After the win over Lincoln City during the week, Town head into a three-game spell which could define their season, starting with Portsmouth’s visit to Portman Road on Saturday and TomTheWriter assesses the mood in the opposition camp.

With nine games left of their league season, Ipswich know they need to continue their impressive form for the rest of the year to make the play-offs, but have three tough obstacles up next, the first on Saturday.

Their opponents Portsmouth have been on an imperious run of form over the past few months with six wins and a draw from their last seven games.

This season, Ronan Curtis has offered power and pace from the front, Joe Morrell’s ability on the ball has helped Pompey control games with Sean Raggett a goalscoring threat from the back.

Danny Cowley

“There must be a lot of deserved credit going to [Danny] Cowley today - team selection, formation and tactics were all bang on”, “Cowley must rotate his squad unfortunately - I can’t be alone in thinking that the lack of numbers is highly likely to be our undoing in this campaign”, “Got to give Cowley credit where it’s due, his substitutions were spot on tonight. If that had been [Kenny] Jackett he would have taken one of the strikers off and played one up front.”

Pompey boss Cowley - who is assisted by his brother Nicky - joined the south-coast side in March of 2021 tasked with overseeing their play-off push at the end of last season.

“The team selection at the moment is mystifying and it seems the Cowleys are too obsessed with over-analysing everything”, “I've tried to be positive and constructive about the Cowleys but it is clear that the build-up to yesterday from their perspective was about the perceived threat offered by little Fleetwood”, “Cowleys think they are clever so they change the team and the system week-in, week-out. They are idiots.”

He has had spells both in and out of favour with the fans with the most recent run keeping the supporters on his side as they look to close the gap on the play-offs, with two games in hand to work with.

The State of Play

“The biggest problem we have with closing the gap on the play-offs is that while only MK Dons can match our form over the last five games, almost all the teams above us are fairly consistent and only tending to lose when they play each other”, “I believe we have a run against the top sides coming up, so all to play for”, “I'd love to see a table based on game week 24 to present. Even a points per game first half vs second half. I would guess we have a better record the second half of the season but we did have that long run without a win.”

As it stands, Pompey find themselves in 10th place in League One with 16 wins, nine draws and 10 defeats from their 35 games.

“Seventy-four points have been enough for the past 10 years and with so many teams in the chase there is no reason to think it will be any more this year”, “March is going to be a very exciting month for Pompey fans!”, “I'd agree looking at the current table that 74 is looking unlikely but history is history and 10 years is a long trend pattern, so who knows?”

Pompey sit one place and two points below Town heading into the fixture on Saturday with a Blues win helping Town keep in touch with the play-offs and opening up a five point lead on Pompey.

The Squad

Currently in the Portsmouth squad, they have a strong selection of midfielders to choose from with a number of central options tallying up over 1,000 minutes in League One this season.

However, the defence has been an issue on occasion this season with Kieron Freeman’s recent injury limiting Pompey to only four senior defenders.

Strength-wise, Pompey fans have found a lot to be positive about this season, especially in the recent weeks.

“Trust that your strengths will outweigh the opponent being able to predict your formation”, “The first four or five games under Cowley gave me real hope: high energy, high press, movement and some goals”, “Since Sunderland, the Cowleys have had very ample time to assess our strengths measure our weaknesses and plan a strategy to start a remarkable winning run.”

However, on the other hand, they have found a few things to be negative about.

“I know the squad is thin, but we have a few passengers who seriously weaken the team if played”, “We are very weak in the challenge”, “Reeco [Hackett-Fairchild] is the obvious weak link in there. I guess he adds much needed energy. If you can pass well, you have to do a lot less chasing.”

Crewe Alexandra 1-3 Portsmouth

“Raggett got skinned by their winger for their goal, just like he did for Oxford’s early goal the other day. One-on-ones against anyone with pace and a bit of skill don’t seem to be his strong suit”, “Now a second goal, what a revelation. Well done [George] Hirst”, “Six in his last six games. Talk about improvement!”

“Not so great a goal to concede”, “Great for [Tyler] Walker to get a goal, still a chance for him to show he isn’t as useless as he has been, hopefully he’ll kick on”, “We are on fire at the moment. Looking forward to it!”

On Tuesday night, Portsmouth overcame a poor Crewe Alexandra side 3-1 away from home, closing the gap on the play-offs to five points.

