AJ Auxerre 0-3 Ipswich Town - Match Report Saturday, 2nd Aug 2025 18:58 Goals from George Hirst, Jacob Greaves and Ali Al-Hamadi saw Town to a 3-0 victory over French Ligue 1 side Auxerre in their final pre-season friendly at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps. Hirst put the Blues in front on 38 and Greaves added the second with a header from a free-kick in first-half injury time, before Al-Hamadi added the third with five minutes remaining of the match. Alex Palmer started in goal with Ben Johnson and Conor Townsend the full-backs, and Dara O’Shea, again wearing the captain’s armband, and Greaves the centre-halves. Azor Matusiwa and Jack Taylor were in the middle of midfield with Jack Clarke, Sammie Szmodics and Jaden Philogene the trio behind lone striker Hirst. Omari Hutchinson and Leif Davis were absent, with the left-back understood to have a minor knock, while Hutchinson’s absence was left unexplained. Yesterday, Brentford were reported to be ready to renew their interest in the Blues’ forward. Nathan Broadhead was back on the bench having been left out of the squad which faced Charlton at Colchester with Wrexham having made an approach but with the Blues still to accept an offer. Harry Clarke (leg injury) and Wes Burns (recovering from ACL) remain unavailable. There was no penalty area action, although with the Blues in control, until the 12th minute when Auxerre almost conceded a bizarre own goal. One-time Town trialist Gabriel Osho cleared a Blues corner from the right against the back of teammate Francisco Sierralta’s head straight at the startled Donovan Leon in goal, who juggled the ball away. Town kept play at that end, however, and Osho inadvertently diverted a Townsend cross from deep on the right into the path of Szmodics to his left inside the box, but keeper Leon closed the former Colchester man down and blocked. O’Shea sent the loose ball well over from the edge of the box. Auxerre began to get on top and in the 19th minute Ibrahim Osman nutmegged Johnson on the home side’s left, but eventually ran into trouble. In the 25th minute, with no one near him, Townsend went to ground on halfway with a shout of anguish, holding his knee. Auxerre manager Christophe Pélissier tried to get the ref to stop play but it continued, a cross came in from the right and Osman volleyed well over at the far post, the home side’s best chance of the half. The Town physios immediately rushed on to treat Townsend and the former West Brom man looked in less distress as he walked off the pitch, with Ashley Young taking over at left-back. The Blues should have gone in front soon after, Szmodics cleverly turning his man and feeding Clarke on the right, the ex-Sunderland man cutting behind Hirst but straight to Philogene, who mistimed what should have been a routine shot past Leon into the corner of the net well into the stand behind the goal. Neither side threatened again until the 38th minute when Town went in front. Taylor played a long ball forward from deep in his own half for Hirst to chase towards the right corner of the box. Leon came out to the edge to clear but the Scotland international beat him to it, took it wider, looked up and shot into the empty net. Despite the keeper being out of his ground, the Blues number nine still had a lot to do to convert the opportunity and bag his fourth goal of pre-season. In the first minute of injury time, Auxerre skipper Elisha Owusu shoved Clarke over when the forward was in full flight approaching the penalty area towards the right and was shown the first yellow card of the game. And from the free-kick, the Blues doubled their lead. Young wafted the ball to the far post and Greaves escaped his man to nod across Leon and into the net from seven yards. The half-time scoreline probably flattered the Blues a little, Town not having been at their fluent best, but at the same time Philogene had failed to take a golden chance in addition to the two goals. At the other end, Auxerre had caused Town a few problems, usually down the left, and Osman will feel he might have done better with his volley over the bar. Auxerre made one change at the break, Osho, who had one U23s game on trial with Town in 2019 when with hometown club Reading, making way for Clément Akpa. The French side had the first chance of the second half, Osman having been found in space on the left. The on-loan Brighton man took it into the area as the home crowd began to get excited but a poor touch allowed O’Shea was able to clear the danger with ease. In the 49th minute Town tried to replicate their first goal, Taylor pumping a ball down the middle for Hirst, who this time slipped the ball past Leon as the keeper advanced. However, the linesman raised his flag for offside. Within a minute, the Blues had another injury problem, Philogene appearing to land awkwardly following an aerial challenge with an Auxerre defender. After initially getting up, the former Aston Villa man went back to ground and after treatment made way for Broadhead. A big concern for the Blues so close to the start of the season with the forward only recently having returned from the MCL injury which curtailed his 2024/25. On 54, Greaves looked to have hurt himself after being challenged by the already booked Owusu, who was lectured at length by the referee, who might have issued a second yellow card had it been a competitive match. Town went close to a third goal two minutes later, Clarke doing well on the right before sending a low ball which flashed across the six-yard area but was an inch or so too far in front of Hirst. Just before the hour, Osho returned for Sinaly Diomande. In the 64th minute, Matusiwa won the ball in the centre circle and fed Taylor, who brought it forward, before moving it to Hirst on the left of the box but the Town number nine’s shot failed to trouble Leon, who saved down to his left. Four minutes later, after good work from Young, Hirst hit a low 20-yard shot past Leon’s right post. In the 71st minute, the Blues made six changes with Luke Woolfenden, Cedric Kipre, Cameron Humphreys, Chieo Ogbene, Conor Chaplin and Al-Hamadi taking over from Johnson, Greaves, Taylor, Clarke, Szmodics and Hirst. Auxerre made eight changes of their own. On 78, Broadhead brought the ball towards the area with Al-Hamadi to his left but was dispossessed by an Auxerre defender when more should have been made of the opportunity. With five minutes remaining, the Blues added their third goal. Matusiwa picking up a loose pass on the Town right, midway inside the Auxerre half as the French side looked to play out from the back. The Dutchman fed Chaplin, who played in Al-Hamadi and the Iraq international shot across Auxerre’s sub keeper De Percin and into the net, his third goal of pre-season. The Blues subsequently swapped Matusiwa and O’Shea for youngsters Finley Barbrook and Elkan Baggott. Barbrook quickly picked up a booking for a cynical pull-back on halfway as Auxerre broke forward, the last action of the game. Not as competitive a fixture as at Aberdeen just over a week ago with the second half in particular lacking intensity. Nevertheless, the Blues will be pleased to finish what’s been a positive pre-season campaign with another win with Hirst and Al-Hamadi taking their goals well and Greaves netted a set piece, something the former Hull City man and his fellow centre-halves will hope to do regularly over the course of the season proper. The big negative was Townsend and Philogene picking up injuries less than a week before the Championship campaign gets under way at Birmingham City next Friday with the extent of those issues to be confirmed. AJ Auxerre: Leon (De Percin 71), Diomande (Osho 58), Sierralta, Osho (Akpa 46), Senaya (Sy 71), Danois (Dioussé 71), Owusu (c) (Matondo 71), Mensah (Oppegard 71), Casimir (Coulibaly 71), Sinayoko (Bair 71), Osman (Onaiwu 71). Town: Palmer, Johnson (Woolfenden 71), O’Shea (c) (Baggott 86), Greaves (Kipre 71), Townsend (Young 28), Matusiwa (Barbrook 86), Taylor (Humphreys 71), J Clarke (Ogbene 71), Szmodics (Chaplin 71), Philogene (Broadhead 53), Hirst (Al-Hamadi 71). Unused: Walton, Button.
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