| Ipswich Town 1 v 1 Fulham FA Premier League Saturday, 31st August 2024 Kick-off 15:00 |  |
Ipswich Town 1-1 Fulham - Match Report Saturday, 31st Aug 2024 17:06 Town claimed their first Premier League point in 22 years as they drew 1-1 at home to Fulham. Liam Delap’s first Town goal gave the Blues the lead on 15 but Fulham levelled through Adama Traore in the 32nd minute with the Blues the better side in the second half but without finding a winning goal. Town made two changes from the team which lost 3-1 at Manchester City last week with Kalvin Phillips coming in for his home and league debut in the centre of midfield, while Chiedozie Ogbene was wide on the right, also making his first home and league appearances for the club having signed from Luton earlier in the week. Massimo Luongo and Ben Johnson dropped to the bench. Recent additions Jens Cajuste, Dara O’Shea, Conor Townsend and Jack Clarke were also among the subs. Fulham were unchanged from the team which won 2-1 at home to Leicester City last week. The Blues started brightly and there was controversy in the second minute when Leif Davis was blocked off as he sought to get on a return ball from skipper Samy Morsy as he burst into the box. Referee Lewis Smith failed to spot the incident at all and replays suggested the initial contact was outside the area and VAR didn’t intervene. Davis was OK to continue after treatment. In the fifth minute, Anthonee Robinson conceded a needless corner from which the Blues threatened for the first time. Jacob Greaves just about reached Davis’s overhit kick and looped a header which visitors’ skipper and keeper Bernd Leno pawed from under his bar. A minute later at the other end, Traore beat Davis far too easily and burst into the area on the right before being dispossessed by Greaves. A subsequent Kenny Tete shot was blocked by Luke Woolfenden. On 10, Tete looped a header well over the Town bar from a corner on the left, Woolfenden having given it away with a shinned clearance aimed towards touch on the right. Omari Hutchinson, playing in the centre of the three behind Liam Delap with home debutant Sammie Szmodics on the left, found space for the first time midway inside the Fulham half in the 11th minute but eventually scuffed his shot through to Leno when a ball to Ogbene to his right would have been a better option. Within a minute, Traore was sent down the right and cut the ball back, but Woolfenden did well to get back to cut out the cross. The early stages of the game had ebbed and flowed but on the quarter hour, the Blues drew first blood. Davis brought the ball forward on the left and fed Delap not far inside the Fulham half. The striker took it on towards the area and to the right before hitting a powerful shot across Leno, the keeper only managing to help it into the net with his right hand. An already very noisy Portman Road went wild celebrating their side’s first Premier League goal since April 2002 and Delap’s first for the club and in the top flight. And the former Manchester City striker wasn’t far from a second in the 19th minute, nodding Davis’s corner from the right wide at the far post. The Blues had forced that flag-kick with determined pressing and having gone in front they were taking the game to the Cottagers with greater confidence, for a spell dominating the ball in a manner which became familiar in League One and the Championship. Fulham, however, quickly recovered themselves and began to take control, forcing the Blues to defend in their final third. And in the 32nd minute, they levelled. Alex Iwobi played in Robinson on the left and his cross flashed across the area to the far post where Traore stroked home. The Cottagers weren’t far away from taking the lead two minutes later, Traore crossing from the right and Rodrigo Muniz heading goalwards, however, Aro Muric, making his Portman Road debut, got down sharply to his right to save. On 37, Morsy was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Muniz. As the half moved into its final five minutes, the Blues started to get more into it again. On 41, Phillips looped over a cross from the right to Ogbene, whose header was saved by Leno. The loose ball ran to Delap, who shot over when he should have hit the target. However, the linesman subsequently raised his flag for offside against Ogbene. That was the last serious action of an entertaining half. After an evenly balanced start, Delap’s excellent goal had given the Blues the lead and for a spell Town were well on top and might even have had a second goal via the striker’s header. But Fulham gradually took charge and had dominated for long spells but with the Blues restricting their chances until the move from which Traore equalised. After that, the Whites remained in control for the most part but with the Blues having spells at the other end, but without threatening Leno further. The Blues were first to create an opening after the restart, Davis playing in Szmodics on the left of the