It wasn't any particular problem early on, more a combination of things. Ipswich flew out of the blocks, they looked very sharp and direct and broke quickly whenever the opportunity presented itself. We gave them that opportunity far too often. We were sloppy in possession, guilty of overplaying a bit when we'd pushed our full back's forward and made individual errors. Sam Ricketts let Roberts turn him easily early on but Boaz rescued us, Ashbee missed a tackle badly in midfield and Wayne Brown misread a header on the halfway line to let Alan Lee in behind. Ipswich hit the post twice, once deflected off Ricketts, and got plenty of men forward every time. We looked very shaky, one man aside. Michael Turner was magnificent again. He made 4 or 5 crucial interventions and was the foundation for the whole performance. If not for Turner, we'd have been 2 or 3 down and sunk. Instead, we were able to get into the game, our first bit of quality play forced a corner, JJ played it short, got it back and delivered a super cross for Pedersen to head home. The rest of the first half was pretty even after that and apart from the Ipswich goal, we defended far more stubbornly for the last 70 minutes.
Myhill showed what he gives us, he made a crucial save with his foot very early on and a pair of brave blocks. He was quick off his line and came out and caught superbly from a corner when the nerves were jangling. He could've done that more often, there were another 2 or 3 crosses that Turner dealt with in the 6 yard box that Bo should have taken. Ricketts was all action again. He wasn't able to move forward in the first half because of the Ipswich threat, but second half he started to motor on and kept them occupied. Apart from the early mistake, he was solid at the back. It's noticeable that crosses have rarely come in from our right in the last few games. Dawson started poorly, giving the ball away and getting caught upfield. He grew into the game though. His distribution in the second quarter was much more sensible and gave Windass the opportunity to hold the ball up and second half, he kept things short and looked very composed. Brown always looks liable to make a mistake, but gives his mates a real calming influence. I don't think it's a coincidence that Turner is playing outstandingly well with Brown alongside him. Brown took a smack on the nose and just got on with things. He scored a nice goal, a lovely flick header and had a super second half. Turner made a silly foul on Alan Lee and headed a ball that Brown had covered but everything else he did was superb. There's no beating him in the air, his positioning is much improved and the timing of his tackles is excellent. If he learns to bring the the ball out, he'll be far too good for us.
The midfield tried to get a foothold on the game early on, but failed. Ipswich cut through us far too easily and exploited the gap between defence and midfield. Ash and Marney deserve lots of credit. They rolled their sleeves up and got stuck into tackles and put their foot on the ball. After we'd nicked the first goal, we looked more comfortable and in the second half, they barely wasted a pass. It's a combo with great balance (when it works), Ash does the dirty job, wins the ball in the air and sits deeper, while Marney has bags of energy, pushes forward and looks more inventive. He had his best game in a while. The second half suited him, the whole team played the ball a bit shorter, there was room to run into around Okocha and plenty of options for the man on the ball. There's plenty of room for improvement in Deano #2, he needs to be involved in the game for the whole 90 minutes, he can drive into the box when the ball is wide and he can get on the ball higher up the pitch and use the acceleration and control he has to hurt teams. He's bounced back well, because he was poor last week. As we came into the game, we used the two wider players much more, we hadn't really early on. Neither has a lot of pace, but they are confident, strong and make good runs off the ball. Garcia did well without really threatening the penalty area but Pedersen will hog the headlines. His header was a good finish. He flashed over the bar after a superb move from Garcia, Okocha and Windass when he probably should have scored and then he scored a superb second goal to kill the game. The ball came from our area, Garcia into Okocha, a superb reverse pass to Deano and he held the ball up before dinking it superbly into the path of Pedersen's run and Henrik smashed it hard and low. He didn't do a lot else in an attacking sense, but he gave us great balance and tracked back too.
Dean Windass was back and looking fresh as a daisy. He was pretty much up front alone because Okocha rarely got in and around the box. He held the ball up well and brought players into the game (most of the time). He played his part in the second and third goals and harassed defenders for an hour or so. Okocha was absolutely outrageous at times. His general play is good, he floats around the pitch, gives a good option for a pass and links the play well. He's not afraid to try the difficult pass and it didn't quite come off today, but it will. His crossing is fantastic, he assisted two of our goals and played a key role in the third. He's a great influence on his team mates, he always wants the ball, he revels in the responsibility, he doesn't panic and the sort of situation we faced today is made for him. Steve McPhee replaced Windass and did OK. He ran the channels and got into 2 or 3 decent positions, but the ball didn't quite fall for him. It was a good substitution, because it gave the Ipswich defence a real problem to deal with when Windass was flagging. PB had a good game today, introducing Livermore for Okocha with 20 minutes to go, giving Okocha a rest and Ipswich another brick to knock through in our midfield. Peter Taylor would've made that substitution at 1-0! Bryan Hughes replaced Pedersen, who got a great reception, and looked a bit out of place on the left.
The result was as harsh on Ipswich as the 2-5 was on us last season, but we deserved to win the game. We were outplayed for 20 minutes and 3-0 was a surreal scoreline, but what followed was excellent. We finished clinically, scoring 3 times in the first half from 4 chances, not something we've really done, well, ever. We controlled the second half, it was the sort of professional performance we really don't do. There weren't any alarms or incidents. We kept the ball, made chances and snubbed out an attack who'd looked very, very threatening. The gaffer picked the right team. I wouldn't have picked Pedersen after Wednesday and after Sheffield, I'd probably have left out Marney for Hughes. Thankfully, I'm not in charge. Top marks for Phil Brown today.
So onwards we go again. Charlton at home. Normally, you'd always keep a winning team, but we've always looked a bit predictable when we've come off the back of a win. Perhaps that's why we haven't managed many back to back victories. Certainly if Folan is fit, he might give us a different option and give Charlton a different, and hopefully bigger, problem. PB said after the game that Coles and Bridges would follow Collins out on loan. I don't think either can argue, they've had opportunities and haven't taken them. Coles isn't the same player he was when he came here. Bridges just isn't the player he was, full stop. Browny hinted that a defender and forward would come in on loan. Hopefully, it's a right-back, because we look one player short of an outstanding back five. The home form is getting better, 2 wins and a draw in 4 games is much better. Fortress KC, here we come.
Ratings: Myhill 7, Ricketts 7, Dawson 6, Turner 9, Brown 7; Garcia 6, Pedersen 7 (Hughes), Ashbee 7, Marney 7; Okocha 7 (Livermore); Windass 7 (McPhee).