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Ipswich Town 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday - Match Report
Saturday, 25th Sep 2021 17:09

Sheffield Wednesday keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell gifted the Blues a last-gasp leveller as Town and the Owls drew 1-1 at Portman Road. Dennis Adeniran gave the visitors the lead in the 26th minute and the South Yorkshiremen looked set to claim all three points until the final minute when Macauley Bonne hid behind Peacock-Farrell, stole the ball off him and Conor Chaplin netted his first goal for the Blues.

Idris El Mizouni was handed his first league start of the season as skipper Lee Evans missed out, manager Paul Cook having said a mystery member of last week’s team had picked up a knock at his pre-match press conference in addition to left-back Hayden Coulson.

Academy product El Mizouni joined Tom Carroll in the centre of midfield with Rekeem Harper on the bench.

In Evans’s absence, striker Macauley Bonne wore the captain’s armband for his hometown club for the first time.

Former Owl Matt Penney came in for the injured Coulson at left-back with Town otherwise unchanged from last week’s 1-0 win at Lincoln.

Vaclav Hladky continued in goal with Christian Walton, who has an adductor problem, again missing from the 18, along with winger Kyle Edwards.

For Wednesday, Marvin Johnson and Lewis Wing came into the side for Jack Hunt and Chey Dunkley, who dropped to the bench. Ex-Blues loanee Dominic Iorfa started at the centre of the Owls defence.

Ahead of kick-off, Town took a knee, with the exception of Celina, to applause from the Portman Road crowd.

Bonne should have scored his sixth goal of his loan spell in only the third minute when he was played in behind the Wednesday backline by Carroll with the Owls appealing for offside but with no flag forthcoming. The stand-in Blues skipper had only keeper Peacock-Farrell to beat but having taken plenty of time over the opportunity, shot into the on-loan Burnley man’s midriff.

Town were on top in the early stages and in the ninth minute Scott Fraser sent Wes Burns away down the right and the Welshman sent a low cross-shot beyond Peacock-Farrell’s right post.

On 15, with Wednesday having given the ball away cheaply whenever venturing into the Town half, Burns headed a Fraser free-kick from the left into Peacock-Farrell’s arms at the far post.

The Blues thought they’d gone in front in the 19th minute when Burns found the net from close range but with the linesman’s flag raised. Fraser had crossed from the left after El Mizouni had found Bonne with a clever first-time pass out to the left.

Wednesday, who had seen a lot of the ball but without doing anything with it, began to come more into the game as an attacking threat and on 26 struck their first shot, a low Lee Gregory effort from the edge of the area, after Penney had slipped, which Hladky claimed with little fanfare.


The Owls kept the Blues pinned back in their half and a minute later they went in front. After Town had repeatedly failed to clear, Gregory knocked down to Adeniran, who looped a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner beyond Hladky.

The visitors continued to see most of the ball following the goal but in the 35th minute the Blues threatened through Bonne, who received a pass from Carroll and cut inside Sam Hutchinson just outside the area and was felled, however, referee Andy Davies inexplicably allowed play to continue.

Wednesday immediately broke up the other end and goalscorer Adeniran might have scored his second of the afternoon but shot over from just outside the box when he will feel he ought to at least have hit the target.

On 38, with a subsequent free-kick having gone against the Blues in the Wednesday half and with the crowd making no secret of their opinion of the officiating, referee Davies went over to the touchline to have words with Town manager Paul Cook, who had presumably said something untoward to the fourth official.

Two minutes later, Carroll headed wide from outside the area after a corner from the right - won after a Burns cross had been deflected behind - had been half-cleared.

As half-time approached, Town were very much on top again and on 43 El Mizouni curled over from just outside the box to the right after good work from Celina and Burns.

A handful of boos were drowned out by applause at the break with the Blues not deserving to go in behind.

Other than a short spell in the middle of the half in which Wednesday scored, Town had been on top and looking the most likely scorers.

