Ipswich Town 1-1 Reading
Not the most convincing start to Town's new season, but a point rescued against a more than capable Reading side can only be a good thing. The performances of debutants Kelvin Davies and Drissa Diallo were encouraging, and Georges Santos put on a reasonable display (although I'm still not convinced that he's good enough for a starting place).
Elsewhere on the pitch - Marcus Bent and Pablo Counago were certainly diligent up front, although unable to test Reading keeper Hahnemann to any extent. The pair looked good in possession and Bent especially looked confident when it came to beating his man.
As for Reading - we all expected them to be a difficult opponent. Players like Sidwell, Williams and Brown certainly got stuck in, Sidwell especially was fortunate to stay on the pitch with his over zealous challenges, notably what looked like an elbow to Town captain Jim Magilton.
But Sidwell stayed on the pitch long enough to sway the game in Reading's favour. Defensive frailties allowed a ball from Forster to find Sidwell who spun and beat Davies with a high shot into the roof of the net. Chris Makin and Richard Naylor the main culprits - Makin being tied in knots before the ball was launched towards goal and Naylor for... just not being there.
Even the second half sending off of Nicky Shorey didn't really bring Town to life. Pablo Counago ran through and was unceremoniously tripped from behind by the 22-year old. There was no doubt that it was a foul and Pablo certainly did his best to make the referee's decision easy - a red card for the Reading defender.
So surely that would make Town's job easier? Wrong! This wasn't the catalyst for a Reading capitulation in fact Town's strikers weren't helped by the fact that Reading then moved to an 8-2 formation (thats eight men behind the ball).
The 90-minute mark came, and four minutes of added time were announced. As the crowd increased in volume to encourage Town to push forward in a last gasp attempt to rescue some kind of result, I turned round and said to my fellow season-ticket holder:
"We always make a huge noise about four minutes of injury time, but we never score".
Three minutes later, Tommy Miller placed a nicely taken penalty into the bottom right hand corner of the Reading goal. Cue Tom Hark.
Overall a draw was a fair result. In the first half Town certainly dominated more of the possession and even had a few chances which were either blocked or off target. Reading only really threatened once, but new boy Kelvin Davies was on hand (literally) to palm an effort away from goal. In the second half, once Reading had the lead, it was all about defence for them. Town looked rather inept at creating chances. No one would shoot and very few crosses went into the box. The only notable cross came from youngster Matt Richards, and that flew straight across the six-yard area and out of the other side without anyone making a effort to get onto the end of it. Reading will feel aggrieved at the referee's decisions, but they were fair. They got away with several fouls and Sidwell's meaty challenges deserved to see him go off before he had scored - so I suppose things even themselves up!
The heat didn't really help either team attack with any speed and hopefully the sky-high temperatures will subside for the game against Crewe next week.
Player ratings:
Kelvin Davies - 8/10
Not a lot to do on his debut, but when it mattered he was able to make a good save. He didn't really have much chance with the goal and at last...a keeper who can kick!!
Fabian Wilnis - 6/10
Not a bad performance, but not a good performance. Can't really say much else.
Chris Makin - 6/10
Didn't look too confident going forward and could have been a bid more secure at the back. Wasn't the worst defender though and worked hard all over the pitch.
Richard Naylor - 6/10
Probably the weakest link of the defence, but got in a few tackles and clearing headers. Distribution and confidence on the ball at the back a problem.
Drissa Diallo - 8/10
Confident and assured performance. His pace and strength will be a valuable asset this season.
Georges Santos - 6/10
Came close in the first half, but passing went astray occasionally. He'll need to perform better to convince some fans of his worth.
Jim Magilton - 7/10
The new captain put in a good performance and led by example. Jim's influence was all over the pitch and in the right place in injury time.
Tommy Miller - 7/10
Before the goal he looked the most likely to score with two good efforts. Showed confidence to score the penalty in the last minute.
Marcus Bent - 8/10
One of his best performances, he tracked back, beat men, passed the ball well. Shame he didn't score.
Pablo Counago - 7/10
Everything was there apart from a tangible effort on goal.
Darren Bent - 6/10
Couldn't really get going against a physical Reading side, but showed good pace in the first half.
Subs
Richards - 7/10
Reuser - 6/10
Bowditch - didn't really play enough to get a rating.
Unused
Wright
Price
Final thought:
Shoot!!! When it came to a good scoring opportunity just outside or inside the area, players would look to pass - Pablo Counago was especially guilty of this. If you don't shoot you don't score! Miller, Bent and Santos were the only players who tried efforts from outside the area and none of those were on target.
(Another final thought - is Naylor really good enough to play in central defence??).