The Long Good Friday

Another live game on SKY, meaning another unorthodox kick-off time - 5.15pm on a Good Friday. Paul had rung me on Thursday to say that he was in town, so Tracey took my season ticket and I ended up with him behind the goal in row A of the North Stand, they were just about the only tickets available when I brought them online. It made a change to be right next to the pitch and have a different perspective of the game, it’s certainly more frantic close up.

Town started the game brightly against the current league leaders and went ahead after six minutes through Freddie Sears.

Bournemouth grew into the game and in all honesty played some really attractive football creating more chances than Town. Ipswich's keeper Bartosz Bialkowski had to be at his best and pulled off a string of fine saves throughout the game. He was beaten in the eighty-second minute by a looping header from Cherries substitute Kenwyne Jones (who only recently joined the visitors on-loan from Cardiff). An inspired substitution? He scored with his first touch on his debut! So it finished honours even for the fourth successive league game between Ipswich & AFC (“Always F****n Cheating, that’s what that stands for.” I heard somebody shout that out, in response to their   numerous attempts to win free-kicks) Bournemouth.

The league is so tight at the top this season with eight teams fighting it out for promotion. If you compare it to two seasons ago Leicester finished sixth with sixty-eight points (the same total that us, Derby and Wolves have at the moment, after forty matches). Last season at the same stage (with six matches remaining) Leicester were already promoted!

After the game we met up in Degeros before going next door to Zizzi for food. We then made the mistake of going to K Bar, where Max and his mates were assembled, we then made another mistake (apart from Paul, who had decided to walk home) in having "kitchen drinks" when we got home! Suffice to say that Saturday was a quiet affair.

Oh Happy Day

We're back in it!

Town are back up into the top six again following a dramatic injury time winning goal from on loan Richard Chaplow. He took his goal with such aplomb after he was put through with a neat pass from Freddie Sears. After carrying the ball towards the menacing looking Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes and with seemingly all the time in the world, he just coolly side footed the ball into the net, signally mass celebrations from everyone connected with the Tractor Boys and a mass exodus from the Hornets fans.

My day had started in Christchurch Park, where I did the Jaffa secession, before taking part in my first Ipswich Park Run. The Park Run is in Chantry Park for most of the year but moves to Christchurch Park for the winter, it was the penultimate week there, before relocating and as I'm away next week, I decided to give it a go.

It was a quick dash home for a shower and bacon rolls following the run, before picking up Max's mates Simon and Darren (he stayed with Leanne in London and was meeting us in Watford!)

We were parked up near to the ground just before 1pm and tagged along with the boys to The Moon Over Water in the town centre which was very lively and full of Ipswich fans.

Max turned up in time to hear the new Delia song, adopted from the Derby County fans who had protested about the high cost of tickets charged to away fans during their recent visit to Carrow Road.

"Arsehole, arsehole, arsehole.

Delia's a f**kin arsehole.

Twenty is plenty, forty is naughty.

Delia's a f**kin arsehole."

The song caught on very quick and reverberated around the pub for several minutes, the Town fans obviously enjoyed it and it caught on inside the ground later that afternoon too!
Sharon & I left the lads in the pub and walked to the ground - complete with the newly finished 'Sir Elton John Stand', which has part of the lyrics of 'Your Song' written along the complete length of it, how bizarre, I thought that type of thing only ever happened in Norwich.

"You can tell everybody"

Harry the Hornet - we wiped the smile off his face!

I guess as a spectacle the match would have been a dull affair to the neutral. Watford were denied a clear scoring opportunity by a resolute Ipswich side and other than the injury time drama the only real talking point was the first half injury picked up by Joel Ekstrand, who had to leave the pitch on a stretcher and is out for the rest of 2015 with a cruciate knee ligament injury. Karma for his nasty tackle on Johnny Williams in the reverse fixture at Portman Road?

Chris Kamara doing his bit for Sky Sports

When we got back to the car Max got a call from Simon telling him that Darren had been arrested for going onto the pitch. He was celebrating with Jay Tabb after the goal and had failed to dodge the Police!

We drove to the ground and whilst I was looking for somebody to ask what they do with arrestees spotted Mick McCarthy & Terry Connor,  so I decided to get a photo with the Town boss, Darren could wait!

I found out that Darren would have been transferred to Watford Police Station so we headed over there. While we driving along Vicarage Road we spotted Terry Connor walking along and as we joined the queuing traffic Max jumped out of the car and got a 'selfie' with the Town assistant manager. 'Timing is everything' he told him as the lights changed and we pulled away!

Once at Watford Police Station we learnt that Darren would be kept for two or three hours whilst they decided whether to charge him or not, so we headed home, after all we had Rudie to attend to!

As it turned out Darren was released without charge at about 9pm and got home at 1.30am on Sunday, all's well that ends well! I don't think he'll be on the pitch for a little while - unless there's a mass invasion.

As far as away days goes this one was well up there with the best, a really enjoyable, fun filled day with a dramatic (in more ways than one) finish!

We now go into another international break and when we resume on Good Friday against top of the table Bournemouth at Portman Road it becomes a ten game season for promotion (assuming we don't now manage to get there automatically).  

Jay's Fluid

It was a bit of a murky night on Tuesday and the pre-match atmosphere inside Portman Road was equally gloomy, following Saturday's 4-1 loss at  Middlesborough. There was definitely a lack of fans/pundits confidence in the Town defence, with many calling for a change at the back, but Mick McCarthy stood by his back four and they repaid his faith with a clean sheet against a Bolton side who didn't seem to want to score - they squandered one or two excellent chances before Jay Tabb netted the winning goal in the seventy-ninth minute. 

It's that time of the year already

Strange Days Indeed

What happened to automatic promotion?

It was a family affair for us at Portman Road, Sam was back in the UK and attending his first home game for several seasons, having had to fly home from Vietnam for mum's funeral. Ironically enough it was against Brentford - whom he had seen away at Christmas on his last visit home!

Well at least the weather has warmed up a bit while I've been away

No four pub challenge for Sam before the game - just five pints!

Things haven't been going so well for Ipswich since my last game, way back in February. A win at Fulham on Valentine's day was followed by losing one-nil at home to Reading, beating Birmingham at home a few days later, before successive losses at, dare I say Narwich and then Leeds, which has left us in seventh place just behind Saturday's opponents Brentford.

Re-called Dean Gerken in goal

It was a really entertaining game and truthfully Town should have got all three points with the amount of chances that we failed to take, none so glaring as Daryl Murphy missing an open goal from less than six yards out - just a minute into the second half! You have to forgive him though as he had earlier scored his twenty second goal of the season. That goal in the ninth minute had given us just the start that we needed.

The Bee's equalised after twenty-five minutes with a rather fortunate goal, Recalled Town keeper Dean Gerken pulled off an excellent save from Stuart Dallas but Jonathan Douglas was on hand to head the loose ball into the net.

After the match we went to Degero's for a few drinks before heading accross the the road to The Clay Oven for an Indian. There was a misunderstanding over the bill which put a damper on the evening, perhaps it's time to revisit our post match entertainment?

We did have 'one for the road' at The Thomas Wolsey before getting a taxi back to Kesgrave - only to end up in The Bell until about midnight! I blame Sam!