Ipswich Town 1-1 Arsenal U21s - Half-Time
Tuesday, 8th Sep 2020 20:46

The Blues and Arsenal’s U21s are level at 1-1 at half-time, the Blues having taken the lead via Jon Nolan in the 28th minute before George Lewis equalised in injury time.

Town made only three changes to the team which beat Bristol Rovers 3-0 in the Carabao Cup on Saturday.

Myles Kenlock replaced Stephen Ward, who was left out of the 18 but was training on the pitch before the match, at left-back with keeper David Cornell, who joined Town after leaving Northampton last month, taking over from Tomas Holy, who dropped to the bench.

Centre-half Toto Nsiala was initially down to start but dropped out at the last minute allowing Corrie Ndaba to make his full debut at centre-half with James Wilson taking his place on the bench.

Striker James Norwood, who played only 45 minutes of football in pre-season as he continued his rehabilitation after his groin operation in February, was among the subs having missed out on Saturday.

Again Flynn Downes was not included in the 18 having been given a few days off following the interest from Crystal Palace and his resultant transfer request, as was Kayden Jackson, who has been suffering with a groin problem and is the subject of a £1 million - not the £2 million initially reported - rebuffed bid from AFC Bournemouth.

Arsenal’s U21s, with U23s head coach Steve Bould on the touchline, included Norwegian-Rwandan winger George Lewis, 20, who had a trial with the Blues before joining the Gunners in the summer.

Their highest profile name in their side was 19-year-old Folarin Balogun, who has refused a new contract and is understood to be interesting Brighton. As expected, it was a very young side with an average age of 18 and a half.

Neither Harry Clarke nor Marcelo Flores, who both moved to the Arsenal youth set-up from the Town academy, were involved.

At an again empty Portman Road, with the shouts of the players echoing around the ground, the Blues quickly began to dominate possession against the Arsenal youngsters.

On seven, Jon Nolan flicked a header on for Freddie Sears to chase, however, Arsenal keeper Tom Smith was off his line and out of his area to clear.

Two minutes later, Sears fed Kenlock breaking on the overlap, not for the first time, but his cross was diverted behind by Arsenal skipper Mark McGuinness ahead of Aaron Drinan. From Andre Dozzell's corner, Luke Woolfenden nodded into Smith’s arms.

Town should have been in front in the 16th minute when Sears’s flick sent Drinan away into the area on the left. The Irish U21 international side-footed across the keeper and struck the outside of the post with Sears screaming for the ball to be cut back to him on the edge of the six-yard box.

The Arsenal kids were seeing most of the ball and passing it around neatly as the game reached the 20-minute mark but without Cornell having been tested.

In the 27th minute the Blues took the lead. Ndaba found Sears with an excellent cross-field pass, Dozzell having played a similar ball out to Alan Judge on the other flank moments earlier.

The ex-West Ham man cut in and sent in a cross which reached Judge at the far post from where the Irish international scuffed a shot which was cleared from the six-yard box. However, the danger wasn’t gone and Judge played the ball back in for Nolan, who scrambled home off keeper Smith from a few yards.

Despite conceding, the visitors again began to pass the ball around slickly but still without threatening goal.

On 39 Drinan chased Teddy Bishop's ball down the right but McGuinness slid in to make an important challenge just outside the area with keeper Smith having made a hasty run off his line and potentially in a lot of trouble. At the other end, Ndaba made a similarly impressive tackle albeit when the flag had been raised.

Just before the scheduled end of the half, Balogun hit Arsenal’s first shot of the game from the edge of the box, the ball deflecting wide of Cornell’s goal off a defender. But from the corner, with the period now in injury time, the young Gunners equalised.

The Blues repeatedly failed to clear their lines on the edge of the area and the ball was played to former Town trialist Lewis, who shot low across Cornell and into the corner of the net.

Town left the field at the break disappointed not to have been in front with the goal Arsenal’s only serious chance throughout the half.

Although neat and tidy on the ball, as you’d expect from a Gunners side, they had presented little threat and the Blues will feel the danger should have been cleared.

While Town hadn’t created a huge number of clear-cut opportunities themselves, they had certainly threatened enough to warrant a half-time lead.

Town: Cornell, Chambers (c), Ndaba, Woolfenden, Kenlock, Nolan, Dozzell, Bishop, Judge, Drinan, Sears. Subs: Holy, Edwards, Norwood, Lankester, Wilson, Hawkins, Huws.

Arsenal U21: Smith, Alebiosu, Balogun, Bola, Cottrell, Lewis, McEneff, McGuinness (c), Olayinka, M'Hand, Oyegoke. Subs: Hillson, Akinola, Azeez, Cirjan, Kirk, Ogungbo. Referee: Neil Hair (Cambridgeshire).

Photo: Matchday Images

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