Ipswich Town won 2-0 at Accrington Stanley yesterday afternoon. STUART WATSON reflects on the action.
BANANA SKIN SIDESTEPPED
The Wham Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for Ipswich Town in recent years.
Accrington Stanley away proved an early season banana skin in both seasons one and three of League One football.
Not this time.
In truth, this wasn't quite the monumental character test that we'd all built it up to be in our minds. Without the likes of Colby Bishop, Ross Sykes, Michael Nottingham and Harry Pell, Accrington aren't the big bruisers they used to be.
At Burton, the Blues had to really dig deep to survive what Kieran McKenna described quite accurately as 'aggressive chaos'. Accrington didn't pose the same threat.
Yes, the first 20 minutes or so were scruffy and Harvey Rodgers had a good chance for the hosts, but Town were never under the cosh.
Cameron Burgess, preferred to George Edmundson in defence, headed away everything back on his old stomping ground.
As the game went on, the Blues gained more and more control.
Attacking an away end containing 1,098 fans in the second half, it really felt like this game was there for the taking.
SUPER SUBS
The game was won thanks to a double substitution.
Freddie Ladapo and Conor Chaplin replaced Kayden Jackson and Tyreece John-Jules in the 61st minute and Ipswich instantly looked more effective in attack.
Ladapo ran onto a Janoi Donacien's long throw up the line, cut the ball back and Chaplin's shot was deflected behind. From Lee Evans' resultant corner (sound that set-piece klaxon again), an unmarked Chaplin was able to adjust his body and volley the ball home.
Bearing in mind Accrington have scored five goals in the 90th minute or beyond this season, there was still work to do.
Ipswich's killer second, which arrived in the 87th minute, originated from a throw-in on the left. Ladapo held off his marker, popped the ball off and Chaplin, after working himself half a yard of space, found the net with a deflected shot.
Greg Leigh, Dominic Ball and new signing Gassan Ahadme were all introduced late on, Richard Keogh remained an unused sub, while the likes of George Edmundson, Kyle Edwards, Kane Vincent-Young and Cameron Humphreys were left out the 18. And there's still Panutche Camara to come into the reckoning too.
McKenna's got some serious weaponry in his arsenal.
TWO FOR CHAPPERS?
There's a dressing room debate as to who got the last touch for both goals.
How often do you hear pundits say that strikers in a barren spell would 'take a goal off their backside'? Well, Ladapo, yet to net his first league goal for the Blues, claims that's exactly what happened with the opener. I'm not sure he'll be taking it away from Chaplin though.
The second, officially, has gone down as a Wes Burns goal. The initial replay did seem to suggest it hit the Welshman on the way in. Chaplin, however, insists he should be on five for the season.
Now footage from another angle, released by the club this morning, shows the shot clearly hit defender Mitch Clark.
Let's see if the Dubious Goals Committee intervenes this week.
FORWARD THINKING
Going into this match the debate it would be Ladapo, fresh from his morale-boosting goal against Northampton in midweek, or in-form deadline day sign Gassan Ahadme who would get the nod up front.
In the end, it was neither.
For the first time this season, Kayden Jackson started a league game as the central striker.
Kieran McKenna explained: "He’s been doing fantastic when he’s come off the bench.
"I think tactically the game in the first half was a little bit different than we expected to be fair.
"Usually they step on man-to-man right through the pitch and leave one of their centre-backs one-v-one in huge amount of space, so we were expecting a lot of space in behind and a lot of space down the sides of a centre-back. That didn’t materialise. They left a spare man at the back and doubled-up on him.
"It made it difficult for Kayden to get the space that he enjoys but he still worked ever so hard and put a couple of good balls across the box in the first half.
"In the second half it opened up a little bit more. I think you saw with the chance Kayden had (a one-on-one opportunity not taken) the type of opportunities that we hoped he’d be able to get."
STUPENDOUS STATS
Seventeen points equals the club record for most points claimed from the opening seven league games.
And this is the first time ever that Ipswich Town have won their opening four away games in the league.
McKenna's win rate as Blues boss is now 53% (P32 W17 D10 L5).
Ipswich have kept 18 clean sheets across those 32 games. That's more than the number of actual goals conceded (17).
Those are some remarkable stats.
Long may it continue. Up next... Cambridge United at home on Saturday.
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