| Ipswich Town 1 v 1 Watford EFL Championship Tuesday, 4th November 2025 Kick-off 19:45 |  |
Ipswich Town 1-1 Watford - Match Report Tuesday, 4th Nov 2025 21:52 Town spurned a succession of second-half chances as they drew 1-1 with Watford at Portman Road. Imran Louza gave the Hornets the lead in the 16th minute but the Blues hit back through Jaden Philogene five minutes later. While chances had been few and far between in the first half, Town had plenty in a second period they dominated but failed to find what would have been a deserved winner. Jaden Philogene’s sixth goal of the season equalised Imran Louza’s opener for Watford, leaving the scoreline 1-1 between the Blues and Hornets at half-time at Portman Road. Town made three changes from the team which won 4-1 at QPR on Saturday with Leif Davis missing having suffered a hamstring problem at Loftus Road. Ben Johnson came into the team at left-back with Jens Cajuste returning to the midfield and Chuba Akpom starting as the number 10 with Jack Taylor and Marcelino Nunez dropping to the bench. George Hirst was OK to start despite coming off with a hamstring problem at the weekend, while Ivan Azon was back among the subs having been absent due to a muscle issue at Loftus Road. Watford made three changes from the team which beat Middlesbrough 3-0 on Saturday with Tom Ince, Vivaldo Semedo and the previously suspended James Abankwah returning to the team. Rocco Vata missed out with a hamstring injury, while Luca Kjerrumgaard moving to the bench and Kevin Keben was left out of the squad. Town won a corner in the 13th second which Egil Selvik claimed comfortably, then on four Philogene hit a 25-yard free-kick well over, Hirst having been fouled. The Blues continued to control the game and in the ninth minute Cajuste’s quick feet took him past two Watford players and towards the edge of the box to the right, from where the Sweden international struck a shot which swerved away from Selvik’s right post. However, it was the visitors who were to take the lead in the 16th minute. Marc Bola exchanged passes with Kwado Baah on the left, Sindre Walle Egeli failing to follow his the left-back, who sent over a low cross which Dara O’Shea, making his 50th appearance for the Blues, could only divert to Hornets skipper Imran Louza just beyond the penalty spot from where he hit the net, his fourth goal in four games. There were muted groans around Portman Road following the goal but the home fans quickly got back onside and on 19 Walle Egeli crossed from the right and Hirst headed over at the far post. And the Town support didn’t have to wait too long for an equaliser. Five minutes after the Watford goal, Cedric Kipre threaded a superb pass inside Jeremy Ngakia for Philogene breaking from the other side of the right-back and the wideman confidently took it on into the area before shooting across Selvik and into the net. Portman Road delightedly celebrated Philogene’s sixth goal of the season, all of which have come at Portman Road. Town were unable to push on and create further opportunities having levelled and Watford were the next to threaten, Ince hitting a shot from the edge of the box after a 36th-minute corner had been half-cleared and O’Shea making a vital block. A minute later, Cajuste just reached the ball at the byline on the right after a well-worked move and crossed for Hirst but the Scotland international’s header was blocked. On 42, after Azor Matusiwa had been sent flying by Ngakia, who was fortunate to escape a booking, Johnson wafted a free-kick in from the left and an unmarked Kipre headed back across goal and off the outside of the post. However, it wouldn’t have counted had it gone in with the linesman’s flag raised. Moments after the fourth official indicated three additional minutes, Baah was shown the game’s first yellow card for jumping into Darnell Furlong as the Town defender sought to head a ball. The card led to a huge cheer from the North Stand with referee David Webb having previously been unduly lenient with a number of Watford players. Seconds before the whistle, Town were awarded a free-kick for offside, which was taken in the Watford half, Akpom just unable to get his head on the ball with penalty appeals from the stands but not the pitch. The Blues had largely been in control, Watford going in front via the sort of defence lapse which has led to most opposition goals this season. But Town showed few signs of a collapse along the lines of the one in the Charlton game having gone behind and quickly got back on top, Philogene finishing well from Kipre’s excellent pass. The Blues weren’t really able to force the issue from there, however, with few real chances in the latter stages - aside from Kipre’s offside header against the post - but while still in charge. Akpom struck the first shot after the restart, O’Shea and Walle Egeli doing well before the on-loan Ajax man cut in from the right and hit a powerful effort which Selvik batted away but with no Town player in position to profit from