Late goals from subs Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara saw AFC Bournemouth come form behind to claim a 2-1 victory over the Blues at Portman Road in the first ever top-flight meeting between the teams, Conor Chaplin having given Town the lead with his first Premier League goal in the first half. Chaplin netted on 21 to put the Blues, who are still waiting for their first home win this season, in front, but Unal levelled on 87 and Ouattara grabbed the winner five minutes into injury time.

Town made five changes from the team which lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace on Tuesday with Jack Taylor handed his first Premier League start.

The midfielder, who had previously made nine appearances off the bench, came in for Jens Cajuste, who dropped to the bench alongside Kalvin Phillips, evidently not considered ready to start following his ankle injury.

Cameron Burgess returned at centre-half and Ben Johnson at right-back with Jacob Greaves out of the 20-man squad and Harry Clarke among the subs, both having started against the Eagles.

Chaplin came back into the XI as the number 10 with Omari Hutchinson moving to the right and Sammie Szmodics on the left. Wes Burns and Jack Clarke dropped to the bench.

The Cherries made one change from the team which beat Tottenham 1-0 on Thursday with Lewis Cook replacing Tyler Adams in central midfield.

There was controversy in the opening seconds when Justin Kluivert swung an arm into Sam Morsy’s face as the Town skipper ran past him off the ball as the centre was being taken. Play was stopped but neither referee Michael Salisbury nor VAR official Paul Tierney saw the challenge as worthy of censure. It was difficult to see what Kluivert was trying to do other than make deliberate contact with the Town captain.

Once play had got back under way, the Blues started more positively than in recent matches, winning an early corner which Taylor nodded back across goal and Liam Delap headed across the face and well wide.

However, the Cherries began to take charge and went close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute. Antoine Semenyo played Milos Kerkez in on the left of the box and the Hungarian international sent a ball across the six-yard box which Marcus Tavernier somehow failed to connect with at the far post.

Town were next to threaten, Delap playing a pass forward for Szmodics to chase but visitors’ keeper Kepa was able to claim ahead of the Irish international.

On 12, Delap was shown the game’s first yellow card for a late tackle on Illia Zabarnyi, not the first foul referee Salisbury had given against the Town striker, who is now on four Premier League bookings for the season.

Two minutes later, with rain now falling very heavily, the Blues passed their way out from the back with Chaplin eventually crossing from the right and Zabarnyi turning behind after Szmodics had been unable to get a touch.

Following the corner, Taylor shot wide from the edge of the box, then on 17 Szmodics was cautioned for a late tackle on Adam Smith as Bournemouth attacked after play had continued and the Blues had won a corner at the other end.

In the wake of that flag-kick, Johnson and Hutchinson exchanged passes on the right before the ex-Chelsea man sent over a cross which Burgess powerfully headed onto the roof of the net.

As the game moved towards the 20-minute mark, with the Blues on top, Hutchinson looped an effort over from outside the area after a Leif Davis long throw on the left.

And a minute later, another throw from former Cherries loanee Davis on the left led to Town’s opening goal.

Burgess challenged with defenders at the near post, Dara O’Shea, wearing a bandage following his clash of heads on Tuesday, battled for the next ball, which fell back to the Australian international. Burgess shaped to shoot, but cut back to Chaplin, who hit across Kepa and into the corner of the net to claim his first Premier League goal.

Both Chaplin and the Portman Road crowd, which was already making significant noise, were elated, the Blues having netted first in a game for the first time since the victory over Spurs a month ago.

Town looked to make their lead pay and on 26 won another corner, which the Cherries failed to deal with and Taylor was able to strike a shot from just inside the box which took a deflection and Kepa did well to palm wide to his right.

From that flag-kick, the Blues had the ball in the net again, Burgess getting above Cook and the ball going in off one or other of them. Referee Salisbury, who had managed to irk both sets of fans in the opening half an hour, immediately gave a free-kick, apparently indicating a foul by the Town defender. VAR upheld the decision, although for a foul by Delap on keeper Kepa.

