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Blues Look to Bounce Back Against Gills
Monday, 26th Oct 2020 10:39

Town host Gillingham on Tuesday evening looking to bounce back after successive defeats at Doncaster Rovers and Lincoln City which have seen them drop to fourth in the League One table.

The Blues went into those fixtures first in the table but the 4-1 reverse at Doncaster last Tuesday and the 1-0 loss away against new leaders Lincoln on Saturday have seen them slip three places with the top of the division tight in the early stages.

Last season Town, who also face Crewe Alexandra at home on Saturday, similarly made an impressive start and topped the table before back-to-back defeats to Accrington and Rotherham in October presaged a slump in the following couple of months.

However, manager Paul Lambert, who will watch the game from the stands having been red-carded for his post-match protestations at Sincil Bank, believes the same thing won’t happen again and if the Blues continue to play as they did at Lincoln on Saturday, positive results will come.

“We’re playing totally different, we’re a totally different team from last year,” he said after the defeat to the Imps. “The way they’re playing, the confidence they’ve got there, no problem.

“We’ll just keep playing, [we won’t] change because the way we’re dominating games, you tend to find when you start to dominate the ball you win more games than not.”

Despite the loss, via a controversial 77th-minute Jorge Grant penalty, the Blues manager was delighted with his side’s performance at Sincil Bank.

“The way we’re playing is really, really good,” he insisted. “Unbelievable football. I’m really happy with how we’re dominating games, so let’s see what happens.”

He added: “You lose games, but the way we played today, I’m so happy for them, to play that way was great. One, two-touch football, the possession of the ball, we were creating chances, the dominance of the game, we can’t ask for any more.”

Lambert, whose side have won all three of their home league matches so far 2-0, may look to make one or two changes with matches coming thick and fast and having said that if players’ performances drop they risk being replaced.

Tomas Holy put in an improved display at Lincoln and so will probably keep his place between the sticks.

Skipper Luke Chambers will be at right-back and Stephen Ward at left-back but the Blues boss may be looking at a switch at the centre of his defence.

Toto Nsiala has given away penalties in the last two matches and could make way for Luke Woolfenden, who has been on the bench for the last four League One matches having played the full 90 minutes in the EFL Trophy tie against the Gills after recovering from a groin problem. James Wilson is likely to keep his place in the back four.


In midfield, Lambert is left with few options with Jon Nolan suspended for three matches for his red card against the Imps and with Flynn Downes and Cole Skuse both out injured.

Emyr Huws will come back into the XI alongside Andre Dozzell and Teddy Bishop with 20-year-old Brett McGavin likely to come on to the bench as midfield cover.

Oli Hawkins will continue in the central striking role but Lambert may not want to risk starting Jack Lankester in two games in four days after his lengthy spell out.

Alan Judge, if he is over his hamstring injury, or Freddie Sears could return on the right of the front three or Keanan Bennetts could be handed his full senior debut.

Gwion Edwards, now League One’s second top scorer with five goals, seems certain to continue on the left.

Gillingham boss Steve Evans, whose side is 14th following back-to-back 2-0 home defeats to Portsmouth and Fleetwood, which followed a loss by the same scoreline away against the MK Dons, says all the pressure is on the Blues.

“I am confident we can win at Ipswich but at the same time I recognise just how good a team they are,” said Evans, speaking to the club on Sunday,” he told Kent Online.

“Anything other than promotion for them this season is a disaster, so I know where the pressure is.

“Mind you if they put our dressing room as far away from the pitch as they did in the EFL Trophy fixture, we had best organise a few taxis for the lads!”

Having faced Fleetwood, whose previous game was against Accrington who subsequently had eight players test positive for Covid-19, Evans says he wants his players to be tested ahead of the game with the Blues.

“What we will try and do is ask our chairman to make sure everyone is tested for Covid-19 before we even go near Portman Road, I have too much respect for everyone at Ipswich and in the town of Ipswich,” he said.

Evans is short on numbers ahead of Tuesday’s game with Kyle Dempsey, Jacob Mellis and Vadaine Oliver not expected to be ready to return from injury and on-loan Southampton man Tom O’Connor having limped off against Fleetwood.

