Ben Bloom’s match report from Portman Road has landed:
That’s the lot from me – why not change channels and join Scott Murray for the 3pm football clockwatch?
Bye for now.
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Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich manager, speaks to Sky Sports: “I thought it was a good performance, we showed we can put on a good performance against a side that’s recently been in the Premier League … we should have won the game. There were two big moments where we didn’t defend our box well enough. [But] A really good performance … with lots of things we can take and build on.”
What about the missed chances? “That’s football. We’ve been so clinical at home … it was probably a 3-0 first half. I can’t fault us … maybe it means a bit more to the players today [so they snatched at chances].
“Look, there’s lessons to learn, but we have to take confidence from that, not just how we competed, how we dominated.”
Surprised to see Broadhead missing chances? “You are surprised with any of our forwards [to miss], they’ve been so clinical … I’d rather be sitting here saying we’ve created lots of chances and played that well, even if we’ve only got a point.”
Any complaints about the refereeing, in particular the second goal? “There’s always a bit of argy-bargy … it was just one of those days. We didn’t get a couple of moments in the box and the ball fell to them. I thought it was a good, aggressive game. A good competitive game. No big complaints [about refereeing].
It’s two years to the day since he took over … “There’s no getting away from it, it’s a been a big, big progression. We’ve come a long way int a short space of time … we want to keep getting better … we won’t pause and reflect too much. We’ve had some amazing atmospheres in my time here, but that’s the biggest one the players will have played in.”
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The tale of theXg: 2.08 for Ipswich, 0.65 for Norwich.
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Regard! The latest Championship standings. Norwich are ninth, level with Blackburn on 31 points.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 21 | 27 | 52 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 22 | 19 | 52 |
| 3 | Leeds | 21 | 15 | 41 |
| 4 | Southampton | 21 | 4 | 39 |
| 5 | West Brom | 21 | 12 | 35 |
| 6 | Sunderland | 21 | 9 | 33 |
| 7 | Hull | 21 | 4 | 33 |
| 8 | Preston North End | 21 | -6 | 32 |
| 9 | Norwich | 22 | 0 | 31 |
| 10 | Blackburn | 21 | 0 | 31 |
| 11 | Cardiff | 21 | 4 | 30 |
| 12 | Watford | 21 | 4 | 28 |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 21 | -1 | 27 |
| 14 | Coventry | 21 | 3 | 26 |
| 15 | Bristol City | 21 | -2 | 26 |
| 16 | Birmingham | 21 | -5 | 26 |
| 17 | Swansea | 21 | 0 | 25 |
| 18 | Plymouth | 21 | -2 | 23 |
| 19 | Stoke | 21 | -9 | 22 |
| 20 | Millwall | 21 | -7 | 21 |
| 21 | Huddersfield | 21 | -15 | 21 |
| 22 | QPR | 21 | -11 | 20 |
| 23 | Sheff Wed | 21 | -20 | 13 |
| 24 | Rotherham | 21 | -23 | 13 |
A match report and, hopefully, some reaction from off the telly is coming up.
Meanwhile, over in the WSL:
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One that got away for Ipswich: Anyway, the point puts them second in the table, level on points with Leicester having played a game more.
Rowe, who scored both goals for Norwich before being taken off in the second half, strides on to the pitch smiling widely. That sums up Norwich’s overall mood: They were dominated for large parts of that match, but a couple of clinical finishes from the Canaries’ academy product has won them a point. That all means that Ipswich are still winless in the East Anglian derby since 2009.
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Full time! Ipswich 2-2 Norwich
It’s over!
90 min +6: Norwich’s McLean chests the ball down on the edge of the box after the free-kick and fires wide … and that may be that.
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90 min +5: Ipswich have had 18 shots. Norwich 10. Ipswich have had 65% possession. Norwich are hanging on … now Hernandez and Woolfenden clash with the Norwich substitute trying to make inroads and attempting a nutmeg. Free-kick for Norwich …
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90 min +4: Taylor, just off the bench, lunges into a tackle and coughs up a free-kick for Norwich.