Bournemouth were next to threaten in a game which was living up to Town manager Kieran McKenna’s expectations that it would be an open affair. After some loose passing at the back by the Blues, Kluivert was able to stab it out to Tavernier on the right, going to ground as he did so. The former Middlesbrough man shot across Aro Muric but off the Kosovan’s right post and to safety.

VAR subsequently took a look at whether Kluivert had been fouled but there appeared no contact from O’Shea as he missed both player and ball with his kick and the Dutch international seeming to have collided with Burgess in the aftermath. Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was booked soon afterwards for his protests.

The Cherries, who had been on top since the disallowed goal, were presented with a golden opportunity to level in the 36th minute when Town skipper Morsy lost his footing a third of the way inside the Blues’ half. Kluivert had a free run at goal but Burgess caught up with him and slid in to make a perfect challenge as the former Ajax and Roma man was about to unleash his shot.

Burgess and O’Shea were once again putting in solid displays at the back, the former Accrington man heading a Semenyo cross behind in the 38th minute.

Two minutes later, Evanilson flicked a header over at the near post with the Blues under pressure. On 43, Semenyo scraped a shot wide from the edge of the area after Town had again lost possession.

The Blues were able to escape a minute later, but Szmodics’s effort from the edge of the area was too close to Kepa, who claimed comfortably.

After Evanilson had been fortunate not to be shown a yellow card after going in on Muric as the keeper claimed the ball, the Blues saw out the rest of the three additional minutes.

Town had started more brightly in previous recent games before the visitors came more into it. However, the Blues got back on top again and were regularly creating half-chances if not chances and deserved their goal when it came.

After the correctly disallowed goal, it had been almost all Bournemouth with the Blues grateful that Tavernier’s shot struck the post and for Burgess’s superbly timed challenge.

The second half began in much the same manner as the first had ended with the visitors on top but making errors in and around the box.

They struck their first effort since the break on 52, Cook blasting well into the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand from the edge of the area from a Kluivert cutback after a Tow defender had slipped.

Two minutes later, a clever Szmodics flick sent Davis away on the left, the full-back winning a corner.

At the other end, Morsy allowed Semenyo to get round the back on the touchline as he looked to see the ball out but Kluivert scuffed the Ghana international’s cross in completely the wrong direction.

A minute later, Evanilson got in behind to the left and drew Muric but couldn’t find the space to get in a shot and Burgess was able to clear.

Hutchinson briefly relieved the pressure with a run forward with the ball before losing possession but Town were quickly back under pressure, Chaplin relieving the situation a little with what looked a tactical injury break.

The visitors made their first changes on 63, Kluivert and Tavernier making way for by Enes Unal and Dango Ouattara.

Delap, who had looked either injured or tired, played a great ball through for Szmodics soon afterwards, but a defender’s toe intervened. Then, after a lengthy spell of Town possession, rare since the break, Delap slammed a Morsy pass against a defender.

But it was still mainly Bournemouth and on 67, Unal sent a header well wide from a Dean Huijsen cross from the left.

Town created their first big chance of the half in the 71st minute, Delap playing in Szmodics on the right of the area but Kepa batted it away.

The Blues were starting to get more of a foothold in the game, Delap laying the ball to Szmodics in the area on 72 but this time the former Colchester man’s shot was blocked.

A minute later, Taylor won a free-kick on the left and a loose ball fell to Chaplin on the volley but the earlier scorer’s effort was blocked. In the aftermath, there was an appeal for a handball against a Cherries player but the claims came to nothing.

Bournemouth, perhaps starting to show the effects of Thursday’s game, made two further changes on 74, David Brooks and Philip Billing taking over from Evanilson and Smith.

Four minutes later, Delap, who looked to be suffering with an ankle problem, lost out midway inside the Town half and eventually Semenyo hit a shot from the left of the box which Muric bundled behind to his right.

Semenyo subsequently underwent treatment for a knock and while that was happening the Blues swapped Szmodics and Delap for Jack Clarke and Ali Al-Hamadi.