Connor Ogilvie is suspended having been red-carded at the weekend and the Gills boss says he probably won’t name the full complement of substitutes.

The 57-year-old, who has a less than friendly relationship with fellow Scot Lambert following a bust-up during the game at the Priestfield Stadium last season, is considering adding out of contract players to his squad ahead of the match.

“We have got a couple of lads who have been training somewhere else and they could come in and play for us immediately,” he added.

Historically, Town have the upper hand on the Gills, winning 11 games between the sides (seven in the league), drawing 11 (11) and losing just two (two).

The teams last met in the EFL Trophy at Portman Road earlier this month when second-half goals from Armando Dobra and Ben Folami saw a very young Town side to a victory by the familiar scoreline.

Dobra struck home from the edge of the box on 57, then Folami turned home the second after good work from Gibbs with 15 minutes left as the Blues deservedly and in the end comfortably defeated the Gills.

In the league last season, the teams drew 0-0 at Portman Road on Boxing Day, the Blues having won 1-0 at the Priestfield Stadium via a Kane Vincent-Young header in September.

Blues keeper Holy joined the Blues from Gillingham in the summer of 2019 after the Czech had spent two years with the Kent club, for whom he made 107 appearances.

While Holy is the only man in the Town squad to have played for the Kent club, the Gills squad includes a couple of familiar names.

Former Blues loan striker Dominic Samuel made two starts and four sub appearances without scoring while at Portman Road between January and May 2017 when a Blackburn player.

The Londoner has scored two goals in six starts and one sub appearance since joining the Gills on a free transfer in September.

Winger Jordan Graham joined the Gills in the summer having spent two loan spells with Town, between November 2013 and January 2014 and August 2018 and January 2019, both while a Wolves player. In total Graham made three starts and three sub appearances across his two spells.

Gills midfielder Stuart O’Keefe, who moved to the Priestfield Stadium from Cardiff in the summer of 2019, was an academy schoolboy with Town.

Tuesday’s referee is Antony Coggins from Bicester, who has shown 11 yellow cards and one red in five games so far this season.

Coggins’s last Town game was the 1-0 defeat at Rotherham in January in which he booked Woolfenden, Huws and one Miller.

Prior to that he was in charge of the 2-1 home victory over AFC Wimbledon in August last year in which he cautioned Janoi Donacien and three of the visitors.

Squad from: Holy, Cornell, Chambers (c), Donacien, Ward, Kenlock, Nsiala, Wilson, McGuinness, Woolfenden, Dozzell, Bishop, Huws, McGavin, Judge, Lankester, Edwards, Bennetts, Sears, Hawkins.


Photo: TWTD



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StavangerBlue added 11:03 - Oct 26
Doncaster showed everyone how to stop us playing. Keep harassing us and we cannot settle and pass. The lack of a talented striker (we need a Marcus Stewart or Chris Kiwomya) is costing us. Goals from midfield are great but you need your strikers to be productive. We far too often get the ball to the edge of the oppositions 18-yard box and it results in nothing. I would rather see us get forward, shoot quickly, on target with power (a la Man City) than sit on the 18-yard line passing it about until we lose it. Far too often our shots on goal are snapshots, panicky, and weak.
13

Michael101 added 11:27 - Oct 26
Town look to bounce back,now many times have we heard that before ??
9

Radlett_blue added 12:01 - Oct 26
Just as well Lambert will be in the stands so he won't have to go anywhere near the odious Steve Evans.
3

slade1 added 12:06 - Oct 26
Despite playing unbelievable football, we have lost the last two matches scoring just once while letting in 5.
I think these two home matches coming up are make or break time for Lamberts future with our club.
6

BeattiesBackPocket added 12:25 - Oct 26
Stavengerblue you also have to have a supply of decent through balls from a creative midfield player which we haven't really had since magilton, you also have to play to the strikers strengths and for Sears he plays better with a partner and we've been playing one up front it's always more 451 than the 433 lambert likes to make out we play the two wider players are always too far away from the central striker that's why we struggle up front
2

BettyBlue added 12:40 - Oct 26
Even a dead cat bounces if you drop it enough times.

