Plymouth 1 Ipswich 3

A statement of intent, if ever there were one. A largely unchanged side and a great victory as a result, against in-form opposition, at a venue which has hardly been seen as a good venue for Town in recent years.

Just when we were starting to believe that Jim was going to maintain a revolving policy to the first team, in particular in midfield, whilst largely sticking to a 4-5-1 formation away from home, he goes and names a team which retains most of the starters from the previous game, whilst adopting a 4-4-2 formation.

And how it paid off.

Pablo Counago dropped out, to be replaced by Kevin Lisbie, fresh from his busy appearance at Forest. Jon Walters moved up front, allowing the returning David Norris, in for Tommy Miller, to fill the right-sided berth.

A midfield foursome, where three of them had occupied the same positions in the previous game, seemed to make such a difference.

Alan Quinn has held down the left midfield position in recent times, but finally, in Shumulikoski and Garvan, Jim may have possibly found a central partnership aswell. They dominated the midfield, Shumulikoski in particular putting in a great performance, with David Norris equally producing the kind of energetic showing which we have now come to expect. It provided a springboard for the forward line.

But an even bigger springboard was provided by the emerging goalscoring threat of Owen Garvan. Having often looked like a player perhaps lacking in a natural finishing instinct, the young irishman lashed in two excellent strikes from the edge of the penalty area.

Jon Walters and Kevin Lisbie provided a great deal of energy and movement up front. Walters aerial threat provided a real option for the side once again, whilst Lisbies pace troubled the Plymouth backline. His workrate was rewarded with the third goal which ended any hopes of an Argyle comeback.

Defensively, the side continued to display some rigidity. Whilst a lapse in marking managed to give Plymouth a consolation, generally the unit showed composure, with Richard Wright stepping in to make key stops when the defence were breached; which is as it should be.

So, a real platform to build on, and with two home games to come in a week, a genuine chance to put back to back victories together and move swiftly up the table. The late dismissal of David Norris will unfortunately prevent Jim from retaining a completely unchanged side, but maintaining the core of the team together, particularly in central midfield, could hopefully be the key to real improvement.