The Iraq international was quickly into the action, winning a throw on the right, from which Town created an opportunity. After Bournemouth had half-cleared, Taylor looped it back in to Chaplin, who worked the room to hit an effort which struck Huijsen and went past the post. Referee Salisbury awarded a goal-kick.

The Blues had Burgess to thank once again a minute later as Bournemouth broke forward three against two. Semenyo looked to find the unmarked Unal with a pass but Burgess got in the way.

Town had defended staunchly, but as at Brentford and at home to Leicester weren’t able to hold out for the full 90 plus time added on.

On 87, sub Ouattara was played in on the left and broke into the area before lifting it over Muric, who had advanced well out of his goal. Burgess attempted to hook away at the far post but could only waft it against Unal, which was enough to divert it over the line. VAR took a look but saw no infringements.

The Blues swapped Taylor and Hutchinson for Cajuste and Burns as they looked to restore their advantage.

But it was Bournemouth seeing most of the ball and in the third of six additional minutes, Billing looped over from distance following a corner.

And in the 95th minute, the Cherries won it. After a sweeping move from left to right, Semenyo played in Billing to his right. The German cut back to Brooks, the Wales international’s shot was blocked but fell to Ouattara, who smashed home from close range. The travelling fans had a few moments of nervousness before VAR confirmed the goal.

There was no time for Town to hit back and the final whistle confirmed the Blues’ third defeat - all by a single goal - in a row.

This was the most frustrating of all, Town having got their noses in front and having had subsequent spells on top and opportunities to add to their lead.

However, at the same time, they had had to dig very deep into their defensive reserves and had ridden their luck at times to maintain their lead.

When the first Bournemouth goal finally came, it was unfortunate for Burgess in particular, who had had an outstanding game.

Both were poor goals to concede from a Town perspective with the Blues’ lack of experienced options off the bench once again looking to have been a factor with manager McKenna presumably ideally wanting to make changes earlier in the half.

Town, who remain 18th, still await their first home win and concerns regarding the Blues’ prospects for the season grow, two home games which may have viewed as more winnable having yielded no points.

A visit to similarly struggling Wolves follows next week before an even tougher run of games over Christmas.

Town: Muric, Johnson, Burgess, O’Shea, Davis, Morsy, Taylor (Cajuste 91), Hutchinson (Burns 91), Chaplin, Szmodics (J Clarke 80), Delap (Al-Hamadi 80). Unused: Walton, H Clarke, Phillips, Townsend, Broadhead.

AFC Bournemouth: Kepa, Smith (Billing 74), Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Christie, Kluivert (Ouattara 64), Semenyo, Tavernier (Unal 64), Evanilson (Brooks 74). Unused: Dennis, Travers, Hill, Aarons, Kinsey. Referee: Michael Salisbury (Preston). VAR official: Paul Tierney. Att: 29,180 (Bournemouth: 2,144).

Photo: Reuters

kwakaboy added 17:39 - Dec 8 Love Ledap, his running and powerful play BUT he has got to learn when to release the ball and stop trying to take on the world and it’s mother !
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papashango87 added 17:41 - Dec 8 Gkroon89 people say worse about the players, I think it’s fair to criticise the “fans” too. It’s not naive to think you’re not relegated in December, it’s pathetic to give up so early.
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blueboy1981 added 17:53 - Dec 8 Worrying times now for the Owners with January so close, and the season drifting away, do they Recruit, spend even more, and gamble on a miracle of improvement to avoid the drop back to the Championship - or WHAT ? - or do they accept the current obvious inevitability ? In fact, after the Trust and Investment they’ve put into ITFC, and it’s Personnel - I genuinely feel sorry for the Owners. Not a decision for the faint hearted for sure. Anyone who thinks dropping back, will ensure an immediate return - needs to ‘shake their heads’ stop talking about ‘a season too soon’ and get REAL. It is more likely to mean a Reset to Zero !!