90 min +3: Scarlett nearly skips into space on the left for Ipswich. The ball is nicked off his toes and cleared.
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90 min: We will have six additional minutes, at least. Norwich look to be tiring which is only to be expected. They are reduced to lumping long balls out of defence but the ball keeps coming back. There is still time for Ipswich, and McKenna now makes a triple switch: Hirst, Luongo and Broadhead go off, with Scarlett, Jackson and Taylor introduced.
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87 min: Triple change for Norwich: Batth, Springett, Placheta all come on. Idah, Sainz and McCallum off. The pattern for the second half has been Ipswich pressure. But Norwich have withstood this onslaught incredibly well.
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85 min: Ipswich push forward again … and Norwich’s Gunn dives to save superbly from Broadhead, who jinks into the area and cracks a right-footed shot that looks to be arrowing into the far corner!
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82 min: This potential point would take Ipswich level with Leicester at the top of the table, on 52 points. The mathematicians among you will know that if they score again and win 3-2, they’ll be top.
Still Ipswich are probing in advanced areas and looking for an opening. Then Hernandez embarks on a run from deep for Norwich to relieve the pressure on his beleaguered defence.
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80 min: A mere 10 minutes plus stoppages to settle this either way. There is a slight lull, but it’s all relative.
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77 min: Ipswich have a corner. Norwich clear their lines. A couple of lusty challenges fly in and the volume of the crowd rises again. Burns is booked for a tackle on Sara, and is immediately withdrawn from the action. Chaplin is also taken off, with Harness and Hutchinson brought on by McKenna.
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75 min: Chaplin bends an indifferent effort wide with the set-piece. What is this final quarter of an hour going to bring?
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73 min: Neat work from Morsy on the edge for Ipswich. He turns away from a tackle by Barnes, who stamps on his boot. Initially Chris Sutton on co-commentary thinks he’s “bought it” but then he sees the replay. Free-kick in a dangerous spot for Ipswich.
72 min: A long throw from Norwich, into the Ipswich box, is repelled by the hosts’ defence. The Tractor Boys come again through Burns, then Morsy … Luongo tries an ambitious effort from about 25 yards but the ball slides off the side of his left boot, high and wide of the goal.
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70 min: Despite this being a full-blooded derby we’ve yet to have a yellow card. Good refereeing, or overly lenient?
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68 min: Gunn is forced to pat an Ipswich corner over the crossbar. From the next corner, Davis launches it into the penalty area, and again Burns is first to it with his head. A change for Norwich: Onel Hernandez is on for Rowe, the double goal-scorer.
65 min: Ipswich want more. Broadhead embarks on a run deep into the Norwich penalty area. The ball is worked back to Morsy, and then Burns. Ipswich are again stroking the ball around with a bit of authority. Hirst is lurking when a ball is fizzed over from the right wing but Stacey is on hand to clear with his head. A good, patient build-up from Ipswich … while Norwich have demonstrated they are always going to be a threat at the other end.
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Ashley Barnes is dispossessed in midfield. Morsy skips away from the former Burnley man and feeds Burns on the edge of the area. Burns needs no second invitation to crack a right-shooted shot, diagonally back across goal, that arrows into the bottom corner with Gunn utterly powerless to stop it. Ed Sheeran is pictured have a hell of a time celebrating the goal with his pals. The noise from the Ipswich fans is deafening all round. Can they stage a comeback after staring down the barrel of a frustrating defeat in a match they’ve had the better of?
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Goal! 60 min: Ipswich 2-2 Norwich (Burns)
All square! Again!
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57 min: Now Norwich almost stage their latest smash-and-grab when Stacey bends an excellent low ball across the six-yard box. It falls to Idah who fails to control it in any meaningful way. He nudges an effort towards the goal but it’s easy for Hladky.
55 min: Morsy sends over a free-kick into the danger zone. Burgess climbs highest to meet it, and powers a header back across goal looking for the far corner, but it’s always veering wide.
