Another point away from home and with it another clean sheet. Whilst not the most sparkling of Town performances, there is an indication that some kind of resilience is being developed away from home. And the stats demonstrate this...
Jim Magilton has said several times in the past, usually after a disappointing away defeat, that he may have to look at putting out a different side for away games to that which features in home games. The problem in doing so is getting a level of performances maintained whilst the team is being rotated week by week.
On recent evidence, there is a suggestion that an away team is developing and that results are slowly starting to collectively improve. Whilst expectations of good home performances remain high, away games are starting to reap greater returns.
Our record away from home in 2008 is starting to look quite heartening- 14 Games have produced 4 wins, 6 draws and 4 defeats, with the last 6 away games resulting in just one defeat.
As at Southampton, Town played a large proportion of the game with just one up front, Jon Stead. Pablo Counago was surprisingly left out of the 16 man squad completely, something which demonstrates the strength developing in Magiltons squad. It would seem very likely that, despite this, Counago will find himself back in the starting line-up for Saturdays match against Crystal Palace.
As expected, Veliche Shumilokoski took Tommy Millers midfield spot and, along with David Norris, was probably Towns outstanding performer. The Macedonians quality on the ball stood out again and again. His ability to break the play up and then launch attacks with his smart distribution was a feature of Towns play. He also contributed very positively around the edge of the area, feeding the forward runs, with one stand out first half through pass to Norris in particular. The signing of Ivan Campo was unexpected when it came and, on the basis of Shumis current performances, its hard to see how he can possibly find a place for himself in the side.
Once again, David Norris excelled, showing more and more just why Town were prepared to spend so much money on him. With Garvan and Shumi sitting deeper and protecting the back four on several occasions, the forward thrusts of Norris to join the attack had an increasingly key impact on the game. For a player who has only recently returned to first team action, the fact that these driving runs were reaping dividends late in the game says much about the players desire. Comparisons with Matt Holland on this basis do not appear to be misplaced.
Jon Stead also had a bright performance. Asked to play as a lone-striker for much of the game, he did everything that could be expected of him. Often appearing as the only available option up front, he continually managed to get to the ball first and maintain Town posession, despite enormous pressure from the Wednesday centre-backs. His comfortableness on the ball, and with his teammates, belies the fact that he has only played three games in an Ipswich shirt and suggests that he is very much at home. These are early days in his Ipswich career, but he looks to be a far more important signing than many fans perhaps gave credit.
Defensively, the team struggled somewhat with the pace and movement of Wednesdays front two early in the game, but as it progressed, they became increasingly comfortable and prevented any shot of note during the first half. Both McAuley and Naylor defended admirably, particularly in the air and look to be improving game by game. The full backs, Wright and Volz, produced solid performances without being overly stretched. In the case of Volz in particular, the feeling remains that he is curtailing his forward excursions under instruction- he has certainly been less offensive looking than in his debut game at Watford, but defensively looks much stronger.
In goal, Richard Wright did not have a significant save to make, handled well and provided an authoratitive presence in the box. There was little he could do about Marcus Tudgays long range shot against the post which, if a couple of yards closer, would probably have been a lifetime goal.
The rest of the midfield produced fairly quiet performances. Walters produced a typically hard working performance, protecting the defence when required. He found more space as the game went on and became more stretched, but did not get into the positions where he can do most damage, perhaps as a result of the discipline in his performance. Alan Quinn was typically industrious and looks much improved from the player who started season. Booed throughout, he has a tendency to roam in field, which makes him harder to pick up, whilst also leaving us extremely narrow on the left side of the pitch. Owen Garvan was composed and comfortable on the ball, rarely gave it away, but rarely managed to create anything of significant note. His lack of pace found him often chasing the ball back when Wednesday attacked. Away from home, ball retention will of course be key, but with Shumi passing the ball so well, it remains to be seen if Garvan will retain his place for home games.
One footnote has to go to Kevin Lisbie who showed pace and sharpness from the bench and provided a real alternative. Whether he can recapture his place in the first team is another matter, but from the bench he can be a real contributor.
Slowly but surely, Town are improving. The improvement is undoubtedly enough to buy Jim some time and remove some of the fan pressure that seemed to be building prior to the last three games. However, whilst it is still early, Town already find themselves 10 point adrifts of the top of the table and the forthcoming two home league games will provide a vital opportunity to make some more significant progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment