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Match Report: Doncaster 1-0 Ipswich | Help spread the word: Share on Facebook 
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Ipswich slumped to a highly disappointing defeat at the hands of Doncaster. Paul Bloomfield reports.The returning Darren Ambrose, on-loan from Charlton, had to settle for a place on the bench. David Norris was handed a place in the starting line-up following his much publicised celebration at Blackpool last time out. The midfielder had to endure boo’s from the home supporters every time he was in possession of the ball throughout the game. Ipswich came very close to taking the lead after 19 minutes when Richard Naylor saw his header hit the crossbar. The near miss came from Owen Garvan’s corner from which Naylor’s downward header took a bounce before striking the crossbar. As part of Doncaster’s desperate efforts to clear the ball away, Jason Price swung his arm and handled the ball inside the box. This either went unnoticed by the referee, or he simply felt that it was unintentional. Either way, the home side could consider themselves fortunate not to have conceded a penalty. A little over 10 minutes later, Alan Quinn may feel he should have done better when hew was set-up by Kevin Lisbie. Lisbie’s headed flick-on dropped nicely into the path of Quinn who volleyed the ball down into the turf, with Doncaster goalkeeper Neil Sullivan tipping the ball over the bar for a corner kick. The next chance to come Ipswich’s way was a highly presentable one for the man under the spotlight, David Norris. Moritz Volz whipped in a superb delivery from the right-hand side for Jon Walters to head into the path of Norris who skewed his shot wide of the post from 6 yards. Ipswich were made to pay in typical fashion when Shelton Martis gave Doncaster the lead just one minute after Norris’ missed opportunity. The goal came from a long free-kick delivery into the box from inside the centre circle which was headed on for an unmarked Shelton Martis to head home from close range. Doncaster went in at half-time with the lead, but despite the Blues not playing particularly well, they had the opportunities to be leading the game themselves. Having come on as a second-half substitute Darren Ambrose came close to marking his return to Ipswich with a stunning strike in the 64th minute. Owen Garvan sent in a cross from the left-hand side and it was met on the volley by the man on-loan from Charlton. Neil Sullivan did brilliantly to turn the ball over the bar as it was without a doubt a goal-bound effort, and was struck with some venom. Richard Wright was called into action to prevent Doncaster from sealing the points when he got a strong hand to Martin Wood’s deflected effort. Jon Stead wasn’t far off target when he attempted a speculative long-range effort, before fellow sub Pablo Couñago nodded wide from a good position as Town searched for an equaliser, but it was to be Doncaster’s third win of the season. It was a very disappointing result for the Blues, especially considering that the home side had only previously scored two goals at the Keepmoat Stadium prior to the game, and managed only seven goals in total all season. The result puts a dent in Town’s promotion hopes and once again raises doubts over whether a top-six finish can be achieved. Having finally managed to record back-to-back victories for the first time in the two games prior to the trip to Doncaster, the current feeling is very much one of “back to square one.” Doncaster: Sullivan, Mills, Martis, Hird (Spicer 56), O'Connor, Wellens, Stock, Woods, Chambers, Price (Taylor 82), Heffernan (Guy 74). Unused: Hayter, Elliott. Booked: Mills, Heffernan. Ipswich: R.Wright, Volz, Bruce, Naylor, D.Wright, Norris, Garvan, Shumulikoski, Quinn (Ambrose 53), Lisbie (Couñago 70), Walters (Stead 53). Unused: Supple, Balkestein. Booked: Volz, Bruce. Click to view author Paul Bloomfield's profile Fancy writing for LiveFootball? Click here to find out more. |