Portsmouth 4-0 Accrington Stanley

“Great game, and I must admit I wasn't that confident after [Marcus] Harness had another rush of blood to the head”, “It was like rolling back the years today. The team were immense, the crowd was raucous. Back to what I have been craving so badly since our promotion season under [Paul] Cook”, “Play-offs still a long shot but we can certainly enjoy the ride if the team keeps putting in these types of performances.”

“Yet again much less possession and a better result and performance. DC [Cowley] playing possession football all season has cost us”, “Accrington really weren't up for it. They should have got at least one goal”, “Did Pompey win better because Harness was sent off? My suspicion is that they would have settled for 2-0, with 11 on the field.”

At the weekend, despite going down to 10 men after 21 minutes, Pompey still picked up a dominant 4-0 victory over Accrington Stanley.

Goalkeepers

“Couple of smart saves and generally very safe”, “What was [Gavin] Bazunu doing for their third one by the way? It went right through him”, “Why is [Alex] Bass out on loan? Nothing against Bazunu but we’re never going to sign him and I’m pretty sure Bass can pick the ball out of the net just as well.”

Gavin Bazunu

Young goalkeeper Bazunu joined Pompey on loan from Manchester City in the summer and has 14 clean sheets to his name this season.

Defenders

“It was great to see [Clark] Robertson getting back to pre-injury form”, “Good game, made a crucial goal-saving clearance”, “Robertson is more of a leader of the defence.”

Summer signing Robertson had spent most of the season on the sidelines, returning at the end of 2021 and strengthening the Pompey defence in their impressive recent run.

“A useful squad member all the same”, “I think we could be cursed especially with injuries, first of all [Shaun] Williams now it looks like [Kieron] Freeman could be out for most of the season”, “Freeman could be out for the season also with a ruptured ankle ligament. DC said his chances of being fit before the end of April are slim.”

Experienced defender Freeman had been a constant fixture in the Portsmouth side for the first few months of the season, but recently damaged his ankle which could see on the side until the end of the season.

“[Hayden] Carter has two-plus years on his contract too. The only way we are getting Carter again is if we get promoted or Blackburn get promoted”, “Good solid performance, in attack and defence”, “Carter has said this week that he would be keen to return here on loan next season.”

Currently on loan from Blackburn Rovers, Carter has been an impressive January recruit on the right of Pompey’s back three. Has one goal to his name this season.

“[Denver] Hume has played as a left-sided defender and as a left-sided midfielder, but not as a left-sided attacker”, “Hume is not a winger, he’s never played as a winger. He is a left-back or left wing-back”, “I would have him in at left-back if we are going back to a back four as Hume is dreadful in that role.”

One of two players snapped up from Sunderland in January, Hume came in to replace the outgoing Lee Brown, who departed for Wimbledon. Hasn’t pulled up many trees since his arrival, but has been a solid option on the left.

Centre-Backs

“Gives his all, strong at the back”, “[Connor] Ogilvie is a better central defender than Robertson and far and away a better left-back (or wing-back) than Hume”, “Ogilvie is totally dependable and certainly unlucky to have been dropped.”

Ogilvie left fellow League One side Gillingham in the summer with the expectation of a Championship move. Can play at left-back and centre-back.

“Ogilvie was better defensively too”, “Robertson is more of a natural centre-back than Ogilvie, who can also play well there but is a left-back first and foremost”, “Robertson and Ogilvie are both very good players and two of DC's best signings.”

Due to his versatility, Ogilvie has also been seen in the centre of the park on a few occasions, showcasing his impressive ability with the ball at his feet. Has become a really important player in their play-off hopes.

“A stalwart as usual and scoring for fun at the moment”, “Raggett good all-round display and goals is the icing on the cake”, “The whole team was immense today. The desire to win, determination not to let Accrington score and no little skill, it was brilliant. Raggett was superb.”

Centre-back Raggett has been arguably Portsmouth’s strongest defender this season, constantly having to change who he partners with as injuries start to pile up. Been with the club a few years now and scored the controversial winner in the FA Cup at Portman Road last season.

“What a star. One hundred games already for us, never gets injured despite throwing himself about like a lunatic. Last week was incredible when he fell three feet over the wall onto concrete”, “Good on you Raggers, we’re lucky to have you. [BBC Radio Solent commentator] Andy Moon mentioned last night that he’s had his famous Lincoln FA Cup goal immortalised on a postage stamp. He’s got his recognition at last”, “Brings the ball out relatively well, does the occasional Cruyff turn and chips in with a good number of goals.”

