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Match Report: Ipswich 0-2 Wolves | Help spread the word: Share on Facebook 
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Ipswich Town produced another uninspiring home display, going down 2-0 to Wolves at Portman Road. Paul Bloomfield reports.Jim Magilton made one change from the side that overcame Burnley 3-0 the previous Saturday, with Danny Haynes taking Liam Trotter’s place in the starting line-up. Wolves started the better of the two teams, with Ipswich failing to stamp their authority on the game. The home crowd were not inspired by what they were seeing in the opening exchanges, making for a very quiet Portman Road. Sylvain Ebanks-Blake gave the visitors a deserved lead on 20 minutes, heading in Ryan Jarvis’ cross from the left. Ipswich failed to produce anything of any real substance in the first-half, with Jon Walters’ dipping effort the closest the Blues came to scoring. Pablo Couñago was introduced at half-time and made an immediate positive impact on the team. The Spaniard’s hold-up play made a big difference, creating opportunities for team mates, as well as having efforts on goal himself; giving Wolves’ keeper Wayne Hennessey his first calls of duty. Owen Garvan replaced Veliche Shumulikoski ten minutes into the second-half, most likely due to the fact that the Macedonian had been in action for his country in midweek. Garvan had been set to play for the Republic of Ireland U21 team, but was withdrawn due to illness. Michael Kightly came close to doubling Wolves’ lead as the hour-mark approached, when he rolled a shot just wide of the far post. Town came closest to scoring when Danny Haynes got the better of Wolves full-back George Elokobi, before laying the ball into the penalty area which eventually resulted in Tommy Miller having his shot cleared off the line. Elokobi had to be stretchered off as a result of the coming together with Danny Haynes. The former-Colchester man received an ovation from all around the ground as he was carried off the field. The 68th minute saw Liam Trotter come on in place of Danny Haynes, after the winger had been receiving treatment on the sidelines. Trotter’s first contribution after coming on was to concede a free-kick for a shirt-pull on the edge of the box. On 76 minutes, Alex Bruce was shown the red card for a two footed tackle on David Jones. There seemed to be no complaints about the challenge from Wolves players, but the referee had no hesitation in showing Bruce the red card. The defender successfully made contact with the ball as opposed to the player, but any challenge made with both feet invariably results in a red card in the current climate, regardless of whether the player wins the ball or not. Town were dealt a second blow almost immediately when Richard Wright failed to grasp Ryan Jarvis’s shot, with substitute David Edwards following up and burying the rebound. Richard Wright produced a spectacular save moments later to deny David Edwards’ effort, as a deflated Portman Road faithful watched on. The Ipswich Town goalkeeper was a busy man during the last few minutes of the game, with Edwards the main cause of problems for the Town defence. Ryan Jarvis, provider of Wolves’ first goal, almost got himself on the score sheet deep into the five additional minutes of stoppage time, but saw his shot hit the post and go behind for a goal kick. The result sees Wolves maintain their unbeaten start to the season, whilst Town find themselves with two home defeats already, having only lost once at Portman Road in the whole of last season. It was yet another game in which Ipswich were not blessed with favourable decisions from the referee. Most frustratingly for me, the referee chose to ignore several instances of Wolves’ defenders having ahold of Town players, with Richard Stearman and Darren Ward the main culprits. The referee cannot be blamed however for the performance by Ipswich, which simply wasn’t good enough. Whilst Wolves are a good side and are likely to be involved in the promotion picture the end of the season, Town can’t afford such results, especially at home if they have designs on promotion this season. Apart from a 10-15 minute spell at the start of the second-half, Town didn’t pose a threat to Wolves who always looked comfortable and were deserving of their win. Ipswich: Wright, Bruce, Thatcher, McAuley, Naylor, Shumulikoski (Garvan 53), Miller, Haynes (Trotter 69), Walters, Lisbie, Lee (Couñago 46). Unused: Supple, Balkestein Wolves: Hennessey, Foley, Collins, Stearman, Elokobi (Ward 64), Kightly (Keogh 90), Henry, Jones, Jarvis, Iwelumo, Ebanks-Blake (Edwards 64). Unused:Vokes, Ikeme Paul Bloomfield Click to view author Paul Bloomfield's profile Fancy writing for LiveFootball? Click here to find out more. |