I grew to realise this was a minority view during the post-match think tank in the Ministry of Ale, but I’m sticking by it: I thought this was a pretty hopeless game. Hey, it’s all about opinions, and I’m entitled to mine. I thought it was a match filled with ineptitude and slack play, particularly in front of goal. There was a spell in the second half, after our equaliser, during which neither side was able to string a couple of passes together. It was a moot point at this stage whether either side could be said to be giving possession away - they never had possession long enough to claim it in the first place.
This is not to be unduly ungrateful. It was quite an exciting match, and in football we should never confuse technical attainment with enjoyment. It was sloppy, but sloppy can be fun. There were many positives we could take from the day. For starters, although I may have cursed the fact at the six o’clock alarm, at least our game was on, unlike many local sides (I felt sorry for the Palace fans on the train up from London, who would have got most of the way to Bradford before discovering their journey was in vain - but then we dragged our New Year's hangovers up to Sheffield), because we have undersoil heating and someone even remembered to turn it on this time.
The Ipswich fans who we encountered in the many excellent pubs of Burnley must have been grateful, as they seemed to enjoy their day in a town many would have never visited before; we hope they’ll come back. Both sides played the game in an excellent spirit, by the way, and the away following was large given the distance and positive in the support of their team. It doesn’t make headlines, but it’s worth recording.
I was honestly happy with the point too. On the way up, no one had expected much beside a defeat. By the second half, with us struggling to make an impression on the game, it was hard to see where the goal was going to come from. I’m no pundit, but about five minutes before Ian Moore, goalkeeper and referee obliged, I turned to my brother and said our best chance of scoring would be if we got a penalty. So it came to pass.
Given the team we had out, I’m more than happy with a draw against one of the division’s form sides, and in terms of ability one of the better sides, although it’s clear they didn’t play to their potential. Consider who we had missing: West, Cox and Taylor were suspended, while out injured were Davis, Briscoe, Weller and, surprisingly, Beresford. That’s more than half a first team. So this was, it’s fair to say, a scratch side, with NTG, very much now our second choice keeper, playing his first game of the season for us, Cook and Branch just back from injury, and lining up alongside TLC Arthur at the back, that rarest of things this season: an unfamiliar face, in the form of Driss Diallo, straight into the team for his debut.
I concentrated during the early part of the game on watching Diallo, because it’s unusual these days to have someone new to run the rule over. I’d need to see more of him. He looked committed and physical, perhaps too physical. The referee gave him one booking and two talkings to. Another ref on another day might have sent him off. It can’t have been easy having to come straight in and play. He’s obviously not dreadful, but time will tell whether he’s another Arthur Gnohere or another Rune Vindheim; whether we can afford another central defender when (if?) injuries and suspensions clear up is another question.
Collective defensive error was at fault for Ipswich’s goal, which came after an even start where we had more of the ball but never really threatened. We fell asleep and a low corner eluded us. Magilton’s backheel caught us flatfooted, and Counago, who sounds like an innovative retail website, was free to shoot home. Ah well, at least we couldn’t go 2-0 up and chuck it away again. After this it was difficult for us. Royle isn’t the greatest of managers but he’s a good trouble-shooter. He will have brought a sense of organisation and discipline to Ipswich. You could see that here. In the lead, they concentrated on keeping their shape and denying us the space where it mattered.
If ever you doubted how important Gareth Taylor is, this game proved it. We missed him so badly. Ian Moore tried hard, as you know he will, but we had no one to get amongst their defenders. Doubtless some cretins will still boo next time Taylor’s name is announced. The team as a whole lacked a core, both up front or in midfield. If in attack what we really needed was Gareth Taylor, in the centre we really missed John Deary, but then we have done for a number of years now. He’s never really been replaced. We could have used Paul Weller. It’s rotten luck that he got injured just when coming into such good form.
The half time Longside conference was correspondingly gloomy. We were going to get beat, and there was not much to be done about it. The sub’s bench was hardly full of options, while key men Blake and Little were somewhere between subdued and sidelined.
