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Ipswich Town 1-0 Plymouth Argyle - Match Report
Saturday, 13th Mar 2021 16:59

Troy Parrott’s first senior goal saw Paul Cook to his first win as Blues boss as Town defeated Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Portman Road. The on-loan Tottenham striker seized on a poor Adam Lewis backpass in the fourth minute to grab the game's only goal with the three points seeing Town up into the final play-off place.

Parrott, Kayden Jackson and Alan Judge returned to the Blues’ starting line-up with James Norwood missing from the 18 and Jack Lankester and Teddy Bishop dropping to the bench.

Jackson, who was making his first start under Paul Cook, started as the lone striker in place of Norwood with Parrott behind him, while Judge was on the left.

Veteran midfielder Cole Skuse was back in the 18 for the first time this season following knee surgery.

Plymouth made one change with Lewis coming into the side for 18-goal top scorer Luke Jephcott, who was on the bench following an eight-game goalless streak, with Niall Ennis playing as a lone frontman. Former Blues loanee Conor Grant started for the visitors.

The game got under way with hail falling heavily and the wind blowing strongly. Within a minute Pilgrims keeper Mike Cooper saw a clearance which would probably normally have reached halfway stop and then drop midway inside his team’s half with Jackson securing possession before being fouled 25 yards out.

Judge took the free-kick and hit a well-struck and wind-assisted effort which Cooper did well to claw behind for a corner to his left.

But the Blues only had to wait until the fourth minute to go in front via Parrott’s first goal in senior football. The on-loan Tottenham man reacted quickly to intercept an awful Lewis backpass across his area from left-back towards Cooper and took it wide of the keeper before slotting home prior to a punch of the air which looked as much relief at finally finding the net as it was celebration.

Jackson did well to break away down the right on seven but Parrott’s effort from his cutback was blocked.

The Blues’ number nine should have made it 2-0 in the 10th minute when James Wilson played a deftly weighted ball over the top of the Plymouth backline beating their offside trap. However, Cooper was out quickly and blocked Jackson’s lobbed effort at goal.

Town had been completely dominant in the early stages with the conditions in their favour but playing confidently and at pace, while Plymouth had looked distinctly shaky and unsure of themselves.


The hail subsided as the game passed the quarter-hour mark, although the wind remained something of a factor, with Plymouth making it out of their own half more than had been the case earlier.

But the Blues were still seeing most of the ball, passing it around slickly and at a greater tempo than has been the case for much of the season.

As the half hour mark approached, the Pilgrims had a spell of possession which ended with Grant hitting a low shot wide.

But the Blues quickly regained control, seeing most of the ball and usually quickly winning it back when it had been lost. However, without creating clear-cut opportunities with too many crosses easy for Cooper.

On 34 Parrott hit a shot against Kellard Watts from inside the box following a strong run and through ball from Downes, who suffered a knock as he was doing so and following treatment on the pitch was replaced by Bishop.

Three minutes later, Lewis almost atoned for his earlier error when his cross from the left wasn’t too far away from Ennis.

The visitors thought they’d missed a golden chance to level in the 43rd minute when Lewis found Panutche Camara unmarked in the middle with another decent ball from the left. Camara smashed well wide when it looked easier to score and was probably relieved when he saw the linesman’s flag had been raised.

Town were well worth their lead at the break and should have been in front by more goals - Jackson will feel he ought to have taken his one-on-one opportunity - with Plymouth having looked there for the taking in the early stages as they struggled to adjust to the conditions and the Blues’ front-foot start.

However, later on the half, while Town had still seen a lot of the ball, the Pilgrims had come into it more and more and had looked dangerous in the final third with Lewis having sent in a couple of threatening crosses from the left.

Myles Kenlock struck the first shot of the second half, five minutes after the restart but his powerful effort from wide on the left flew high and wide.

Town should have doubled their lead in the 52nd minute when Dozzell sent Jackson away on the right and the striker cut the ball back for Judge, who blazed over. The Irishman will feel he definitely should have scored.