54 min: Some nice, joined-up football from Ipswich, who pass the ball around with one or two touches and keep possession for a spell before a cross is curled in from the right wing. Norwich clear the danger.
52 min: Ipswich build down the left wing and Davis has a cross blocked out for a corner. Kieran McKenna, the Tractor Boys manager, reacted to that second Norwich goal by urging his players to keep going. You certainly feel this one has more goals in it.
Rowe had had a hand – or a foot – in the earlier phase of that Norwich attack, when he tried to thread a neat ball into the box that was blocked out for a throw. Anyway, his first-time strike has Norwich leading a match in which Ipswich might easily have scored three or four by now …
Goal! 49min: Ipswich 1-2 Norwich (Rowe)
A long throw drops to Rowe, who belts a slightly deflected half-volley that flies through a crowded box, through Hladky, and in!
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47 min: It’s a steadier start to the second period. Norwich stroke the ball around at the back for a spell, then build a promising attack …
46 min: On Sky Sports at half-time they said this match was “a throwback” which I think was code for “occasionally violent”.
Second half kick-off!
Let’s do this.
Half-time! Ipswich 1-1 Norwich
One each. Exciting stuff. Here’s some half-time reading:
45 min +2: Now Burns floats a cross over from the Ipswich right. Hirst seems to try and leave it for a teammate but no one reads it. Late pressure from Ipswich but they remain level at 1-1. There’s no doubt which side will be happier with this half-time score …
45 min: We’ll have a minimum of three added minutes.
43 min: Ipswich want to restore that lead before half time and Chaplin belts a low shot wide from just inside the area with that in mind. He scuffs it a touch and it never threatens Gunn’s goal.
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Initially, McCallum sends a dangerous ball into the Ipswich penalty area from the Canaries’ left. The ball comes straight back from the other side of the pitch and Rowe attempts a spectacular overhead volley which bounces back off a defender. Impressively, he leaps to his feet and half-volleys another effort which loops into the far corner of the net!
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Goal! 40 min: Ipswich 1-1 Norwich (Rowe)
All square!
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38 min: There’s a frenetic spell of play in midfield. Norwich’s Idah bursts away from one challenge but takes a heavy touch and is dispossessed. Norwich attack again through Idah, this time down their right wing, but Burgess eases him off the ball with complete composure.
Luongo heads the ball high, back into the crowded penalty area after an Ipswich corner is half-cleared. Hirst does well to use his physical presence to hold off his marker and nod the ball across the six-yard box. Broadhead, who has already missed two big chances in this first half, thrashes the ball into the net from close range beyond a helpless Gunn, and celebrates with glee. And that is quite literally 1-0.
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Goal! 34min: Ipswich 1-0 Norwich (Broadhead)
It’s there!
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32 min: Barnes and Sainz link for Norwich and nearly fashion another shooting chance. If Norwich were leading at half time it would be pretty amazing given the pressure they’ve been under. Anyway, Ipswich break quickly and Hirst tries to get on the end of a ball in behind but it’s ushered out for a corner.
30 min: A chink of light for Norwich, but Sainz pings a shot over the crossbar, and brings loud cheers from the home fans.
27 min: With Norwich trying to play it out from the back, Rowe loses it on the right, and Ipswich are suddenly bearing down on goal again. Burns is teed up to take a shot from a central position – he has plenty of time to pick his spot – but smashes his effort high and wide. Another escape for Norwich, who must feel like they are playing against 20 men. That’s testament to Ipswich’s superior pressing, and superior use of the ball … although if their finishing was better they could be 3-0 to the good by now.
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25 min: The game settles a touch as Norwich manage to stem the bleeding, in terms of Ipswich players queuing up around their goal and taking potshots.
23 min: Now Broadhead has another sight of goal – he’s got teammates left and right – but he opts to clip a curler looking for the far post. It doesn’t curl enough, though, and flashes wide. Broadhead is berated by his teammates for not laying it off.
