Ipswich Town were made to settle for a point after Luke Chambers‘ error gifted Sunderland a 1-1 draw at Portman Road. Chambers was the only change from the side that beat Burton Albion 1-0 last weekend, replacing James Wilson after returning from suspension.
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Luke Garbutt had put Ipswich Town ahead with his second goal in as many games; however, the Blues could have been further ahead in a rampant first half.
However, Paul Lambert’s men failed to take their chances and were eventually made to pay. When Luke Chambers carelessly lost the ball to Marc McNulty, the ball was slid to Lynden Gooch who blasted home.
Ultimately, the Ipswich supporters leaving Portman Road would have gone through feelings of disappointment; although, a point against one of their promotion rivals is no disaster after last weekend’s victory at Burton Albion.
The bumper crowd of 24,000 crowd were almost off their feet early on when James Norwood had a goalbound header blocked.
Ipswich felt hard done by referee Neil Hair when he brandished a yellow card to Kayden Jackson. The striker had cleverly cut inside his marker before crashing to the floor; however, despite the Town forward’s protests, referee Hair insisted Jackson had tried to con him.
But it was not long before the home crowd had something to cheer about. Garbutt, operating as a left-winger, joined another Town attack which began from Janoi Donacien‘s long throw. The winger took a neat touch to move into space before; then, with a low, neat finish, he shot under goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin.
With Town well in the ascendancy, and Sunderland seemingly to inevitably cave in, the Blues could have been further ahead before the break.
The visiting defence, struggling against the strong wind and with nerves seeping through their veins, were holding on against a dominant Town attack spear-headed by Jackson and Norwood.
Garbutt and Cole Skuse both had blocked shots go awry; Norwood continued to prove a hassle for Sunderland but failed to have a clear sight of goal. Garbutt had one final chance as his late run and shot was saved by McLaughlin’s chest.
In a rare foray forward Lynden Gooch sliced an effort wide, before Garbutt was forced off having received treatment for an injury.
Norwood had two more shots blocked before the break but Town were unable to capitalise on their ascendancy any further before full-time.
Changing At The Break
Black Cats boss Jack Ross made his roll of the dice by matching Ipswich’s 4-4-2 set-up by introducing Chris Maguire.
Town continued to have the fair share of chances but, when Chambers failed to see the ball out of play under pressure from Marc McNulty, the visitors were level. Mcnulty kept his composure to roll the ball back to Gooch who blasted home.
It was unfortunate for Town as the Black Cats crossed their path with the leveller. Andre Dozzell replaced Danny Rowe as Ipswich looked to match Sunderland’s high tempo; however, neither of the promotion hopefuls could find a way through as they were made to share the points.
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