Since the exit from the managerial hot-seat of Roy Keane, any Ipswich Town related news has been largely dominated by the exploits of a teenage academy graduate. Saturdays match continued that trend, with the exception that it was the name of Josh Carson in the headlines rather than that of Conor Wickham.
The 17 year old midfielder has been given the opportunity to shine over the last few games, and in only his third start in a Town shirt, produced a performance of quality and confidence, which was capped off by scoring his first two goals in professional football.
Manager Paul Jewell was delighted to finally be talking about another academy recruit. Speaking to the BBC, Jewell said “It makes a change talking about another 17-year-old other than Connor Wickham.
It’s a great day for Josh and it’s hopefully the start of plenty of goals for Ipswich Town.
“He’s not fazed by playing in the first team, I think you could see that. He’s one of those lads who enjoys it; I was delighted for him”.
Town were once again unchanged, with Lee Martin seeing out the last match of his suspension, Carson again retaining his starting spot ahead of Keiron Dyer. Arran Lee-Barrett earnt another opportunity to win himself a new contract, as Marton Fulop remained an onlooker from the bench.
Whilst the Palace line up earlier in the season was very much an Ipswich old-boys side, the removal of George Burley as manager has gradually seen a removal of those players from the starting line-up, with only Darren Ambrose managing to get onto the pitch on his return to Suffolk.
Town had plenty of the early possession without entirely convincing. A long range-effort from Leadbitter was tipped away well by Speroni, but at the other end Ambrose twice went close as the Eagles showed a level of threat far above that of the previous visitors to Portman Road, Scunthorpe United, a side who find themselves only a place behind the Eagles.
After Wickham had thumped a shot recklessly into the side-netting when he might have done better, so the already impressive Carson took his opportunity to make headlines. Cutting inside from the touchline, the young Irishman shot across goal and into the far corner with an effort which, on closer inspection, may well have been intended for his waiting teammates in the middle.
Town started the second half in less impressive fashion, as the Blues were indebted to their goalkeeper, Lee-Barrett stopping Vaughan twice, before saving his best to prevent Ambrose, the former Town star having been played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
However, Town soon added to their lead as a scramble following a Bullard corner was eventually swept home by Carson, with his second of the day.
Town enjoyed some superiority after the goal, with Carson in particular thoroughly enjoying himself with the space being afforded him on the right-wing.
However, as was the case at Burnley, the performance drifted as the Blues allowed the Eagles an opportunity of recovery. Poor marking from a long free-kick saw centre-back Paddy McCarthy completely unmarked to expertly volley past Lee-Barrett.
It brought with it a nervy final chapter of the match, as Palace once again showed endeavour beyond their lowly league position. A combination of good defending and wayward finishing finally saw Town record a third successive league victory for the second time in Jewells short spell in charge.
With victory formally confirming Towns status in the Championship for next season, preparations have already begun for that campaign and it would have been a positive for Jewell that the two players who have been given an opportunity in recent weeks ended up as the two players with the biggest contribution towards this victory.
Whilst Carsons performances have improved week on week, culminating in his two goal showing against Palace, Arran Lee-Barrett had yet to really be tested in his two previous starts, so it was pleasing for the manager to see his out-of-contract goalkeeper put through his paces and come out on top. “Arran played a big part for us today. He has not had a lot to do in his other two matches, but today he made some big saves for us, and at key times.
Hes had to be patient and wait for his chance, but he did well. He and Josh contributed a lot to the win”.
Defensively, the pace and energy of the Palace attacking players gave Carlos Edwards and, in particular, Mark Kennedy some problems. The home side were indebted to their goalkeeper, but also to the performance of their two centre-backs. It once again highlighted just how critical the contract talks with Damien Delaney and Gareth McAuley are set to be in the context of next season.
In midfield, Jimmy Bullard had one of his less productive performances, evidently tiring against the Palace midfield in the latter part of the game. It perhaps helped pave the way for Grant Leadbitter to produce a performance more in line with the level that he is capable of. With Jewell keen to produce a side playing a 4-4-2 system, it will be interesting to see if both players are able to combine as the two-man engine room in next seasons side.
With West Ham summoning Keiron Dyer back to Upton Park for the remainder of the season, the midfield conundrum looks set to be evaluated further against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. Whilst Carson has clearly demonstrated what he has to offer, both Colin Healy and Lee Martin are once again available to stake their own place on a starting position, alongside Andy Drury who has perhaps been most unfortunate not to get more opportunities.
With both sides immediate futures now seemingly confirmed, Tuesdays match could turn into an experimental encounter for both managers.
No comments:
Post a Comment