box but Calvin Bassey got across to block the former Blackburn man’s effort. On 51, Sasa Lukic was booked for a foul on Delap, then within a minute Traore fouled Davis on the left. From the free-kick, Ogbene was somewhat harshly pulled up after he and a defender collided well away from the ball. The Blues had started the second half on top and on 55 went close to getting back in front. After a long spell of Town possession, Morsy, looking like a man who has been playing Premier League football for a decade rather than a couple of weeks, clipped a cross to the far post towards Ogbene and it ran loose to Delap, who somehow managed a shot on the turn, which inched across the face and wide with Szmodics just unable to add a final touch. Town kept up the pressure with Delap hitting a shot against a teammate soon afterwards, Szmodics winning a corner by putting it out off Leno. The Blues claimed the visitors should have been reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute when Ogbene was felled by Robinson as he chased a Phillips pass. The home crowd - and manager Kieran McKenna on the sidelines - called for a red card but referee Smith showed only a yellow. Davis’s free-kick struck the wall and looped out for a corner. Since the break there had only been one team in it with the Blues seeing most of the ball and picking it up again quickly whenever they lost possession. However, the Cottagers began to make an impact again and on 65 went close to taking the lead. Traore crossed from the right, Iwobi stabbed it back to Emile Smith Rowe and his shot was blocked by Greaves. Following the resultant corner, the ball was cleared to Smith Rowe on the edge of the area and again the former Arsenal man’s shot deflected wide. Town were next to threaten, Delap playing in Ogbene with a reverse pass but Leno was off his line to smother at the Irish international’s feet. The Blues made their first change in the 71st minute, Phillips, who had put in a neat and tidy display, making way for Cajuste, making his league and home bow. A minute later, Fulham swapped Smith Rowe for another summer signing, Sander Berge. The Cottagers were in the ascendancy again and in the 76th minute Iwobi brought the ball in from the left unchallenged and fortunately for Town hit a shot which was too close to Muric, who claimed. A minute later, Traore was booked for pulling back Davis after losing out to the Town left-back, then on 79 Munez was replaced by Raul Jimenez. As the game moved into its scheduled final 10 minutes, the Blues made a double change swapping Szmodics, who had made more of an impression in the second half, and the again hugely impressive Delap for Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi. Town were again on top as the match entered its final five minutes, Hutchinson cutting in from the right before being crowded out. On 86, the visitors caught Town on the break and Jimenez struck a shot which Muric batted away. Soon after, the Cottagers made a triple change Iwobi, Lukic and Pereira making way for Harry Wilson, Harrison Reed and Tom Cairney, while Town replaced Ogbene, who had been a threat down the right, with Conor Chaplin, who was making his 150th appearance for the club. In the penultimate minute, Clarke cut in from the left and hit a right-footed shot not too far wide with the Blues finishing the stronger. As the game moved into five additional minutes, Al-Hamadi was thwarted as he sought to break down the middle, then was found on the left of the box from where he cut back to Clarke, whose shot was deflected behind for a corner. In the third minute of time added on, Hutchinson, now playing wide on the right, worked himself space before hitting a powerful shot which Leno palmed away. Al-Hamadi was booked for a late foul before referee Smith brought a thoroughly entertaining game to a close. The Blues were warmly applauded off by their fans after securing their first Premier League point in 22 years against very decent opposition. Town will certainly face worse teams than the Cottagers this season. Both sides had spells on top but overall Fulham couldn’t have complained had Town taken all three points rather than one with the Blues coming close through Clarke and Hutchinson late on. The first point and the manner of the display are a positive way in which to go into the season’s first international break with a visit to Brighton and Hove Albion next up in a fortnight. Town: Muric, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Phillips (Cajuste 71), Ogbene (Chaplin 87), Szmodics (J Clarke 80), Hutchinson, Delap (Al-Hamadi 80). Unused: Walton, Johnson, Townsend, O’Shea, Luongo. Fulham: Leno, Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Lukic (Reed 86), Pereira (Cairney 86), Traore, Smith Rowe (Berge 72), Iwobi (Wilson 86), Muniz (Jimenez 79). Unused: Benda, Andersen, Cuenca, Castagne. Referee: Lewis Smith (Wigan). Att: 29,517 (Fulham: 2,952).
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