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Morecambe 1-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Saturday, 8th Oct 2022 17:03

Lee Evans netted the second of two Blues penalties as Town came from behind to beat bottom club Morecambe 2-1 at the Mazuma Stadium. Kieran Phillips gave the home side the lead in the 34th minute with the Blues under par in the first half. But, after Town had hit the woodwork three times, George Edmundson equalised in the 54th minute, before Conor Chaplin saw Town’s first penalty in nine months saved, however, Evans converted a second 10 minutes later to seal the three points.

Town boss Kieran McKenna made five changes from the team which beat Cambridge 3-0 on Tuesday.

Richard Keogh came in for his first league start for the Blues at the centre of the back three with Luke Woolfenden dropping out for only the second time in the league since McKenna took charge in December.

Wes Burns was also among the subs with Kyle Edwards handed his first league start of the season having scored twice against the U’s.

Lee Evans rejoined skipper Sam Morsy in the centre of midfield with Dom Ball absent from the 18. Young midfielder Cameron Humphreys was on the bench for the first time in the league this season.

Tyreece John-Jules, who also scored against Cambridge, was one of the number 10s with Kayden Jackson the lone central striker with Marcus Harness and Freddie Ladapo subs.

For Morecambe, who were without eight senior players, ex-Blues winger Dylan Connolly started and former midfielder Shane McLoughlin was among only five subs.

Ahead of kick-off there was a minute's applause in memory of Morecambe life vice-president Val Easthope, who died last week.

Town saw all the ball in the early stages but without creating a chance until the sixth minute when Evans hit a free-kick from 30 yards into the arms of home keeper Connor Ripley, son of one-time England international Stuart.

Morecambe started to show some threat going forward and on 17 George Edmundson blocked Liam Shaw’s shot after good work from Cole Stockton.

A minute later, John-Jules claimed a penalty after being manhandled in the box by Ousmane Fane but referee Thomas Kirk wasn’t interested.

Town were finding it tough to work their way through a determined Morecambe back five, as they did in last year’s corresponding fixture in February, and were showing little of their usual passing fluency.

On 23 Fane clattered into Chaplin after the forward had already laid off the ball not far from the Town dugout with Blues boss McKenna clearly furious with the challenge. Fane was shown the game’s first yellow card and Chaplin was OK to continue.

On the half-hour, Chaplin threaded Jackson through on goal but the linesman raised his flag, although with Liam Gibson appearing to be playing the Town striker on.

In the 32nd minute, Edwards deftly took down a ball played to him on the right before cutting inside Ryan Delaney, who spent time training with the Blues at their pre-season training camp in Ireland in 2016, who tripped him and was booked as a result.


A minute later, a poor Christian Walton kick landed at Connolly’s feet and the winger brought the ball forward before being tripped midway inside the Town half by Morsy.

And from the resultant free-kick, the Shrimps went in front. Morecambe skipper Donald Love’s chipped free-kick was hooked on by Shaw and Kieran Phillips finished from close range from what looked an offside position. Despite Town protests, no flag was forthcoming and the Blues were behind.

With Town huffing and puffing, manager McKenna swapped things around, moving Edwards to the left, Jackson to the right and John-Jules to the central striking role.

And two minutes before the scheduled end of the half, the Blues almost levelled. After Edwards had stood up a cross from the left and the ball had been half-cleared, Evans struck a shot which left Ripley standing but hit the keeper’s left post. The rebound fell to Jackson but his shot flew well over.

As the half moved into additional time, Chaplin hit a low effort wide, then at the other end Love shot high and wide from distance.

Despite having most of the ball, Town had been disappointing with the performance lacking fluency and, with Morecambe constantly snapping at their heels, they had rarely created a serious chance until Evans struck the post in the closing stages of the half.

As in last season’s game, the Blues were made to pay for failing to defend Morecambe’s one decent opportunity, although again Town looked to be on the wrong end of a poor decision with Shaw appearing to have been offside.

Town were unchanged ahead of the second half and almost levelled within a minute. Morsy brought the ball out from deep as the Blues broke following a Morecambe attack and fed Edwards to the left. The former West Brom man curled a shot beyond Ripley but hit the post.

Town struck the woodwork for a third time in the 48th minute. Chaplin crossed from the right and Love headed against his own bar, Ripley gratefully grabbing hold of the loose ball.

The Blues put the Morecambe goal under siege in the early stages, Evans forcing Ripley to a save down to his left, then Morsy striking a subsequent effort which failed to seriously test the keeper.

Town won their first corner of the afternoon in the 54th minute from which they got back on terms.

Davis sent the ball over and Edmundson, who earlier in the week had been jokingly complaining about his shooting rating on FIFA 23, turned the ball into the net under Ripley.

The goal had been coming with Town much more like their usual selves since half-time and with Morecambe having ridden their luck with the three opportunities hitting the woodwork.

Four minutes after levelling, the Blues should have gone in front. Edwards tricked his way past Farrend Rawson, who tripped him in the box. Referee Thomas Kirk pointed straight to the spot with no complaints from the home side.