the loose ball. On 53, Philogene and Matusiwa had to separated by Cajuste on the edge of the Blues box, both clearly animated about an earlier incident. Other players joined in moving the two apart and referee Webb took no action. Within a minute, Hirst and Abankwah, who had had a few comings together earlier in the game, chased a ball down the middle, the Watford defender appearing to have the Town striker’s shirt in his hand. Referee Webb again gave the decision against the Blues and soon after booked the Scotland international for a foul on the Irish U21 international. Referee Webb now seemed to have more a thirst for showing cards and as the game reached the hour mark cautioned Bola for a foul on Walle Egeli out on the right. The free-kick came to nothing with the Blues not having looked particularly dangerous aside from Akpom’s strike since the break. On 62, Mamadou Doumbia hit a shot from distance for the Hornets which Christian Walton, making his 100th start for the club, allowed to sail over his bar. A minute later, Philogene laid the ball into Kipre’s path on the edge of the box but the central defender screwed his shot out for a throw on the far side. Town made their first changes on 64, Hirst, Philogene, Cajuste making way for Azon, Jack Clarke, making his 50th appearance for the Blues, and Taylor. The Blues quickly began to look more of a threat, Taylor hitting a shot from the edge of the area which deflected through to Selvik. On 69, the already booked Baah sent Furlong flying out on the Town right, prompting referee Webb to award a free-kick but not show the second yellow card the North Stand was baying for. They appeared to have a strong case. The Blues’ subs had reinvigorated the second-half performance with Watford struggling to get out of their final third. The Hornets made their first changes in the 72nd minute, the fortunate Baah, Ince and Semedo making way for Edo Kayembe, Othmane Maamma and Luca Kjerrumgaard. The game was becoming increasingly open and end-to-end, Kjerrumgaard briefly getting away on the left before O’Shea got back to cover In the 77th minute, Maamma got away down the right with Johnson tiring but his cross was cut out by Kipre. Within a minute, Clarke tricked his way into the area on the left and Azon flicked his low cross towards goal but without any power and Selvik saved with ease. Town should have taken the lead in the 79th minute when Walle Egeli cross from the right to Azon but the Spaniard’s header from six yards into the ground bounced beyond the far post when it had seemed easier to score. The Blues then made their final changes, swapping the exhausted Johnson for Jacob Greaves and Akpom for Nunez. Town continued to push and in the 82nd minute Clarke played in Azon on the left of the area, the on-loan Como man cutting inside his defender, then laying off to Taylor, who smashed over when he should have hit the target. Watford switched Doumbia for Nestory Irankunda. Azon again went close to his first Blues goal in the 87th minute, Clarke crossing from the left and the Spanish frontman heading towards goal but Selvik somehow managing to claw it away and a defender hooking it away ahead of a number of waiting Town players. The Blues spurned yet another chance to win it in the 89th minute, O’Shea nodding a Clarke corner back across goal and Nunez blazing wide when again it looked a simpler matter to hit the target. Ahead of seven additional minutes, Watford replaced Hector Kyprianou with Moussa Sissoko. Town kept pushing in injury time but without being able to test Selvik again and the Blues had to settle for a point. Without a doubt it was a case of two points dropped with the Blues very dominant in the second half and having more than enough opportunities to score a second goal, Kipre, Taylor, Nunez and Azon, who is still waiting to open his Town account, failing to take very good opportunities. Watford defended resolutely throughout with Walton never called into action to make a serious save and will be pleased with only their third away point of the season, while also feeling they were fortunate not to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men, Baah having inexplicably escaped without a second yellow card. Overall, a frustrating night but the Blues dominated a side which beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at the weekend. Town, who drop a place to 10th, are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Swansea City, who are at Preston tomorrow evening. Town: Walton, Furlong, O’Shea (c), Kipre, Johnson (Greaves 79), Matusiwa, Cajuste (Taylor 64), Walle Egeli, Akpom (Nunez 79), Philogene (J Clarke 64), Hirst (Azon 64). Unused: Button, Young, Humphreys, McAteer. Watford: Selvik, Ngakia, Kyprianou, Pollock, Ince (Maamma 72), Louza (c), Bola, Semedo (Kjerrumgaard 72), Doumbia (Irankunda 83), Abankwah, Baah (Kayembe 72). Unused: Baxter, Alleyne, Sissoko, Morris, Petris. Referee: David Webb (Lancashire). Att: 27,184.
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