Plymouth were seeing most of the ball with Town’s main threat on the counter-attack. As the game reached the hour mark, Parrott sent Jackson away on the right and the striker held the ball up well as he waited for Judge and Bishop to break into the area, but as they arrived put his pass well in front of both his team-mates. A wasted opportunity.

Both sides made subs in the 64th minute, the Pilgrims swapping Ennis and Lewis for strike pair Ryan Hardie and Jephcott, while the Blues switched Parrott and Jackson for Skuse, making his first appearance since March 7th last year, and Drinan. Bishop moved into the number 10 role behind Drinan with Skuse joining Dozzell in the centre of the midfield.

Plymouth continued to take the game to Town and in the 71st minute Tomas Holy was forced into his first save of the game, Lewis Macleod hitting a well-struck shot from 30 yards straight into the Czech’s midriff.

In the 77th minute Drinan played a clever ball to Judge from the right to the left as the Blues broke. The midfielder took it to the edge of the box but his shot was blocked by Will Aimson.

There was a big scare for Town a minute later when Watts crossed from the left and Camara, who had caused the Blues’ defenders a few problems, rose highest but diverted his header just the wrong side of the far post.

Both sides made their second double substitutions of the game in the 82nd minute, Town withdrawing Judge and Edwards for Lankester and Keanan Bennetts, operating on the left and right respectively. Plymouth replaced Grant and Macleod with Ben Reeves and Byron Moore.

The Blues had regained control as the game entered its final few scheduled minutes, Drinan and Lankester exchanging passes in the area before the Irishman was dispossessed when one of them ought to have looked goalwards earlier.

In injury time, Bennetts was sent away on the left but his ball towards Bishop at the back post was, like so many of Town’s crosses, disappointing.

The second half had been a more even affair but with the Blues still having had chances to cement their victory with Judge in particular missing a golden opportunity.

Plymouth might have nabbed an equaliser via Camara’s late header but a draw would have been harsh on the Blues overall.

A first win for new boss Cook takes the Blues above Portsmouth, who they face at Fratton Park next Saturday, with Pompey in Papa John’s Trophy action today. The Blues travel to Fleetwood, who drew 0-0 at Blackpool today. on Tuesday evening.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Nsiala, Wilson, Kenlock, Downes (Bishop 37), Dozzell, Edwards (Lankester 82), Judge (Bennetts 82), Parrott (Skuse 64), Jackson (Drinan 64). Unused: Cornell, Ward.

Plymouth: Cooper, Watts, Aimson, Edwards (c), Mayor, Grant (Reeves 82), Macleod (Moore 82), Ennis (Hardie 64), Lewis (Jephcott 64), Opoku, Camara. Unused: McCormick, Fornah, Tomlinson. Referee: Sam Purkiss (London).


Photo: Matchday Images



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jas0999 added 17:02 - Mar 13
Great to win. Seemed in control, but should have scored more goals. That's certainly a concern moving forward, but overall good result and back in the play offs.
23

BromleyBloo added 17:03 - Mar 13
Yea we scored first and early, albeit a gift from Ply and after that they continued to give us possession and numerous chances to get another goal and put the match to bed. We dominated, as much as I can recall in a match this season, but in spite of this and Ply playing so poorly, again we couldn't finish. We should of been out of sight after 20 mins, but inevitably Ply improved and came back in to it, threatening through a number of crosses from the left. So frustrating - could've, should've been 3-0 up at half-time!!!

Started the second half brightly, but quickly lost our way again and then pretty even for the next 20 mins with no real chances for either side. Hardly any attacking presence although Judge woefully missed a sitter after a good break down the right by Jackson. Similarly Ply later missed a great chance to equalise. We hung on and saw it out, but at times painful to watch.

Downes and Dozzell started well, but along with the rest of the team lost their way. Lost count of how many times Kenlock gave the ball away and both centre halves went strangely AWOL at times. Drinan did well when he came on.

Not a great performance, especially as we should've won it and won it well in the first 20 mins. Still we got the three points and other results went our way so COYB!!!