Bonne will have rued his early miss and Town ought to have made their time on top tell before they were again made to pay for less than impressive defending.

Ex-Owl Penney worked an opening on the left with Celina two minutes after the restart but his cross flew over the bar and out.

On 50 Celina played a clever reverse ball for Burns to chase into the left of the area. The former Fleetwood man cut back to Fraser but the Scot was unable to get in a shot.

Three minutes later, Burns tried to burst past Johnson but unlike in most of his previous Town matches was up against a full-back similarly blessed for pace and the Welshman was hustled off the ball. A foul claimed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand but more in hope than expectation.

In the 57th minute Burgess played a loose pass which allowed Gregory a run at goal from just inside the Town half but the Blues defender got back to rectify his error.

The Owls claimed a penalty in the 61st minute when Liam Palmer went to ground as he took the ball past Penney on the right of the area. Neither referee Davies nor his linesman reacted and the Town defender had appeared to pull out of his challenge before the Wednesday man fell.

The South Yorkshiremen lost key midfield man Barry Bannan to a knock in the 66th minute, the Scottish international’s treatment and replacement taking an age as the visitors sought to waste time. Callum Paterson took over.

In the 68th minute, a mix-up in the Wednesday defence presented the ball to Bonne on the left of the area but his well-struck shot failed to test Peacock-Farrell. A minute later, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru replaced Olamide Shodipo for the Owls.

Town had been on top for most of the half but without creating much in the way of chances with the tempo having dropped and Portman Road somewhat flatter than earlier in the afternoon.

It was no surprise when manager Cook made a double change in the 75th minute, swapping Celina and Burns for Harper and Conor Chaplin.

The substitutions seemed to give the Blues renewed impetus and on 77 Fraser found Bonne in space on the right of the box but his effort at goal was diverted behind by Hutchinson. Following the resultant corner, Penney crossed from the left and Burgess nodded wide.

El Mizouni was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Johnson in the 79th minute and while the Wednesday man was undergoing treatment was replaced by Joe Pigott to applause from the home support having put in a decent display.

Penney blazed high and wide after a clearance came out to him on the left in the 83rd minute with the Blues not looking particularly like getting back into the game. At the other end, Paterson shot wide before Chey Dunkley took over from Saido Berahino for the Owls.

It was looking like it would be a second home defeat in a row for the Blues until the final scheduled minute when Wednesday gifted Town an equaliser.

Bonne hid behind Peacock-Farrell as he prepared to kick the ball clear, then stole it from the keeper after he had dropped it. The striker showed great composure to keep it away from Peacock-Farrell and find Fraser, who in turn cut across the area to Chaplin, who tapped home his first goal for the club from close range. Town celebrated as Peacock-Farrell hid is face in his hands.

The goal gave Town renewed momentum and they might have scored a second deep in injury time when Harper brought the ball forward but shot weakly to the keeper when he ought to have played a pass to Bonne in space to his right, much to his skipper’s frustration.

Moments later, Fraser was booked for a foul on Palmer before the whistle confirmed that the points were shared.

Having been been unfortunate to be behind at the break, the Blues saw a lot of the ball in the second without laying a glove on the visitors. But for Bonne’s cunning and guile and Peacock-Farrell being unaware of the Town striker, it’s difficult to see where the equaliser might have come from.

But come it did and the draw sees the Blues, who are still to win consecutive games under manager Cook, drop only one place to 21st with bottom club Doncaster at Portman Road on Tuesday.

Town: Hladky, Donacien, Edmundson, Burgess, Penney, Carroll, El Mizouni (Pigott 81), Burns (Chaplin 75), Celina (Harper 75), Fraser, Bonne (c). Unused: Holy, Woolfenden, Vincent-Young, Aluko.

