nPower Championship: Ipswich Town FC

The games are falling off the fixture lists quickly now and the season is coming to a close but will both these clubs still be in the Championship on the final whistle of the season? Ipswich Town under the stewardship of Mick McCarthy have improved and moved up the table steadily but the closeness of English footballs second tier means they aren't safe yet. The Owls are also creeping to safety but are still mathematically in danger of relegation so all 3 points for either team would be a major boost.

The away side get proceedings underway but after just 36 seconds they're under pressure - Luke Hyam fouls Jermaine Johnson only for Danny Pugh's free-kick to be cleared by former Barnsley loanee, Frank Nouble. With barely 2 minutes on the clock, Hyam fouls J.Johnson again - this time deep in the Wednesday half. Ipswich attack on the 4th minute when Nouble whips a dangerous ball in but Owls captain Anthony Gardner claims possession and clears the ball. The 5th minute sees Town earn a corner and Jay Tabb swings a ball over to Tommy Smith who beats Chris Kirkland only for Pugh to be on the line and clear to safety. On the 11th minute a Giles Coke cross is met by J.Johnson whose header is saved well by Scott Loach. The next attack belongs to Ipswich and they make the most of it - a Carlos Edwards throw-in causes panic and disarray in the Owls box leaving Tabb to bundle the ball in from inside the 6 yard box. In a less than entertaining game where both sides squander possession, the visitors almost score a second goal on the 17th minute - a 20 yard effort by Hyam saved well by Kirkland before Lewis Buxton clears Tabb's corner kick. When Pugh is fouled by Nouble a minute later, a worked piece of play ends when J.Johnson sends his snapshot over the crossbar. When loanee Seyi Olofinjana sends a well placed ball over to the Jamaican moments later, the supporting striker squeezes his shot narrowly wide. Not content with his sides showing, Dave Jones makes 2 early substitutions: Steve Howard replacing Kieran Lee (who earns a reception from the crowd and applauds all 3 home sides) and minutes later J.Johnson is replaced by Chris Maguire after Ipswich put the ball out of play allowing the pulled-up winger treatment. Tabb almost goes from villain to hero in the space of moments - he first fouls Coke before the wasted set-piece is countered with the Reading loanee firing over from just outside the box. After a Maguire foul on Tabb Wednesday break and claims from the home fans go unheard when Loach is thought to have handled outside his area. The 39th minute sees the Owls force a corner which Leeds-loanee Pugh sends in only for Howard to head over the bar. With Hillsborough in fine voice, the team look sharper - Coke firing a 20 yard shot wide before Leroy Lita has a shot parried by Loach and cleared by Luke Chambers.

HT. Neither side look comfortable on the ball but with Ipswich having Tabb play pretty much everywhere, the Irishman is seeing plenty of the ball. Stuart Holden - the USA international loanee from Bolton Wanderers has been recalled by his parent club and asked not to play this fixture in preparation for Bolton's play-off campaign. With the sun shining it would be rude for the HT snack not to be a pint of John Smiths!

Moments into the second half and Jeremy Hélan delivers a cross into the box that Smith clears as Howard fouls him resulting in a Town free-kick. A wasted Edwards cross soon follows before Guirane N'Daw fires an effort wide as Wednesday struggle to get a foot on the ball. Looking to capitalise on their momentum, Ipswich soon worry the home fans when a 52nd minute Daryl Murphy shot goes inches wide before Kirkland claims a Tabb corner kick a minute later. In a break from the back, The Owls see a 20 yard Hélan shot ricochet kindly into the grasp of Loach before warning a 56th minute corner. Pugh's inswinger is cleared by Edwards as the home fans increase the volume to push their side on. A minute later and Buxton sends a ball into Howard whose brilliant pass to Maguire sees the Scotsman cross and find Lita leaving the Swansea loanee to calmly slot home the equaliser. With that goal Hillsborough is rocking and the team respond only for Miguel Llera to glance wide from 6 yards following Maguire's corner kick. Ipswich look dangerous on the break and a Pugh block denies Edwards a shot at goal before Howard clears Tabb's resulting corner. A 63rd minute foul on Howard by Smith is quickly followed by another Ipswich foul - N'Daw upending Maguire and that break in play allows Patrick Kisnorbo to replace Richard Stearman. The game turns scrappy from there with both teams conceding free-kicks in attempts to quell the opposition attacks and when Kisnorbo fouls Howard on the 73rd minute, Llera's 25 yard free-kick is gratefully claimed by Loach. The Tractor Boys earn a corner 3mins later but the impressive Kirkland climbs high to claim. Shortly after and the home fans are celebrating again - Hélan doing great work to shed 2 defenders before playing in Lita to push the ball home from inside the 6 yard box. The celebrations are short lived however as a linesman's flag is raised ruling out the strike. A double swap by Mick McCarthy sees Jay Emmanuel-Thomas replace Murphy and Anthony Wordsworth replace Tabb shortly after the Owls are indebted to Pugh for a second time, he acrobatically clears the ball off the line when Kirkland is beaten to deny Town a winner themselves. After 3mins of injury time, the referee brings the game to a close and a hard earned point for each side see's another season in the Championship within touching distance.


FT. That is a good point for both teams, the way the rest of the days results play out mean Wednesday are 4 points and Ipswich 6 points clear of the drop with only 2 games remaining. One more point for the Tractor Boys will see them safe (or if results go their way then their points now are enough) whilst a win against Peterborough or the Owls will secure a Championship place for the 2013/14 season.

Attendance: 23,630
Owls Man of the Match: Steve Howard (proving many an Owl fan wrong with his play - me included. His work-rate and touch is second to none as he maybe tries to earn a full transfer to Hillsborough).