Substitute Alan Lee’s 70th minute goal gave Ipswich Town their first away win of the season emerging victorious from a scrappy affair at Hillsborough on Saturday.
The overnight snowfall in the area had not affected whether the match would go ahead, and the result was never in doubt once Ipswich had taken the lead for the second time late on. Alan Quinn had opened the scoring early on and Marcus Tudgay had equalised ten minutes later.
There are certain things you can predict with Sheffield Wednesday this season. For example, the half time song played over the tannoy system will always be the most inappropriate, the team’s instantaneous struggle to play football after conceding a goal, the use of the long-ball tactic when the smallest strikers are playing, and of course, the rule that former Owls and Blades players will ALWAYS score.
Alan Quinn, who signed for the Tractor Boys in the January transfer window, has played for both Wednesday and United and with only two minutes on the clock caught the Owls defence cold and fired a powerful and precise rocket into the top left corner of Grant’s net. The Owls keeper got a finger on the shot, but he could not keep it out.
It was almost two-nil a few minutes later when referee Colin Webster accidentally intercepted a cross-field pass from Owls midfielder Graham Kavanagh and put Quinn through on goal only to be denied by a last ditch tackle from Jermaine Johnson.
At the other end, Johnson almost levelled the scoring but saw his shot pushed onto the crossbar by Ipswich’s newly acquired goalkeeper Stephen Bywater. From the resulting corner, Marcus Tudgay did level the scores. Instinctively pouncing on loose ricocheting ball, he fired a first-time half-volley from the edge of the area low into the bottom left corner past his former Derby County team-mate.
It was shaping up to be an exciting game with two goal-of-the-season contenders in the first 10 minutes, but unfortunately the remaining 80 minutes did not live up to that tag. Ipswich Town should have taken the lead again after 21 minutes when Quinn’s cross from the left was met by another new signing David Norris, who could only steer his header inches wide of the post.
The only threat Wednesday could offer in reply was in the form of numerous mazy runs from Johnson which more often than not came to little as he was crowded out by the Ipswich defence. Wednesday boss Brian Laws named both transfer-window loan signings Graham Kavanagh and Enoch Showunmi in the starting lineup team and it was the latter who nearly gave the Owls the lead at the start of the second half but his shot failed to really test Bywater.
Johnson continued to look dangerous, and after beating Alex Bruce for pace down the right flank, he reached the byline and delivered a perfect ball across the box that only just eluded the outstretched boot of Tudgay.
When defender Tommy Spurr ventured forward into the area and blasted a shot narrowly over the crossbar, you felt it was not going to be Wednesday’s day, and sure enough with their first meaningful attack of the second period, Ipswich scored the match-winning goal. Substitute Alan Lee bundled the ball home after the Wednesday defence failed to clear Alan Quinn’s corner.
It nearly all fell to pieces seconds later as a long-ball was misread by the Owl’s keeper Grant who after rushing out of his box retreated, got a hand to the ball but not enough, then was involved in a tussle with Quinn fighting for the lose ball and eventually escaped when the rebound was deflected over the crossbar by Richard Hinds for a corner.
As a last throw of the dice, Laws bought on Leon Clarke and Deon Burton, replacing Wallwork and Showunmi, but the subsequent long-ball tactic failed to create any openings and Ipswich played out the remainder of the match to record their first away win of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday travel to Bristol City for their next game on Saturday 9th before welcoming three teams to Hillsborough with Charlton Athletic the next to visit on Tuesday 12th. Kick off: 7.45pm - tickets are now on general sale.
By Andrew Burgess