Sheffield Wednesday: Peacock-Farrell, Palmer, Hutchinson, Iorfa, Shodipo (Dele-Bashiru 69), Adeniran, Gregory, Bannan (c) (Paterson 66), Johnson, Berahino (Dunkley 85), Wing. Unused: Wildsmith, Brown, Hunt, Sow. Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire). Att: 21,338 (Wednesday: 1,896).


Photo: Matchday Images



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midastouch added 17:12 - Sep 25
Was hoping for more today. At least we managed to salvage a point from the game but overall still not good enough.
We badly need a win Tuesday night as we're still down the wrong end of the table.
7

TimmyH added 17:13 - Sep 25
Sadly 2 clubs that have seen better days!...possibly should have been leading before they scored though a late equaliser does little to help build the confidence before any home game that we will break our home duck, which frankly is embarrassing in this league.

Hopefuls like El Mizouni and surprisingly Celina contributed very little today.
4

Texastom added 17:13 - Sep 25
Not good enough, simple. Why can't the players get up for these games. Striker as Captain says it all. Too many bad decisions. Cook still to convince me. Coaching? Long way to go yet.
12

TractorBeezer added 17:15 - Sep 25
Have we gelled yet?
2

confederateblue added 17:20 - Sep 25
Fantastic comeback from the lads and it's clear Lord Cookie has instilled his trademark ‘fighting spirit' into the team.

I'm confident gelling has now taken place and am also sure we can push on and achieve a mid table finish
-2

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 17:22 - Sep 25
Disappointing today. Not much threat from our much vaunted attack that is supposed to be the envy of League 1. Didn't deserve to lose, but hardly deserved to win either. At least the defence is reasonably sound, a couple of howlers excepted that luckily didn't produce a goal for Wednesday. Not impressed with the ref either. Hoping for better things soon.
8

yorkieblue62 added 17:23 - Sep 25
Why leave firepower like Pigot on bench for so long & Norwood not even in squad.? Still playing one up front & goals just not coming enough from midfield.
8

tractorboybig added 17:24 - Sep 25
Is cook the worst manager we have ever had?
-7

martin587 added 17:26 - Sep 25
Well done for getting the draw.A game we didn't deserve to loose but nevertheless still way below what we should be doing.Not much else to add apart from a win on Tuesday night still a good drive back to Southend.
6

DaGremloid added 17:28 - Sep 25
Confederateblue - for a second I thought you were being serious with your 'fantastic comeback' and Lord Cookie' comment!!!
8

TimmyH added 17:28 - Sep 25
At this level, yes @tractorboybig...10th game coming up against Doncaster and no doubt a few assessments will be carried out by a number on here particularly if we fail to win at home again.
4

DaGremloid added 17:32 - Sep 25
Well we're back in the relegation zone after last week's false alarm. And all the time the teams at the top are disappearing into the distance.
6

Eddie1985 added 17:32 - Sep 25
I can't believe these players have become useless overnight magically as they sign for us, they just are selected and managed by an idiot with a poor backroom team
6

Drifter3012 added 17:36 - Sep 25
Glad we got a point and in reality we deserved it. Good work from Bonne for the equaliser, the lad deserves it for his hard work.
Cook still making bizarre decisions, Mizouni instead of Harper, didn't see that coming.
Bonne as captain? Surely Donacien would have been a better choice.
Hopefully the lads will take this performance and build on it Tuesday.
4

legoman added 17:44 - Sep 25
No midfield on show today. Morsy and Harper on from the start Tuesday. We did not deserve a draw as Sheff were superior but I am grateful for it. Onwards and upwards.
1

ThaiBlue added 17:46 - Sep 25
That was total dross,2 centre backs aint got a clue together all over the place.the rest were not much better donacien,bonne,and the keeper did ok.lucky for us there keeper had a bad moment.think your under pressure now cook to get this bunch of individuals playing as a team.
6

richardpaul added 17:47 - Sep 25
A search was made for some new ingredients and we were told that we had some real quality stuff with which we could bake a pie and win the ultimate prize
this was given to our Cook who proceeded to make a right porridge If the ingredients are right do we need to change the cook to make the pie to win the prize
4

ringwoodblue added 17:48 - Sep 25
A draw against the Owls is not a bad result in theory but we could and should have won today against a very average side.

