hard to comprehend how far our club has sunk since the turn of the century. Very much doubt I shall be attending games after this season. It's about enjoyment but that has been in very short supply this season. PS what's with this ridiculous strategy of all players crowding together hugging the touchline at kick-off's and free kicks? Waste of time as the keepers often end up kicking the ball out of play. What was wrong with spreading the players across the pitch to open up spaces to play? No doubt it is the idea of some highly overpaid coach who thinks football should be played like a game of chess.

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londontractorboy57 added 20:25 - Feb 1 midastouch The question you need to ask is do you like crap football in the Championship and be one layer from the Golden chalice of the Premiership or do you want crap football in league one with a very good chance of league 2.
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warktheline added 20:33 - Feb 1 @londontractorboy57, the question you need to ask yourself is.......will McCarthy be your Valentine?❤️😂
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midastouch added 20:36 - Feb 1 @londontractorboy57 I don't like any of those options! I wasn't keen on McCarthy. Although I admit sometimes Mick got it right and I praised him when he did, such as when he got the likes of Lawrence and Fraser in on loan. His man-management skills seemed decent, no complaints there. But it was his team selections at times that used to baffle the life out of me. And the tactics could frustrate me a lot to. I also think Bart papered over the cracks for Mick. But moving on from there, I honestly wasn't particularly keen on Hurst or Lambert. I was one of the first people to cast doubt on Hurst and got a lot of flack for doing so. One time I said of Hurst that the "honeymoon is over" and got all sorts of stick! Right now I'd honestly be tempted to give the job to Klug to the end of the season in a caretaker role but thanks to Evans master stroke of giving Lambert a 5 year deal (wtf!) then I can't see him paying out the compensation so we're stuck right where we are! Depressing innit!!!

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TimmyH added 20:36 - Feb 1 Yep! Dolphinblue has gone AWOL like some on the pitch today...but no doubt he would spin some silly yarn that we're still going up.
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midastouch added 20:36 - Feb 1 @warktheline he's got a rival there in R2D2!
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runningout added 20:40 - Feb 1 Concerns me we still have many so called professional footballers, and manager that left the Championship in a whimper. Realise their morale was low, but excuses are feeble in football. I'm sure our players know that!
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Berts_chin added 20:58 - Feb 1 A 4-1 home defeat in the 3rd tier must rate as the worst result of the season so far, which must therefore make it our worst result for 63 years. Says it all really.
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:19 - Feb 1 it was bad last season , no guts ,no fight,no pride no idea, manager couldnt turn it around.Now its even clearer why we were relegated ,we are not good enough to beat half the teams in Lge1 , . Lambert can make excuses about not having money to buy players, but he knew that , he was happy to accept a five year contract, [and who wouldnt be ,not often you get a reward like that for failure ]. Obviously pride and success dosnt mean that much to him, he is just happy to jog along and take his wages. His only success since being appointed is to get fans on side, well he and Evans wont be able to get the fans rolling over for a tummy tickle next season ,if as i believe ,we are still in Lge1. Sad bad times .

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JohnWark76 added 21:20 - Feb 1 Although the shocking team performance, Flynn downes once again showed his talent today. Has the potential to go very far. Will be sad to see him go if/when he does. Real talent.
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:33 - Feb 1 wonder what the pre match heading will be next game , oh dont tell me
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herfie added 21:34 - Feb 1 Transfer window now closed, PL to work with the squad we have. The last two games have exposed significant and worrying fault lines in our ability to compete with large, physical, well organised teams who seem to have acquired all the attributes that we strive, but fall short, to achieve. In saying we've now been beaten by two better teams, implies PL's doing the best that he can with the resources ME's invested in our squad. And, to a large extent, that's true. However, the follow on question must be: is PL getting it right in training, in motivating individuals to max extent, is he being too nice in trying to hold the dressing room together, are his tactics and team selections good enough. But, more than those questions, are all the players really giving 110% for the cause? The expected pat answer will be “of course they are”. But personally I believe we allow ourselves to be outplayed and out-thought far too easily, and we don't match the effort and intensity of opponents. If we have any realistic aspirations of promotion, then there's a lot that has to be addressed and changed. Can PL do this? Come May, we'll know the answer.

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tractorboy2421 added 21:46 - Feb 1 Struggling against the lower teams & shredded by the top teams & schooled by a player we could have (should have) signed, a clueless manager & an owner who is clearly happy to see us in this league as long as the home gates attendance stay this high. Can life as an Ipswich supporter get any lower ??
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shakytown added 21:59 - Feb 1 Timmy. He sitting in his bedroom at mommys and daddys house in Norwich pissing himself with laughter.
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Carberry added 22:04 - Feb 1 We have 2 young players who are predicted to have stellar careers and we have turned down millions for them (If you believe that), we have a kid a Premier League team has bid to sign (supposedly) who doesn't play, a striker who is on big money who warms the bench, experienced players who are meant to know what's what and still the manager can't make it work. And people say let's do it and keep fighting, that's just BS, it's the stuff we know nothing about that makes it work or not. We're just the outsiders, the mugs the manager sucks up to in case we remember where he's been, the bodies in the queue for a pie and a pint at our own extended half time, receptors of the spin the mouthpieces deliver. What's happened to our club?