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21 min: Now Ipswich’s Leif Davis shows impressive technique to hit a low, right-footed, first-time shot when arriving into the penalty area in plenty of space. It’s straight at Gunn though who gathers it safely. But Norwich are firmly on the back foot.
19 min: Consider the Norwich ship unsteadied. First Burns breaks through on the right for Ipswich, and belts a shot for the far post which looks to be flying is but is blocked … then Broadhead dances beyond the Canaries defence, and is one on one with the keeper. He tucks a shot past the goalie, looking for the far post, but it slides fractionally wide. Gunn did well to rush off his line and close the angle down.
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17 min: This is a textbook spicy local derby – plenty of commitment out there but precious little time on the ball for the more creative players to make any impact. Anyway, good news for Norwich is that they’ve steadied the ship after a spell of pressure for Ipswich.
15 min: The crowd is cheering when the ball is within half a mile of either goal. Barnes releases Idah on the Norwich right, capitalising on the space in behind with Ipswich pushing forward. A corner is the result, whipped in by Sara, but Hladky does well to repel it from almost under the crossbar. There was loads of pushing and shoving before the set-piece.
10 min: Ipswich have had 87% of the ball in the opening exchanges. But they haven’t yet fashioned a clear goalscoring chance.
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8 min: Norwich’s Ashley Barnes is penalised for a foul on Hladky, and gets a talking-to from the referee. But he escapes a booking. It’s so loud the players can barely hear themselves think.
6 min: Now Morsy bends a set-piece into the Canaries’ penalty area but again Norwich can clear after a header by Burgess. Gunn gets his hands on the ball as the visitors try to take the sting out of some early pressure by Ipswich.
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2 min: End-to-end stuff early on. Chaplin tries a tricky ball into feet for Ipswich from just outside the penalty area but Norwich snuff out the danger. The atmosphere, as stated, is just as electric as you’d expect.
1 min: You’d expect a chaotic, high-octane opening to a game such as this, and that’s what we’re getting. Norwich trying to be brave on the ball early on.
KICK OFF
Off we go, then! A cracking atmosphere at Portman Road greets the referee’s whistle. Ed Sheeran is in attendance, naturally.
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Right, the teams are out and we’re ready to rock and roll.
Kick-off 🔜 pic.twitter.com/uV1XEX5ZqC
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) December 16, 2023
David Wagner has alleviated some of the pressure that was coming down on his shoulders in early November with a respectable run of late, which amounts to four wins in six matches. The Canaries had won just one of their previous 10 in all competitions, and their recent form will buoy fans venturing the trip to Suffolk this Saturday lunchtime.
They still trail their rivals by a whopping 21 points after 21 games played, mind.
Ipswich Town must believe they’ve got a better chance of beating Norwich today than for many a year. It’s hard to fathom that it was April 2009 the last time they beat their East Anglian rivals. Since then, Norwich have been up to the Premier League a few times and Ipswich have plumbed the depths of League One.
History is history, though, as I’m sure Kieran McKenna will be reminding his players. The Tractor Boys are very much the form boys going into this titanic clash.
Team news
Ipswich Town: Hladky, Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (C), Luongo, Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Tuanzebe, Williams, Taylor, Harness, Hutchinson, Jackson, Scarlett, Ladapo.
Norwich City: Gunn, Stacey, Duffy, McLean (C), McCallum, Gabriel, Nunez, Rowe, Barnes, Sainz, Idah. Subs: Long, Gibbs, Fassnacht, Placheta, Batth, Hernandez, Forshaw, Fisher, Springett.
Referee: Josh Smith (Lincolnshire)
Luke will be here at high noon. In the meantime, here is Paul MacInnes’s preview before the ‘Old Farm’ derby.
Hostilities resume in the East Anglian derby this weekend, four years and 10 months since Ipswich Town and Norwich City last met. A fixture that may not attract the global audience of other English derbies and one whose nicknames – the Old Farm, El Tractico – carry just the slightest hint of mockery will still be guaranteed to deliver a right old tussle at Portman Road on Saturday lunchtime.