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blueboy1981 added 18:05 - Dec 8 It is far, far more important to STAY in the Premiership this season than some of you are realising ! Be Warned and Aware - as to the possible consequences of Relegation for ITFC …. !! - back to the Championship.
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ldnj added 18:16 - Dec 8 If I recall correctly, he said Muric would play today. Does that mean that it wasn't inevitable so next time might be different ...
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Cakeman added 18:20 - Dec 8 It’s not pleasant seeing our team either drawing or losing at home on such a regular basis. The lads put in 100% each game but playing at their very best just doesn’t seem to be good enough for The Premier League. We are hanging on by the skin of our teeth but another Four or Five games without obtaining a reasonable points haul will have us cut adrift at the bottom to a level where we cannot get back from. I’m not going to highlight individuals but there are certainly some who do not cut the mustard. Very few of our new signings are better than what we had already and we do not have the Premier League skill level to change our fortunes. Kieran rightly defends his players but deep down he must be wondering what to try next. Recruitment appears to be questionable. Need some more fresh faces in January but getting decent players in with us sitting in the relegation zone will be a difficult task. All very sad how this season is turning out.

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SpiritOfJohn added 18:28 - Dec 8 We needed that second goal. Not sure why Burgess's effort was chalked off as there seemed to be similar contact at every corner. VAR not working for us again - no surprise there. Even so it looked like we had weathered the storm until Muric dropped his clanger by wandering into No Man's Land. Agree that today's subs were not effective and Cajuste should have come on earlier. Burgess immense - certainly didn't deserve to be on the losing side today and should keep his place. Maybe switch to 3 at the back next weekend? No lack of effort but still need to find an extra 5% from somewhere...

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Rimsy added 18:31 - Dec 8 I wonder if last seasons team would have amassed a better points total. All these new players have wrecked the way we play. If only we had a Sarmiento and kieffer as backup.
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londontractorboy57 added 18:33 - Dec 8 Bluebore they are not fact they're your opinion! !
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Bert added 18:36 - Dec 8 Blueboy needs to see the videos explaining our owners long term investment and commitment. They are by PL standards a very unusual investor. Of course they and we want to stay in the PL but their plan is more robust than many understand.
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blueboy1981 added 18:37 - Dec 8 londontratorboy57 - in other words like yours !
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ipswichone added 18:42 - Dec 8 Muric is a liability, cost us three points today.burgess for me was man of match.still don't know why are second goal was disallowed. Can we avoid relegatioñ?I would say with this squad,no.if we spend big,bring in two class defenders and some midfielders,we might by the grace of god survive.would definitely be a miracle,as gap is growing
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RobsonWark added 18:49 - Dec 8 People are starting to wake up and see that Muric is not a Premier League player. I can not fathom why McKenna picks him over Walton. Get rid of Muric and sack the goal keeping coaches and replace them with ones that know what they are doing. BRING BACK WALTON! My message after the Man City game Comment Manchester City 4-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 18:18:50 Why was Walton dropped for this joke goalkeeper that seems to be our new no1. Walton had a great game last week and was excellent for us when we got promoted from Division 1. Muric thinks he is better than he really is. He is an awful keeper - bring back Walton." and my reply to Blues1 Comment Manchester City 4-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 19:51:33 blues1 added 18:30 - Aug 24 "Robsonwark What a,surprise m, u only appear when there's something u csn find to be negative about. Writing off Muric based on 1,game. Typical ceap town fan" I'm sorry for being a season ticket holder and caring about my club and wanting them to be the best Blues1. You however do not seem to care about how we do. Muric is useless. Walton should have played today after last week.

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londontractorboy57 added 18:59 - Dec 8 BLUEBORE I'm not aware that I've posted anything other than to state it's your.opinion NOT FACT.
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blueboy1981 added 19:15 - Dec 8 londontractorboy57 - hopefully one day you’ll post something that makes sense !
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RobsonWark added 19:15 - Dec 8 My message after the Fulham game Comment Ipswich Town 1-1 Fulham - Match Report at 20:16:59 After the Liverpool game (Walton in goal) and the Man City game (Muric in goal) I do not understand why Muric was in goal today - was it to justify the £15m paid for him? People in the past have commented on Walton's kicking but Muric's is far, far, far worse. Bring back Walton. Muric's record is now played 12 Premier League games (10 for Burnley and 2 for Ipswich) and has not kept one clean sheet. Doesn't that tell you all you need to know. Bring back Walton.

