Ipswich Town 0-0 Cheltenham Town - Half-Time Tuesday, 22nd Feb 2022 20:44 Town’s home game with Cheltenham remains 0-0 at half-time following a first period entirely dominated by the Blues. Bersant Celina, Conor Chaplin and Tom Carroll returned to an XI otherwise unchanged from the 3-0 home victory over Burton Albion on Saturday. Carroll joined skipper Morsy in the centre of the midfield with Lee Evans having picked up a knee problem late on at the weekend. Celina and Chaplin started behind Kayden Jackson, who was the central striker having scored one and assisted two against the Brewers. Sone Aluko and Joe Pigott dropped to the bench with James Norwood not in the 18. Cheltenham, at Portman Road for the first time since a 3-1 Southern League defeat in March 1938, make four changes from their weekend 5-5 draw at Wycombe Wanderers with Lewis Freestone, Reece Hutchinson, Charlie Colkett and Andy Williams in for Ben Williams, who is among only five subs, and William Boyle, Callum Wright and Kion Etete, who are out of the squad. After the two teams had taken a knee to applause, the Blues got off to a positive start with Chaplin shooting wide from 25 yards in the third minute. Town should have gone ahead two minutes later when Celina brought the ball forward on the left before sending over a cross which somehow reached one-time Cheltenham loanee Wes Burns breaking towards the far post from where the Welshman was unable to keep his shot down. Celina continued to be in the thick of the action and on 12, after exchanging passes with Dominic Thompson in the Blues’ half, the Kosovan international brought the ball to the edge of the box before shooting not far over the Robins’ goal. Town were dominating and in the 17th minute Chaplin twice went close. First the former Barnsley and Portsmouth man hit a sharply-taken shot against a defender from a Burns cross from the right, then when the ball was returned from the other flank sent a diving header towards the corner of the net which visiting keeper Owen Evans palmed away to his right. Within a minute, Celina shot in to the side-netting, then Chaplin struck an effort which hit a defender and looped up into keeper Evans’s arms. In the 21st minute, Jackson broke away on the left and sent over a cross which was just too high for Chaplin despite the diminutive forward’s best efforts. There was a scare for the Blues soon afterwards when keeper Christian Walton played a pass straight to Robins midfielder Elliot Bonds 25 yards out from where he shot over. Jackson curled a weak effort into Evans’s arms in the 27th minute with the Blues maintaining their dominance. Morsy felt he should have been awarded a penalty two minutes later when Carroll, having a very impressive game in the centre of midfield, miscued a half-volley from the edge of the area well wide following a corner on the left. Celina, who had taken the flag-kick, picked up the ball and hit a low shot which deflected out to Morsy, who was crowded out as he looked to shoot, illegally according to the Egyptian international but not referee Andy Davies. Town continued to look for the opening goal, Burns shooting over from the right of the box in the 37th minute from Morsy’s pass. On 44 Burns turned a cross from the right against a Cheltenham defender, who he claimed had stopped it with a hand. Referee Davies said otherwise but from the corner Town went close yet again, Luke Woolfenden flicking a head just over the bar. As the half moved into its final scheduled minute, Chaplin volleyed over from just outside the box. That was the last chance of a first half entirely dominated by the Blues with the shot count of 13-1 and possession percentage of 69-31 illustrating Town’s control of the match. The Blues had passed the ball around slickly and at a tempo and had created enough openings to be ahead, albeit without forcing visiting keeper Evans into too many big saves. Cheltenham, who beat Town 2-1 at Whaddon Road earlier in the season, had defended determinedly but had shown next to nothing going forward. Town: Walton, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Burns, Morsy (c), Carroll, Thompson, Celina, Chaplin, Jackson. Subs: Hladky, Burgess, Vincent-Young, Bakinson, Aluko, Bonne, Pigott. Cheltenham: Evans, Pollock, Raglan (c), Freestone, May, Williams, Blair, Hutchinson, Bonds, Ramsey, Colkett. Subs: Flinders, Long, Wright, Williams, Soule. Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire).
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