Not someone who catches the eye for his ball skills, Raggett has been doing the basics of defending well for the season. Will be interesting to see how he fairs up against the Ipswich attack.

Midfielders

“Great shame for him. At his age should he really be considering ever playing professionally again?”, “Two shattered vertebrae, three months”, “Really feel for [Shaun] Williams. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that. I hope he gets the necessary rehabilitation and fingers crossed there are no long-term issues.”

Experienced midfielder Williams was bought in as a starter, but has found himself on the sidelines for the past eight games due to a serious back injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

“[Joe] Morrell and Tunnicliffe are two different types of midfielder. Morrell is slightly more of a box-to-box whereas Tunnicliffe is more attacking. Nice to have options”, “Morrell terrible first half but improved”, “Can Morrell and Tunnicliffe play together? Both softish, especially when one is finding his way back.”

Ipswich-born Morrell interested the Blues this summer, but by that stage had already agreed to join Pompey for an undisclosed fee from Luton. Has been in and out of the team in recent weeks, but will want to feature against the Blues.

“Very good game, winning tackles all over the pitch”, “[Louis] Thompson was a risk fitness-wise but seems to have proved himself, I imagine he will be keen to stay”, “Thompson and Carter are crumbs off the master's table for certain, they could easily be starting games for someone else in the Championship.”

After his release by Norwich this summer, Thompson was picked up by Pompey. Had a slow start, but has been impressive in recent months after returning to full fitness.

“[Michael] Jacobs may go if he can find a club willing to take a risk on his fitness”, “The most skilful award - although not played too many games - has to be Jacobs. He can turn a game in an instant”, “If Jacobs was fit, he probably wouldn’t be in the team.”

Infamously, Jacobs’s summer move to Town broke down at the last minute with a fee and personal terms agreed and a medical passed, the Blues having turned their attention to Kyle Edwards. Had been in impressive form in the last few months, but has missed the last five due to a knee injury.

Returning Loanee

“Best game he's had for us and a goal for his efforts”, “[Ryan] Tunnicliffe showed him how to take a corner with two assists”, “Tunnicliffe was man of the match for me today, two brilliant corners and a goal and non-stop running in midfield. I was surprised he lasted 90 minutes at that level of running.”

Ex- Town loanee Tunnicliffe was a marquee signing for Portsmouth this season after his release by Luton Town. Started the season very well, picked up a problematic injury, but has recently returned to the squad. Will be a big threat on Saturday.

Winger

“Not at his best but still never gives up and makes good runs forward and also made a goal-saving interception”, “[Mahlon] Romeo, I can sort of see why he is impressive but does not read the game that well. So often has to use his pace to cover across and going forward he has not made that many assists”, “Romeo and Curtis were looking really good together. So, the immediate response is to separate them on the pitch, then drop one of them.”

Flying full-back Romeo was rumoured to be of interest to Town this summer, although the story was dismissed by the club. Finds himself at Portsmouth for the season on loan from Millwall and has rotated between right-back and right midfield.

“It was Romeo who put their man down. Quite an innocuous challenge too. Not the ref’s fault”, “Seems like your average squad rotation to me. Don’t want Romeo getting a long-term injury with Freeman gone for the season”, “Hume and Romeo make sense to come on.”

Originally signed as a right-back, Romeo has made the right wing-back spot his own this season, helping the side out both offensively and defensively in their games this year.

Centre Midfielder

“We have an option for an extension and have said we would like to keep him and no one has offered enough money yet so dangerous to assume they will now, especially with his form dipping a bit”, “At the time, I thought it was a blatant red for [Marcus] Harness and for once, the Fratton End didn't applaud him off after the red!”, “As for Harness, he hasn’t been playing that well lately in my opinion and the rash sending off just compounds that.”

Harness has been a key member of the Pompey attack for the past few seasons and is the club’s top goalscorer this season with 11.

“Great game and I must admit I wasn't that confident after Harness had another rush of blood to the head”, “Yep, that will be a three-match ban for Harness”, “No problems with the ref giving Harness the red, but how Accrington’s Harry Pell didn't join him I don't know.”

Despite his goals this season, the supporters are not big fans of Harness, and don’t seem to think he is playing that well for the club. Got a straight red card last Saturday, so will not feature at Portman Road.

Attack

“What a great game for him. He's really coming on and is starting to cause teams a lot of problems with his incessant running”, “[George] Hirst is clearly happy here, but any further loan would depend on when his contract at Leicester ends”, “George Hirst was excellent too, a couple of well taken and well-deserved goals.”