11

runningout added 22:31 - Feb 1 Downes played well today but still needs to calm down when wound up, because he will be. I'd like to know how good Paul Lambert is at turning bad times into good. I'm repeating myself as I'm concerned. What happened at Villa and Stoke. Squad must get together and sort it out and not just rely on others. Small honesty meeting post Lincoln 5 : 3 didn't fix much
2

budgieplucker added 22:44 - Feb 1 We are 17th in the “home” form table. If that form continues we are going to fall well short of the playoffs. Analysing this is like scratching a sore wound. The Rotherham's and Peterborough's of this world play an economical game but can find the back of net with regularity. Coventry are developing a brand of football beyond this league but do not seem to succumb to the bullies like us. Despite many protestations on here in reaction to today's poor performances we do probably have more than enough talent to rise above this league but time and again after a good result or two we fail to turn up for the important matches. No strength of character. We only have two players who can really play the wing back role- Luke Garbutt and KVY. Garbutts left foot and menacing delivery is unequalled this season from any other player in this side. Gwion Edwards who has been very poor this season is not a wing back, but to be fair he looked one of our best players today and on that form would fit in a winger role. Unfortunately without KVY, and heaven forbid if Luke Garbutt is out for a while, then our 3-4-1-2 formation will or if not should be put on the back burner. I have said this a number of times this year, we miss a big lump upfront to cause havoc and seriously put the opposition defence under pressure. A 35 year oldie at the end of his career I am sure wouldn't have cost us a fortune !!! Somebody like a ..........let me think......emmmm, yes that guy who went to Bolton from Forest and scored 6 goals in 7 games. Or perhaps Somebody like Tom Pope from Port Vale a good old fashioned centre forward at 6” 4. ME is rightly being criticised again for not investing a modest amount to prevent a promotion challenge falling away. We still have a relatively large squad, but having just sold Bart, moving Toto, Idris and Folami our on-loan along with Jordan Roberts to Gillingham and releasing Giorgio, with only Josh Earl in reverse we surely have created some space to bring one or two in, Yes I agree with PL about not wanting to take inexperienced premiership youngsters over ours or onboard a player who is coming back from a long term injury as we have had two many of this recently. Judge and Kenlock for me continue to struggle to prove their worth at this level. Skuse looked very sluggish to me today. Time for Bishop and Huws to prove their worth and Jackson and Norwood to prove they are better than division 2 standard. Dear oh dear what would we do without Flynn Downes, who provides fire, guts and doesn't give up. I just wish we had ten more Flynn's. I am so relieved he didn't get booked today and therefore is available at Sunderland next week.

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tearsofthetown added 23:17 - Feb 1 Lambert said in the post match interview that we needed to sign another 2 or 3 players. He also said that there is no money too spend on players. Evans has to answer to us the fans. He really made a HUGE mistake with Paul Hurst and his madcap ideas. And because of that HUGE mistake Town are now in the 3rd division! I believe that Paul Lambert is a capable manager and is being let down by Evans. Oh yeah, 12th man, today...no! Ain`t too optimistic after witnessing todays` game of dread. COYBs, get your fingers out!

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Michael101 added 23:37 - Feb 1 Traffears of the town. Evans Evans made a mistake with hurst,yes but also with giving magilton the tin tack then giving the job to Keane ,Jewell then and mick.all of them norfolk and good. If he make the same mistakes in his ticket tout empire he would not be a millionaire.
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Bert added 23:55 - Feb 1 Second best throughout the game, personal errors everywhere, no shape, demeanour of some players questionable and a crap ref again yet we are still in contention for top two spots. Just shows what a mediocre league this is. Our movement is as predictable as the return of the stay always who only come on here after a defeat. Supporters they are not.
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bobble added 00:40 - Feb 2 oucchhh.....
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Minneapolis_ITFC added 01:00 - Feb 2 i don't feel overly concerned. Maybe tired of the 'one step forward, two steps back' routine this club so frequently possesses. Maybe tired of the false hope and pretensions that you realize could be - or are - ultimately futile. Then again the team continues to be in a promising league position and there's still very much to play for. You got to keep any positives and believe in better despite setbacks such as today. Team put one or two victories together just recent before the Rotherham game so reason at least to keep faith with events out there. Lambert and Evans will and most likely deserve castigation for this recent setback, and while inclined to concur opinion and advocate potential departure you realize no damn good will come of it and things will remain consistent for the next game ahead. Was the manager really awarded a five year contract extension just recent ? Bizarre.

1

Vanisleblue2 added 02:28 - Feb 2 Well we always have Bishop and Huws...oh I forgot they are injured again. Well lets try this new guy Earl as our defence- oh I forgot hes injured
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ThailandBlue added 02:47 - Feb 2 Trouble is Town are Consistently Inconsistent and we will struggle to get out of this League, imagine if we were in the Championship.. We would be Slaughtered every week. So we will probably remain in League 1 for a few more seasons. The Team is so Unbalanced. And no money spent on Good Players. It's like putting half a tank of fuel in a race car and expecting it to finish the Race..!!!

3

Westy added 03:17 - Feb 2 If there is any truth that Will Norris is being played because we will have to pay Wolves if he isn't then it is unbelievable. This policy could cost us promotion. He had made a series of mistakes that have cost us a lot of points this season. If he is not dropped after today's performance it will be a disgrace. Holy is the better player and it's obvious the players prefer to have him behind them.

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