Chaplin, who converted the only other penalty the Blues had been awarded under McKenna, at Gillingham in his second game in charge in January 36 games ago, took the kick but didn’t get enough on it and Ripley saved down to his left.

Soon after, Morecambe had the ball in the net through Town old boy Connolly but having strayed offside, then in the 62nd minute Jacob Bedeau was booked for pulling back Edwards as he burst forward in the Shrimps half.

Six minutes after being awarded their first penalty since January, the Blues were given another when Jackson was felled by Bedeau, who was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card, as he broke into the right of the box.

This time Evans took the kick and slammed a powerful effort to Ripley’s right and into the net.

Having gone in front, Town made a double change which was already planned prior to the second goal with Harness and Burns replacing Chaplin and Jackson.

Evans was booked for a foul on 71, Walton seeing the free-kick behind confidently. Two minutes later, Davis curled a free-kick over after Burns had been fouled by Rawson, who had his name added to referee Kirk’s book.

Town weren’t having it all their own way and on 76 Morecambe came close to equalising when Stockton outmuscled Janoi Donacien inside the box before knocking it back across Walton but beyond the post as the keeper scampered across his line. Moments later, the Blues swapped Ladapo for John-Jules and Kane Vincent-Young for Davis.

On 82 Burns crossed low from the byline on the right and the ball reached Edwards but squirmed under the winger’s foot. A minute later, Ladapo was played in on the right of the area but shot over.

Morecambe made their first changes in the 86th minute with Connolly and Fane replaced by Adam Mayor and Ryan Cooney, then Stockton was booked for clattering into Evans after the Town midfielder had cleared in front of him inside the area. The Welshman underwent a lengthy spell of treatment before continuing.

Morecambe gave Town an uncomfortable six minutes of additional time with the ball bouncing around dangerously following a free-kick but the Blues were able to see the time out to claim three hard-fought points.

As so often last season, the Blues dominated possession but without making much headway in the first half, but after McKenna made his switch just before half-time his side began to threaten more with Evans unlucky when he hit the post.

Edwards was similarly unfortunate not to net his third goal in two games when he hit the woodwork and Town fully deserved their equaliser when it came.

Chaplin’s uncharacteristic penalty miss didn’t knock Town too far off their stride and Evans confidently converted the second spot-kick.

There were still one or two nervy moments against a resolute Morecambe side who were far from a soft touch and will almost certainly take points off some of the top teams this season if they play in a similar manner.

The victory sees the Blues stay second a point behind Plymouth, who beat Accrington 3-0 at home, with Sheffield Wednesday, who defeated Cheltenham by the same scoreline at Hillsborough, four points behind in third.

Morecambe: Ripley, Love (c), Gibson, Rawson, Delaney, Fane (Cooney 86), Stockton, Connolly (Mayor 86), Bedeau, Shaw, Phillips. Unused: Smith, McLoughlin, O’Connor.

Town: Walton, Donacien, Keogh, Edmundson, Edwards, Evans, Morsy (c), Davis (Vincent-Young 76), Chaplin (Harness 67), John-Jules (Ladapo 76), Jackson (Burns 67). Unused: Hladky, Woolfenden, Humphreys. Referee: Thomas Kirk (Cheshire). Att: 4,776 (Town: 1,064).


Photo: Pagepix



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ImAbeliever added 17:04 - Oct 8
Whoops
-1

Miaow added 17:05 - Oct 8
Ipswich win, Norwich lose.

Good stuff. 👍
24

jayceee added 17:08 - Oct 8
Was not pretty, and seemed a bit risky with 5 changes - but we got max points and 5 mostly rested players for next match! 1st 10-15 mins of 2nd half was relentless and we could / should have made it easier. 1st half - am not going to think about too much...
8

martin587 added 17:14 - Oct 8
Not at our best today but it's NINE points from our last three games which is good enough for me.Nothing more to add.A very happy long drive home.
17

grow_our_own added 17:16 - Oct 8
Yes hard work, but just about deserved. Morecambe's disallowed goal was def onside, but we hit the woodwork three times, bossed posession, and chances. Were much better after JJ went up top
9

ipswichboi added 17:17 - Oct 8
Potential banana skin averted.
18

SuffPunch added 17:17 - Oct 8
Great three points. A game of two different halves. Overall I felt we deserved the victory.
We seem to be finding a way of beating teams who for the last few years would have turned us over. I thought the selection of Keogh a masterstroke. He was the voice that allowed Edmundson have his best game for ages.
18

Len_Brennan added 17:17 - Oct 8
Important result & great resilience to come from behind to win despite missing penalty.
We have dropped points after losing to the current leaders & drawing with 3 others in the top 6; otherwise we have won all the games against the teams that a top side would be expected to beat; that's promotion form.
16

chopra777 added 17:18 - Oct 8
A game of two halves. You were not on your game. For the challenges ahead you have to wake up. Glad we got three points plus bonuses from the chasing pack losing points. Peterbourgh, Bolton, Portsmouth and Barnsley. The tactics were right against Cambridge. Changing a winning team is not good. It is better to be boring in team selection than to experiment. Well done Lincoln next to overcome.
-12