Be thankful, therefore, for the gift of the penalty, a gloriously inessential intervention by former Norwich keeper Andy Marshall. Ian Moore took Alan Moore’s pass into the box but was only going to get further from goal. Marshall dived in, Moore dived, and the ever haphazard Andy Hall tossed a coin and decided on penalty. I thought at the time it was a clear enough call, although Moore obviously made much of it, and others were unconvinced. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth (never understood that expression, by the way – whoever gives horses as gifts and what's the worst that can happen if you look one in the mouth?) Robbie Blake stepped up and smartly sent it to the keeper’s left.
Cue a crisis of confidence from Ipswich which we couldn’t quite capitalise on, before the game drifted into that exciting spell where neither side could keep the ball or finish the chances that came their way. We finished the game stronger, but Ipswich had the cleaner chances. That they missed them was down to a combination of some stout defending and woeful finishing. Stout defending included a superb double challenge by Branch – having made the first tackle the ball ran loose to a second Ipswich player, and our Graham had no right to win that one too, but he bombed in and did – and Diallo, who cleared a lob that was heading towards the goal. NTG also did alright, getting away with one of those scary foot first clearances and smartly saving a shot when we though they were offside but weren’t. The woeful finishing came from a pair of Bents. There was something about the sight of goal that made both Darren and Marcus of that ilk lean back and hoof over.
Our best chance of the half fell to Papa, on for the dismal Alan Moore. Ian Moore just took a touch to divert the ball into the box away from him, and Papa hurled himself at it - only to put himself into the net and the ball well wide. Wrong way round, cock. We had a good spell near the end, where Ipswich could have conceded, but we never looked like making our corners count.
Alan Moore divided people again, but after sticking up for him last season I have concluded that he is a wasteful player. He wastes possession, wastes good opportunities, and indeed, seems set to waste the natural talent he has in abundance. Not once when he has the ball in a promising position do I expect him to make the best choice. Is anyone surprised when the chance peters out? Talent alone isn’t enough. You need hard work and application. Compare with my man of the match (again), Graham Branch, once ridiculed, now redeemed. Now we all know Branch is not a left back. I suspect Branch knows he is not a left back. But, being asked to play in a position he is not naturally suited to, he has grafted, learned the ropes, improved, and won people over. It can be done.
Honourable mentions, too, to Ian Moore, who never looked like he was going to score but laboured with determination in Taylor’s absence, and to Paul Cook, who worked and worked. Interesting that, although Armstrong and Payton both got their tracksuits off at one point, Stan only used one sub, which is most unlike him. No need for the two youth team products to worry about coming on the pitch, of course. Wouldn’t it just be cheaper to have three subs?
Towards the end the attendance was announced - sort of. Apparently the attendance was 15,051, "of which 91% actually attended." Uh? I know they've started doing this - they did it at the Wolves match too - but can anyone tell me what this is about? Surely the attendance should be the number of people attending the game - that's why it's called the attendance. Or am I being naive? But how can an attendance figure include 9% of people who are at home, or working, or shopping, or too drunk to rouse themselves from the pub? You're either there or you’re not, aren't you? Presumably the club aren't aware that a traditional component of the London Clarets' journey to any home game is the sweepstake to guess the attendance. Now we don't know who's won any more!
And that was that. After incident-free injury time we shot out into the rapidly cooling air, with the prospect of a six hour journey home punctuated only by occasional intakes of alcohol to look forward to, contented with our point. It’s not a game I’ll remember long, but I’m glad we didn’t get beat and maintained a small run of sorts, and it was another point towards the 50.
13 more to go, and then we can really enjoy the particular pleasures of a mid table season. Here’s to stopping in the pub for another pint, stress free Friday nights and being able to book your holidays in May.
Subs not used: Armstrong, Earl Davis, O'Neill, Payton.
Referee: A Hole.
Scorers: (Burnley) Blake 66 (pen) / (Ipswich) Counago.com (22).
Attendance: 13,696.41, according to my calculations. (I think the .41 was on the row in front of me.)
Firmo's man of the match: Di Branchio.
Balti pie-o-meter: 0/10. None left! But the potato pies were yummy.
91% happy