Cook should not have made Bonne captain as the added pressure took his focus away from scoring goals. Why not give the captains armband to Burns?

Let's hope for a convincing win against Donny otherwise the natives will be getting restless

2

algarvefan added 17:49 - Sep 25
I'm convinced after watching todays game that we would be better switching to a much simpler system like 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, when the players have got used to each other then if you have to, switch to Cooks preferred system. Too many shirt carriers and players hiding today, no real positives but we have to keep searching for the right balance. It will come but it will also continue to be painful for a while!!! Onwards and upwards!
2

therein61 added 17:50 - Sep 25
Be positive and patient Rome was not built in a day(although the usual pessimists are on the bandwagon already bringing the club down are you really town fans?)9 games in 37 to go we have the infrastructure in place behind the scenes and all will come good on the park, while i agree 3 points v Doncaster is needed to move us up the table we have the players in the building to do this getting on their backs will not be doing any good the canary trolls on here should concentrate on their own levels of performance as the yo yo club are being found out yet again.
-6

BromleyBloo added 17:55 - Sep 25
So still a lot of work to do and still strange decisions by Cook, certainly contributing to lack of continuity in selection regardless of injuries and don't think we're playing to Fraser's strengths - has to be more central for me and wasn't Celina previously a winger first and foremost?!?

Seems we played like a team of strangers again and were lucky to get a last gasp point - Owls not good, but better than we were by the sounds of things. We didn't lose, so onward and upward 🙏but we seriously need to improve quickly and get 3 points on Tues!!!

COYB…………………..
6

herfie added 17:57 - Sep 25
Grateful for the late - albeit fortuitous - point. But, for me, more to be concerned about than to be positive about. Not sure whether it's the players, or the manager/coaching staff; but today's performance was probably somewhere between Mick Mills' somewhat critical, downbeat, summary, and PC's clearly OTT post match comments. Lots more work required.
6

OzzyBlue added 18:03 - Sep 25
So much better from the boys today. Leaps and bounds beyond the Bolton game and Wednesday never worried me going forwards. Burgess and Edward's looking much stronger, Hladky more vocal than his usual self. Definitely lacking in the ball to the final third. Would have liked to see the subs earlier from the Cookie Monster, and think Edward's should have been brought on. Burns seemed to be hesitant to get the width and chalk on his boots.

All said, progress is being made. Back the boys, back the town and the points will follow. Anything ca happen in this league. UP THE TOWN!
-1

Bert added 18:06 - Sep 25
I don't know what Mick Mills had for lunch but the game I saw today was very different from his almost churlish summary. The back line was decent particularly the centre backs. We still lack a strong midfield but I thought it was a decent game at this level. Why Burns was taken off remains a mystery. Celina was quiet. Ok,we wanted and needed three points but in the context of the game a point was a fair reflection even if we were gifted it.
-3

Billysherlockblue added 18:07 - Sep 25
To be honest with my feelings after watching this game. Some of our players were crap today... were hiding and not up for a good ol scrap. Frazer to name but one. Celina aswell. This 4231 system is crap with the players on the pitch today... attacking full backs? 4231 u must have attacking full backs?? So what the hell is cook at? Our two holding midfielders crap going backwards all day and were at HOME. Piggott on the bench we're roaring for 442 or 433. I said id give cook to xmas but our tactics were shocking. He turned to roberts a couple of times and piggott comes on with 9 mins to go cooks tactics are crap... look at wigan now? Top! Does this ever stop and what is wrong with our player we cant win at home. Where is our drive and passion. ?? Sheffield were poor but tried hard our boys??? So to recap is cook good enough?
6


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