Reading 1 Ipswich 0

There is a fine line between good form and poor form, nowhere more evident than in the repercussions of Ipswich Towns late defeat to Reading.
With five minutes remaining, Ipswich were looking to attack Reading with a return to 2nd place in the Championship the offered reward for a winning goal, on the back of an unbeaten eight game away record and one defeat in twelve.
A short while later, and Simon Church’s late winner left Roy Keanes side in 7th position, their lowest of this embryonic season, with one win from five matches, a shattered unbeaten away record and two key suspensions leading into Saturdays home game with Leeds United.
Neither result would have been truly indicative of either Towns current form or the match itself, something which Manager Roy Keane re-iterated after the match “I’m not sure we deserved to win and I’ve been in enough games where it’s nip and tuck with five or 10 minutes to go and the home side usually seem to nick it. We should have won on Saturday and we probably should have got a point tonight.”
After the slow starts which have become features of recent performances, it was of little surprise that Keane changed his starting line-up. However, not to appear predictable, Keane opted to provide Troy Brown with his first league start as an Ipswich player. Browns appearance at right-back, allowing Jaime Peters to fill the left-back role, were clear indications that Town were looking to nullify the pace of Jimmy Kebe and Robson-Kanu. More predictably, Luke Hyam returned to the starting line-up, seemingly reacting well to being dropped over the previous two games.
The first half was fairly limited in chances, in a match between two teams who have made rapid strides from the struggles both endured at the same stage last season. The key opportunity of the first half, which turned out to be the key moment of the entire match for Town, presented itself to Jason Scotland who found himself clear on goal, only to shoot wide of the target. For a player who has impressed with his finishing in the early part of his Ipswich career, whilst his fitness and all-round play have been playing catch up, it was a particularly bad miss.
Referring to the chance after the match, Keane said “The first goal was vital tonight. Jason had a great chance in the first half. I thought we didn’t play too badly, but if you don’t score goals you put yourself under pressure. Again, no goals tonight and we’ve had chances, some good chances”.
Whilst the late Reading winner put a misbalance on the score-line, perhaps the issues which will have more significance on the side will be those of indiscipline. A late challenge in the first half earnt Luke Hyam a yellow card, with the Reading support demanding a red card and subjecting him to the inevitable chorus of boos for the remainder of the half. Having appeared to have passed the test of character, an act of petulance, or perhaps simply bad hearing, saw the 18 year old kick the ball away after a free kick was awarded and find himself first into the changing room. Clearly, Keane felt that the sending off was inevitable “I think it was coming and I should have taken him off at half-time”.
The significance of this on the match was short-lived, with Readings Matt Mills soon also finding himself leaving the field. However, having forced his way back into the starting XI, Hyam will now be missing once again.
Equally thus, David Norris. Having raced to four yellow cards at a very early stage of the season, Norris has walked a tightrope for the past few weeks until, having received persistent warnings throughout the second half, he finally succumbed to his fifth, and suspending, yellow card.
The timing for both players could be important, with Keane having outlined the competition for midfield places only earlier in the week, evidenced by the signing of Jake Livermore. Significantly, Spurs-loanee Livermore made his debut in the latter stages of the game, making a positive impression.
Tactically, Keane will take comfort in the performance of his two full-backs, who completely justified their inclusion in dealing with Readings wide threat. Peters in particular had one of his best games in a Town shirt. Given the wasteland that was representative of his Town career only 18 months ago, he will be delighted with his progress subsequently. Generally, Town continue to look sound defensively, aided by the once more dominant Fulop.
However, it is in the attacking third that improvement will be sought. The suspension to two of the three central midfielders will provide a clean slate for such improvement, whilst in the forward positions, it would be unsurprising if a front two were not re-introduced. Whether Jason Scotland retains one of those two slots is questionable, with his match sharpness having not quite returned since his move from Wigan Athletic.
If Keane continues with a front three, as he has preferred at home, then Reggie Lambe provided a real option for his manager with a sparkling cameo performance as a substitute, which is likely to put pressure on the relatively inconsistent Carlos Edwards.
With the championship continuing to be typically tight, results at this stage do not have too significant a bearing. However, the forthcoming home match with Leeds United, fresh from conceding six goals at home, would seem to represent the perfect opportunity to record a victory and quickly ensure that line between success and failure is crossed once more in a northerly direction.