Rimsy added 17:22 - Oct 8
Not pretty but job done. A couple of things to take from the game. Don't mess with the defence, upsets the whole structure of the team, we've been a solid unit so leave as is. Secondly, Jackson not good enough for this team.
-11

warwickblue added 17:24 - Oct 8
Perhaps to be expected that we'd take a little while to get into our stride, with half the outfield changed from the last game. But a much more positive second half. I'm relieved that Morecambe largely resisted their keeper's instruction to kick us off the park, although half their team ended up with a yellow. A hard-fought victory but these are the ones we have to win. Well done to all.
7

Nobbysnuts added 17:25 - Oct 8
Good win in the end but two many changes today and it showed in the first half.....we really need to keep a winning side.i will say that playing keogh today was a masterstroke. I think possibly wolfenden would of got very uncomfortable today so we'll done km on that change but some of the other changes were questionable to say the least.
0

yorkieblue62 added 17:27 - Oct 8
Know its a cliche but there are no easy games despite what the table says. You have to earn all the points & that is what Town are doing at the moment. Again an improvement on last season & racking up a healthy points balance... only 33 matches to go!!
15

Suffolkboy added 17:29 - Oct 8
Imagine KM will not concentrate on a missed penalty ( should not occur but will rightly emphasise the resilience ITFC are continuing to develop .
Something definitely went astray in the first half ,when our positivity and aggression evaporated , but wise words of guidance seem to have set things back on course.
Missing penalties is uncomfortable ! *and CC wil be feeling uncomfortable, but so he should for we need and expect our well paid professionals to be near technically perfect – or was it an unreported tremendous save ?
Never mind – again ITFC pulled a rabbit from the hat to see us maintaining postion and looking onward and upwards ! Very well done all, we cannot expect total perfection but you're producing and maintains a high sense of responsibility and enthusing many around the country !
COYB
2

blueboy1981 added 17:33 - Oct 8
At the moment it is working JUST !!
But, May 23 will tell if rotating and changing a Winning Team will work in Division 3 over the course of a full season.
Personally, I do not like it enough to suggest it is right - it's playing Premiership stuff, at a much lower level.
But KM should know far better than I - granted.
Let's enjoy another Win - and we'll see.
No substitute for a settled Winning Team who understand each others game in my book - i.e a certain Sir Bobby Robson era … !!! - and that DID the Business, let's hope KM can prove likewise his method works …. !!!
2

siebdykstra1 added 17:36 - Oct 8
It's pretty simple. We have squad depth, got to rest a few against a team we should be beating at half time. Bring on quality players when the oppo are tiring, and have only five on the bench. Look at the scum whenever they've got promoted, late goals. That's us this season. Plymouth will get tired in January, it'll be us and Sheff Wed come May.
7

TimmyH added 17:41 - Oct 8
Well we dug ourselves out of that hole after the worst half of football we've played this season...although some questionable changes going into the game some stepped up in an early second half spell of pressure, this is the sort of resilience we need to show if we're to get out of this league which we haven't showed in previous seasons!

Well done all...
10

jas0999 added 17:45 - Oct 8
The type of game where any win will do. Three points, away win and the sort of game teams who get promoted tend to win. Great stuff. Well done all.
13

TractorBeezer added 17:55 - Oct 8
Resiliant second half plus a fair ref (again). Not pretty though.
Well done to the travelling support.
4

Dissboyitfc added 18:01 - Oct 8
We found away to win, massively important to win these types of encounter. Painful to listen to though!

Its all about stats and the most important one is we scored more! Long way to go but daylight starting to appear between us and the chasing pack, whilst it may mean nothing, it sure is nice to see.

And with Norwich losing, nice saturday evening coming up!!
11

johnwarksshorts added 18:05 - Oct 8
I don't understand some who query KMck rotations, it's going to be a long season so every squad member has to be on it, and to be on it you need game time. He changed players today and we won, end of.
15

Linkboy13 added 18:19 - Oct 8
Second in the league but still plenty of advice for McKenna on here what a joke
9

Nomore4 added 18:33 - Oct 8
Yes linkboy on a comments and opinion platform too…
-3

Cadiar added 18:44 - Oct 8
We've just taken 9 points from 9 & the negative cockwombles like Rimsky-Korsakov are still whinging. The great football brains complaining about the changes obviously need to tell KM where he's going wrong.
We don't rotate for the sake of it, from what KM has said he picks the team as he sees fit for the opposition plus today it turns out Ball has a gash.
A good win as far as I'm concerned & great results in other games. There is a feeling of togetherness not just in the squad but about the whole club & this is reflected in the town. Of course there always exceptions & they usually express their negative views here so just do one or join the rest of us & get behind the team & manager.
4

ringwoodblue added 18:49 - Oct 8
Well, that was a crazy game, wasn't it? We go a goal down, we hit the woodwork three times, got awarded two penalties and score from a corner. This is not the Town way!

I'm glad their bully boy tactics didn't pay off and we came away with the 3 points but we all have a few more grey hairs in the process.
10


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