0-0
2

MonkeyAlan added 13:24 - Oct 26
Cr@p manager. Weak as water team, Muppet for an owner, these are the days to be an Ipswich fan.
5

muhrensleftfoot added 13:54 - Oct 26
The squad is good enough to win this league. The manager is not. Has there ever been a worse manager of ITFC in history? The stats don't lie. He has no plan B. If you're chasing the game, then you have to change tactics. He seems incapable of making the right decision.
10

Bluearmy_81 added 14:09 - Oct 26
😂🤣 Sure...
1

istanblue added 14:19 - Oct 26
Alan Partridge would do a better job of bouncing back than Paul Lambert.
4

Juggsy added 16:15 - Oct 26
I thought we were bouncing back against Lincoln?
5

cat added 16:31 - Oct 26
“Footballs a funny old game” quote from Jimmy Greaves. One minute we look like world beaters, the next we look like a bunch of chumps. I agree with others that the squad we have is more than capable, but I'm not so sure about ‘Paul bounce back Lambert' lol.
When you look at what he has done so far then it don't make for pretty reading.
Took us down from the championship without a whimper,
11th place finish in last years broken league 1 campaign,
A win rate hovering around 30% is woefully poor,
Spitting his dummy and threatening to walk away was the final straw and shows a bad attitude, I'd say cut our losses now before it's too late. LAMBERT OUT
4

FenboyBlue added 16:39 - Oct 26
If the supporters were back in the stadium the next game, it would definitely be a toxic atmosphere by half time if we weren't bouncing back. But we're not. He'll never have an easier set of circumstances than this to prove he can get this team to bounce back. Enjoy the silence and just do it.
9

Wickets added 17:25 - Oct 26
Does this picture give us a hint to PL that Wolfie is still a Town player and is available to start on Tuesday ?
0

cat added 17:27 - Oct 26
Spot on fenboy, the disgruntled mob were staying behind after games last season to let rip at Lambo. Trust me on that one cause I was one of them lol
2

Icantbelieveyousaidt added 18:13 - Oct 26
8 games 16 points and the ignorant among you are panicking. Football nowadays is a mirror image of life. If you are not successful then you are considered a failure. Humility is one of life's greatest assets; it is in very short supply on TWTD. So many experts....
4

RobITFC added 18:36 - Oct 26
CAT - when have we looked "World beaters" ?, we have just beat some other poor teams in this league. We cannot beat top 6 teams so have no chance of getting out of this league. Can you imagine how poor we would be if by a miracle we did get back to the championship! The club is in a very poor state, from the top to the bottom.
6

cat added 18:58 - Oct 26
Okay Rob, so world beaters might have been a ‘slight' exaggeration (Lol) so we'll gravitate towards chumps!
0

TimmyH added 19:51 - Oct 26
Ipswich Town 'Bouncing back'!...the Alan Partridge of League One football.
4

Nobbysnuts added 20:07 - Oct 26
Mr lambert i would rather not play incredible, unbelievable football as you keep describing it.Crap football and a win will do. Stop believing your own hype paul... you seem to be delusional....
6

dirtydingusmagee added 21:51 - Oct 26
i knew it, ffs Town looking to bounce back . We should be called the ''Space Hoppers'' incredible, really, .....no i mean really really incredible .


2

ringwoodblue added 23:19 - Oct 26
Even if we beat the Gills and Alex (and it's a big IF), if we cant beat any team in the top six, we won't make the play-offs which has to be our minimum target this season.

Afraid I have zero faith in Lambo having the wherewithal to get us promoted. I'm not joining the neg crew, I'm trying my best to stay positive but Lambo's crazy antics on Sat followed by his delusional post-match interview were the final straw for me.
6

Dolphinblue added 07:41 - Oct 27
I see #thenegcrew are back now we have lost....joke support once again...where are u lot when we win...go support norwich. Big win tonight and saturday and #thenegcrew will vanish until the next loss.....COYB.
-4

dirtydingusmagee added 08:34 - Oct 27
yer right ''Flipper'', we are the n crew . Can see things as they are, you are the d crew [deluded] thought we'd bounce back to Championship and beyond .
9

Northstandveteran added 08:52 - Oct 27
😂 #Thedcrew.

I think you've started something there Dirty 😂
7


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