14

martin587 added 17:03 - Mar 13
Very lucky to get the three points but well done lads.In the play-off position but must play a lot better.Just hope Downes injury is not too bad as when he went off we struggled to get any momentum. Having said that I'm very happy tonight.
15

TimmyH added 17:06 - Mar 13
Well we made hard work of that after a good 25 minutes when we should have been at least 2 goals up but maybe due to Downes going off injured and other changes we then never got going again although Plymouth never looked like scoring until one guilt edge chance missed with 10 minutes left. We need to be far more clinical in front of goal with chances or break away efforts as this will cost I'm sure in the remaining games thankfully that can also be attributed to our opponents in general.

Well done to PC on his first win and In the top 6 so that's good but still think we need to show more composure and quality.
20

sospier added 17:06 - Mar 13
Very good three points but we must score more goals.Still in the mix.Well done boys.Roll on Tuesday night.
12

chopra777 added 17:06 - Mar 13
A frustrating win. Too many missed chances. At least PC has a week on the training ground to sharpen us for the push forward. Good to be back in the top six. Come on town one step at a time.
6

pup12 added 17:07 - Mar 13
Made hard work of it second half.Never the less a valuable 3 points .Parrot has deserved a goal so nice for him to get the winner .Few results went our way.COYB
5

CokeIsKey added 17:07 - Mar 13
Obviously a poor performance and shows how much of the squad has to be changed over the summer , but good to get our first win under Cook and hopefully will boost our confidence in a crucial part of the season.
7

Pessimist added 17:08 - Mar 13
It was a good result, but once again it showed that the Town squad have far too few attacking options, and we lack any confidence or belief and our strikers are not up to it.
8

heathen66 added 17:09 - Mar 13
A win is a win, but certainly not convincing.
Kenlock played well yet again, but we were undone far too many times down our right hand side. At no point apart from Edwards did we look to stop the crosses and that is a worry.
Thought Jackson looked lively although became too isolated. Created a real sitter for Judge who fluffed his lines
Parrott took his goal well but again seem to struggle to control and pass the ball !!!
Midfield looked good early on but once Downes went of, we just got deeper and deeper and allowed Plymouth into the game.
On the bright side we are top 6 without playing very well.
Hopefully PC can get us playing a more expansive game
6

DifferentGravy added 17:09 - Mar 13
GET IN!

Whole team put in a lot of effort to keep a clean sheet. Really should have killed them off first 20.

Players need to have more belief in themselves. The amount of times Dozzell, Edwards, Jackson, Judge, Bennetts got into very dangerous positions and either didnt shoot or didnt drive into the box/take the last defender on. Skuse and Drinan did very well when they came on and settled us down a bit.

Congrats to Paul Cook on his first Town win. COYB!
14

midastouch added 17:11 - Mar 13
We huffed and puffed our way to 3 more points. Started brightly (Plymouth were particularly awful earlier in the game) but still a lot of question marks around certain players. In essence, we continue to struggle to score goals and that's always a major headache when it comes to trying to win matches more comfortably.

In regard to the above, please see this forum post:
League One Top Scorers by midastouch 13 Mar 2021 15:08
According to Flashscore (unless Edwards can score today) we currently don't have a single player in the top 50!
https://www.flashscore.com/standings/lfdCxyGa/tIvYcYvh/#top_scorers

Edwards and Norwood are both just outside the top 50 with 5 goals each. Edwards has 3 assists while Norwood has 1. Players that are jointly ranked on number of goals are then sorted according to their number of assists.

Are any of our players even going to reach double figures for goals this season? I sure hope so! I'm sure the lack of firepower won't be lost on Cook.

And just as I was writing the above Parrot scored! :-)
9 to go for Parrot to make double figures then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/top-scorers



According to Flashscore we currently don't have a single player in the top 50 goal scorers in the league! That's a big problem that hopefully Cook can put right going forwards.