Having been criticised by the Pompey supporters for the first few months of the season, Hirst has won them round with some impressive target-man displays, scoring twice on Tuesday to take his tally to 10 goals.

“[Tyler] Walker’s body language and effort isn’t exactly helping him. When he came on as a sub yesterday for the last 15 minutes against Accy, he just needed to demonstrate physical commitment and effort”, “To be honest, I would not break any pay policy that Pompey have for Walker”, “For those (very few) on here who defend Tyler Walker's attitude and contribution, I have two words - Aiden O'Brien.”

Snapped up from Coventry City for the season, Walker scored his first Pompey goal on Tuesday night. Likely to start on the bench on Saturday, due to the aggressive running of O’Brien.

“With respect to Reeco [Hackett-Fairchild], a blessing for the team in disguise through no fault of his own - the only game-time he is getting is as a wing-back, and that's not his skillset”, “Can't understand how he starts Reeco. He can't tackle and loses the ball too easily”, “Well done Reeco, excellent goal.”

Young attacker Hackett-Fairchild has been in-and-around the first team for the whole season with five goals to his name. However, he has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.

“He's won us all over in five games. Runs his socks off and is skilful too. Laid Tunnicliffe a goal on a plate”, “Hot on his heels is O'Brien though. I'll hold my hand up at being less than impressed by his signing. But what a breath of fresh air he has been. If he continues the way he's going, he could well be winning the award come seasons end”, “O'Brien is a free agent in the summer.”

The second player snapped up from Sunderland in January, O’Brien’s arrival was met with confusion due to him not being a prolific striker at League One level. However, he has impressed fans with his aggression and strong running since his signing.

Striker

Ronan Curtis

“I wouldn't be surprised if [Ronan] Curtis is playing with a muscle strain at the moment, his running looks laboured as does his acceleration”, “As far as I can see Curtis has never been sent off for us”, “No problems for Cowley to decide who to drop for the return of Curtis. Harness has made the decision for him.”

Curtis returned to the Pompey side on Tuesday night after a two-game suspension. Has two goals and two assists in four games against the Town.

“It’s especially good when you consider we had no Curtis or Jacobs today”, “Curtis was excellent and totally committed, saved us from defeat”, “We will miss Curtis when he moves on, not perfect but a real whole-hearted trier who is also fit for nearly every game.”

Likely to be playing behind the front two on Saturday, so it will be an interesting battle between him and the Ipswich midfielders for control in the game.

Portsmouth Fans on ITFC

“We can take a draw at Ipswich if we can beat Plymouth”, “I had a long discussion with a couple of Ipswich fans a couple of weeks ago and they were bullish about getting to the play-offs but not so bullish about winning them. They were certain that if Cook had been dumped earlier they would be in the top six now, they believe that Kieran McKenna has given them a real chance of a winning run and that the Pompey game would be a make or break affair for both sides and that a draw would be poor result for either”, “I think we need to win our next four or five to be in the play-off mix, then hope we win a couple of the head to heads. The Plymouth and Ipswich games seem the next biggies on the horizon.”

Last Time Out — Portsmouth 0-4 Ipswich Town

“Four-nil twice running, when did that last happen? Talk about losing the dressing room. Certainly, seems like it seeing [John] Marquis's reaction when subbed”, “Just got in and can't believe the score! Same pattern as Saturday 1-0 down at half-time only we didn't equalise this time and had four stuffed past us”, “Ipswich looked like a team two divisions higher than us.”

“We have to write last night off and move on. We have to mention [Macauley] Bonne. What a tremendous frontman he is”, “The three players who decided last night were Bonne, an inspired [Conor] Chaplin and Bazunu. Everyone else was unremarkable and 5/10”, “We have no goal threat to speak of and it is costing us. There is no excuse for heads going down, these players are paid to give their all for the club and that is the least we can expect.”

Back in October, Ipswich travelled to Fratton Park, which had become something of a bogey ground in recent years. But they came away with an incredible 4-0 win with goals from Bonne, Chaplin, Sone Aluko and Wes Burns.

Websites

The main forum for a Portsmouth fan is True Blue Army, a comprehensive and extensive area for all Portsmouth fans to dive into.

Photo: Matchday Images

Europablue added 15:41 - Mar 11 Who is bullish about getting into the playoffs? If we could get into the playoffs we would be the form side, and I see no reason why we shouldn't win them.
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