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VanDusen added 19:18 - Dec 8 Gutted. And Muric must be dropped - surely the second worst McKenna signing behind Williams. But in the long run I'm just remembering 3 years and 1 day ago standing at Charlton watching Nsiala get in a barney with the crowd and if anyone had told me we'd where we are now I'd have told them to jog on. We're ahead of schedule and £150m at least to the good where we could easily have just missed out like Leeds and be mid-table Championship hoping for the playoffs, looking at Burnley, Leeds and Sheff Utd wondering if we could bridge that gap. The key thing is whether we stay up or not this season, over the longer term Gamechanger have really lived up to their name and as McKenna keeps stressing we are really not far off it. Just all the luck we got last season is being paid back karmically it seems.

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bluemay77 added 19:20 - Dec 8 Went today and thought we played well and even thought we were going to hold out to win Fine margins went against us yet again but I think the problem is kmc keeps making so many changes every game and certainly doesn't know his best 11 at the moment but we have to battle on and see what happens in January but whatever happens i love itfc no matter what and i will carry on going to support them whatever happens

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RobsonWark added 19:29 - Dec 8 My message after the West Ham game Comment West Ham United 4-1 Ipswich Town - Match Reportat 15:17:42 papas, No one will argue with you that the players we let go were sub-standard for the Championship let alone PL. The players that got us promoted should have been given a chance to prove themselves. They had played together in so may games and knew each others strengths and weaknesses. That's how you build a team - by playing week in week out with each other. We have too many new faces starting matches which means we are not a team, just 11 individuals on the pitch. As for Muric - BIG BIG mistake signing him. I'm positive we would have more points on the board if Walton had of kept his place in goal after the Liverpool match.

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Bert added 19:37 - Dec 8 The over abundance of capital letters and exclamation marks does not turn an opinion, worthy or not, into a fact. Just saying.
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RobsonWark added 19:42 - Dec 8 My messages after the Everton game Comment Ipswich Town 0-2 Everton - Match Report at 20:23:57 The difference between us this season and the last two promotion seasons regarding making mistakes and the opposition punishing us for them this season is that we had 2 very good goalkeepers in Walton in League 1 and Hladky in the Championship who kept us in games like all good goalkeepers should - they are the final line of defence. This season we have a useless goalkeeper named Muric in goal. He is such a liabiilty. How many more games is he going to start before Kieran drops him. He was the Burnley goalkeeper who took them down last season. Comment Ipswich Town 0-2 Everton - Match Reportat 18:02:41 Anyone who think Muric should be starting in goal for us has clearly not not see or concentrated on any of the 7 games he has played. Such a big tough looking guy who looks like a scared little schoolboy when he has the ball. His ball control with his feet is useless - how did he manage to give away corner in the first half when he had the ball at his feet and no other opposition player within 10 yards of him. His kicking is poor at best. His positioning is poor. He does not command the penalty area. Instead of staying on his line for Villa's second goal he should have come out to the 6 yard line and caught the cross = at 6 foot 5 and with his long arms he should be catching anything around the 6 yard box. Let's not even talk about the 2 goals he gave away to Man City. The guy is a complete liability. How can the team have any confidence knowing that he is in goal. Bring back Walton.

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RobsonWark added 19:53 - Dec 8 My messages after the Brentford game Comment Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 17:46:49 We will never win a game with Muric in goal. How many more errors and bad positioning does he have to make before he is dropped. He needs to be dropped before it's too late. I think he must have a problem with his eyesight. He only manages to make a save if the shot is hit straight at him or if he has to make an instinctive save where he doesn't even know where the ball is going. When he has time to think it's like he can not see the ball to get in position and claim crosses put into the box a couple of feet from him. How did he let that 4th goal in? I say again, the guy has a problem with his eye sight. How many times does he drop the ball when the ball is straight at him. He is useless passing out with his feet - again probably because he can not see the ball clearly. Bring back Walton. Comment Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 18:00:13 We would have won today if Walton had been in goal rather than that clown Muric. Comment Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 18:26:54 blues1 you are a joke. Have you watched any of our matches this season and seen what an absolute clown of a so called 'goalkeeper' Muric is? If he continues to play we will be relegated. Comment Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 18:30:04 Nomore4 open your eyes. Just because he cost big money does not make him a great player. We've all seen too much of him this season. He is a joke. He should never wear the Ipswich shirt again. Comment Brentford 4-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report at 21:30:41 Linkboy I do not agree with you about dropping down a division to rebuild. Look what happened when fans said that in 2002. The simple answer is: McKenna just needs to stop playing Muric.

