Move On Up: The Bishop Pops His Cherry

This was my first away game of the season. A sell out crowd at Dean Court in a second versus fourth place encounter, so all the ingredients for a good match.

Will I see a better game this season? I wonder?

Bournemouth are a very good football team, as in they play really good football and they got at us right from the start, Matt Richie hit the bar within a minute or so and Yann Kermorgant gave them the lead almost immediately afterwards with a spectacular overhead kick.

Everytime I hear Kermorgant's name I think about the YouTube video posted on there by a Leicester fan, well worth a watch, I've posted a link to it at the bottom of this post.

Town were really up against it and had to dig in and concentrate. It probably took us half an hour or so to get into the match and stifle the Cherries fast flowing and pleasing on the eye brand of football.

Bartosz Bialkowski was a busy man in the Ipswich goal and pulled off several decent saves, to go in at half-time just a goal down was no mean feat.

Having said all of that we did create one or two chances of our own, particularly from set pieces. Paul Anderson, recalled to the team, had a very good game especially with his dead ball deliveries.

It was the visitors who looked the sharper after the break and got an equaliser through Teddy Bishop (who had replaced the injured Kevin Bru after just seventeen minutes). It was eighteen year old Bishop's first senior goal for Ipswich.

For the first time during the afternoon the home crowd were quiet and I could sense a little nervousness. However this only lasted for about four minutes before Richie put Bournemouth back in front.

The most controversial moment of the match came just after Tokelo Rantie had replaced Callum Wilson. Within seconds of his entry onto the pitch he was caught in a Tommy Smith & Luke Chambers sandwich, inside the Town box, which had the home crowd & players screaming for a penalty. It was waved away by referee Michael Bull (correctly according to Mick McCarthy!)

After receiving treatment for what seemed like ages, he was stretchered off, his afternoon's work complete, Rantie over!

Ipswich levelled the match again with fifteen minutes remaining. Anderson delivered a perfect free kick from the left wing which, that man, Daryl Murphy headed past Cherries keeper Artur Boruc, sending the travelling support delirious!

Sharon & I had travelled down to Bournemouth in the morning and had tied the game in with her friend Dawn's 50th birthday party in Reigate that evening. We parked the car strategically so that after the match we could make a hasty getaway, which was great until the fourth official held up the board for injury time. TWELVE minutes. "Bloody marvellous" said Sharon "The only time we really need to get away as well!" I don't think that I've ever been to a match with that much extra time added on before. They'd be no Tokelo Sunrises for her that night!

Luckily my exit strategy worked a treat getting away from Bournemouth and we had a good run up to Reigate, arriving just before seven o'clock. Does life get any better?