Always happy with the 3 points but we rarely seem to make it easy. I really think a better team with more goal threat would have put Plymouth to bed in the first half today.
9

leagueonescum added 17:11 - Mar 13
Well a win's a win so onwards and upwards from that perspective. Downsides- more left wing fails than Corbyn's Labour Party. It's Wilson's domain and better teams would have punished us. Proceed with caution.
3

DebsyAngel added 17:12 - Mar 13
Thought we were going to be in for a treat of a match watching the first 15 minutes, as Plymouth looked all over the shop, but I thought it was a boring match and Downes getting injured changed it for me. Good goal from Parrott, but should been 3-0 up in the first half - terrible shot from Judge and wish Jackson could actually score. At least a win, and in the play off places, which a couple of months ago, seemed unlikely!
6

Beattiesballbag added 17:16 - Mar 13
Why Bennett ? Dobra passes better, shoots better, can beat or turn a player better.
14

ShropshireBluenago09 added 17:20 - Mar 13
3 Pts, in a playoff place, 8 pts off 2nd, decent run in, Jackson back in the team, Cooks 1st win.
All positives, really looking forward to the next few weeks!
COYB
8

TimmyH added 17:21 - Mar 13
Good post - midastouch, that sums it up for me as well, Plymouth looked very very average today and we should have sailed away for first 20 minutes but didn't. It's a continual concern our lack of punishing the opposition when having chances - Norwood, Jackson, Bennetts all culpable and now a non scoring midfield (which wasn't the case earlier in the season).

Thanks to the cock up by Argyle player Lewis who was playing more for us in that opening 20 minutes we wouldn't have won...
2

WhoisJimmyJuan added 17:24 - Mar 13
In last 11 games, irs won 5 drawn 4 lost 2. Thats play off form. Need to score far more and put these kind of games to bed if we are to make them, and make anything of them.
6

SpiritOfJohn added 17:26 - Mar 13
Great to get another 3 points, but feel that we missed an opportunity to improve our goal difference today. Some poor finishing gave Plymouth a sniff when we should have been out of sight by half time. Our back four are continuing to impress, building a good understanding and covering well for each other - Kenlock epitomised that today.
2

Upthetown1970 added 17:28 - Mar 13
We should be blooding our own. Bennetts and Parrot out bring in Dobra and Gibbs to get them ready. 15 to 20 mins off the bench with an occasional start.

We are in the mix and will probably make the play offs so we need to get our own ready for next season.
1

Suffolkboy added 17:28 - Mar 13
PC ‘s assured and considered assessment will be honest and truthful : cannot imagine he'll flannel about either strengths or very evident shortcomings .
Much yet to be achieved , and we must make progress all round ,but even if we make haste slowly then it'll do very well ,particularly if our defensive set up continue to prosper !
Excellent to see Cole Skuse fit and in action again : a very astute and wise head who has been much underrated ( but won't be by PC ) .
Overall WELL DONE you BLUES , puts a different perspective on the weekend !
COYB
11

GatesofDelirium added 17:28 - Mar 13
On top for the first 25 minutes and then sat back against a poor Plymouth side. Losing Downes to injury certainly didn't help but had Judge put away his sitter we could have played with a bit more authority. Although Kenlock covered crosses well in the first half I thought he had a shocker with the ball. Bishop anonymous. It shows how much Plymouth were allowed to come into the game that I thought Nsiala was man of the match. Good to see Skuse back after a year.
7

Edmundo added 17:28 - Mar 13
We are coming good at just the perfect time this season. We won't boss many games, but who cares, we just need to get out of this awful league.
4

papashango87 added 17:32 - Mar 13
Plymouth were absolutely woeful but they could have easily come away with a point.

New manager but where's the enthusiasm and desire to win? So slow and boring, crap passing and decision making.
There isn't any excuse for it, I can't understand why there isn't any change to this attacking minded football we were told about.
It's very clear it's nothing to do with Lambert why we were crap just the players are that bad, and not really that bothered.
Parrot and Jackson off and Skuse and Drinan on, didn't seem like an attacking move to me.

Another win and top 6 but about as pleasurable as catching your nuts on a rusty nail
-7

blue86 added 17:36 - Mar 13
Eehh I Eehh I Eehh I Ooh, up that football league we go.....
Pleased for cook to get his first win, let's keep it going!
6


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