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budgieplucker added 20:04 - Dec 8 The equaliser was always on the cards whilst we only remained 1-0 up, for 45 minutes we competed well against a very good Bournemouth side who moved into eighth position. In my view in the second half we were second best in most areas and failed to take the chances to go two up when we had some pressure on the Bournemouth goal, we always seem too want too much time and have a severe lack clinicality. Whilst good to see Burgess getting a header on target albeit disallowed, we rarely threaten on set pieces and question our set piece coach!!! Delap looked like he was carrying an injury or completely goosed after 60 minutes, we started chasing shadows and could have done with both Phillips and Cajuste on much earlie, packing the midfield and supporting the flanks. Johnson completely outclassed by Semenyo who was left time and time again unmarked. High block wasn’t working so we could have applied a mid block if we had brought Cajuste and Phillips on and Taylor who I thought had a decent game could have been pushed a bit further forward. Unfortunately, Tuanzebe one of our best defenders has a history of being injury prone and is much missed, the other sick note George Hirst is a key component to replace Dela for the last 20-30 minutes and we sadly now miss this option and now look very weak from a squad perspective with backup in this area. Ali whilst bundles of energy and enthusiasm is way out of his depth at this level. I too think it is time to rest the goalkeeper. I feel for McKenna as there are some tough calls and I can’t see January window helping much, we only have room for one domestic loan!!! Plus permanent signings are likely to be out of the question if we look adrift!!! I don’t buy this being promoted too earlier business, a minimum income of over 200 million will be achieved with parachute payments if we fail, and yes we are a club that will rely on player trading, if we were to loose Delap, Hutchison and Davis if we went down. we would be able to recoup probably some 70-90 million for these three players who would likely to want to continue to play in the premier league and have some cash for reasonable Championship reinforcements. The squad will be stronger for the experience whatever the outcome. We do though need to soon get the monkey off our back to secure a home win!!! Whist we can compete at this level, we lack that extra bit of class that the top teams have to finish teams off in a game of open footballer but also lack physicality and guile to beat the teams in the bottom half like Everton and Crystal Palace who battle hardened to scrape points. We do as KmcK says have to take each match as it comes and see where we are in May, let’s hope he has some tactical switches up his sleeve as teams are starting to sit heavily on Delap and Hutchison to neutralise our main threats, and as mentioned earlier our high press was largely in effective against Bournemouth.

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RobsonWark added 20:04 - Dec 8 My comments after the Leicester City game Comment Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City - Match Report at 19:26:53 We will never win a match with Muric in goal. BRING BACK WALTON! Comment Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City - Match Report at 21:43:33 The main reason that we are in the position we are in is because Muric has played the last 9 games. How many times did he just push the ball away today when he made a 'save'. Walton would have caught those balls. How many cheers were there when he caught a ball. Walton is the best keeper we have. It's just like when Mick McCarthy was manager and he dropped Bartosz Bialkowski, after he went to his dad's funeral, for Dean Gerken. BB was the best keeper at the club at that time and CW is the best keeper we have now.

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dusth added 20:06 - Dec 8 Great to be back at PR today. Ballot tickets (at last) put us behind the Alf Ramsey goal in the full face of the rain and wind. My daughter and I didn't care. For a long time, and then we did. Haven't changed my opinion that this is a totally committed side who deserve better. Over the moon for Chappers first goal in the prem. We can stay here but if we don't we'll be back!

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