[madsteve]

One Step Closer

CC went with the 442 that he seems to favour at the moment with FF & Joao up front, Wallace on the right & Bannan on the left. It wasn't working with Ipswich controlling CM and Bannan hardly getting a touch. After about 20 minutes, we changed the formation slightly to more of a 4132 with Lopez in front of the back four with Wallace, Lee & Bannan playing narrower, which made a big difference.

The Ipswich defence struggled to deal with the pace of Joao, which forced them to defend deeper & deeper which allowed us to put on increasing pressure. Joao was denied by a brilliant save after he burst clear. We took the lead just before half time. Wallace crossed, Joao kept the ball alive & FF was in the right spot to fire home.

We were playing lovely football with FF & Joao linking well, Bannan controlling CM with Lee & Wallace both playing tidily. We had a couple of scares but Loovens intervened brilliantly with blocks. Ipswich barely looked like scoring although they persisted in targeting Hunt, who was often caught out of position and forced into desperate tackles. It happened when Hunt allowed a cross in and Ipswich equalised against the run of play from a sweet Dozzell header.

We created several chances to win the match. Joao flashed a 25 yard shot that was tipped round the post. Bannan had two chances. FF had two speculative efforts and there were several goal mouth scrambles. Some how, we couldn't get the winner but the performance suggested that we will still claim a Playoff place and might just clinch a promotion place at Wembley.

Westwood - 6 - quiet afternoon
Hunt - 5 - weak link, targeted by Ipswich
Lees - 8 - dependable as ever
Loovens - 8 - outstanding leadership & saving tackles
Pudil - 6 - found increasing space in second half
Wallace - 7 - improved after tucking inside
Lee - 7 - neat & tidy performance
Lopez - 7 - kept things ticking over
Bannan - 7 - controlled game once released from left side
FF - 7 - back on it, unlucky to only score once
Joao - 7 - led defence a merry dance, just needs a goal
.............................................................
Hooper - 6
Nuhiu - 5

Stat Attack:

Goals: 1 - FF

Assists: 1 - Joao

Touches: 87 - Lees, 74 - Bannan, 61 - Lee, 60 - Wallace, 57 - Loovens, 52 - FF, Pudil, Westwood, 50 - Lopez, 45 - Hunt, 30 - Joao, 6 - Hooper, 3 - Nuhiu

Tackles: 4 - Hunt, 3 - Loovens, Lee, 2 - FF, 1 - Wallace, Lopez

Interceptions: 7 - Pudil, 4 - Lees, Bannan, 2 - Lopez, 1 - Hunt

Clearances: 13 - Lees, 3 - Loovens, 2 - Pudil, 1 - Westwood, Hunt, Joao

Attempts: 5 - FF, 4 - Joao, 3 - Wallace, 2 - Lees, Bannan, 1 - Pudil, Lee

Attempts On Target: 2 - Wallace, Joao, 1 - Bannan, FF

Key Passes: 4 - Wallace, 3 - Joao, 2 - Lee, FF, Hooper, 1 - Pudil, Bannan, Nuhiu

Dribbles: 4 - FF, 1 - Lee

Dispossessed: 2 - Wallace, FF, 1 - Hooper

Bad Control: 6 - Joao, 3 - FF, 2 - Bannan, 1 - Hunt, Wallace, Lee

Crosses (Accurate in brackets): 14 - Wallace (4), 4 - Bannan (0), 3 - Pudil (0), 2 - Hunt (0), Lee (1), 1 - Lopez (0)

Passing Accuracy (Total Passes in Brackets):

Hooper - 100% (5), Lopez - 91% (45), Pudil - 90% (38), Wallace - 89% (37), Loovens - 88% (50), FF - 88% (32), Lee - 83% (53), Bannan - 78% (60), Joao - 71% (17), Lees - 70% (66), Hunt - 52% (31), Westwood - 51% (37), Nuhiu - 50% (2)

Did enough to show last week was a blip but CC persists in starting with 442 when the majority of fans can see that it isn't working. Thankfully, he is quick to make adjustments during the match. He moved our midfield narrower, which had a positive effect. He brought on Hooper, which gave the Ipswich defence more problems as we built up a head of steam. Nuhiu was probably worth the gamble although it didn't work this time.

If we play like that, we will win most matches with a fair run of the ball. Hopefully that will happen on Tuesday night.