|The Saints team did include Bedders, Aribo and Fraser, but Cap’n Jack stayed at centre back, with THB replacing KWP at right back. Ipswich were in their stock 4-2-3-1 with Kiefer up top and Chaplin picking up the pieces. We have Michael Salisbury as Ref. He was dropped from the Prem list following errors made while doing VAR checks. Let us hope he can still manage the whistle and cards…

Leicester beat Norwich in today’s early game and returned to the top of the table. At kickoff, we trail them by 11 points with 2 games in hand. After we play, Leeds entertain Hull in the late game, and we must hope the Hull that won at SMS turns up at Elland Road.

From here on, Dear Readers, I’m writing after the event. I made the usual copious notes to deliver a blow-by-blow account of proceedings at Ipswich, but frankly, I can’t be arsed. We didn’t adopt the usual script, and for long periods on Monday, we looked a class apart; we bossed every stat but fouls and final score and travelled home with sweet F.A. Here then are the brief highlights.

Both sides wore their home strips, and Russ’s Norwich connections garnered plenty of boos from the local morons as he took his seat in the dugout. Gary Weaver remarked that in his career as both player and manager, Russ had never (yet) lost to Ipswich…

We kicked off and once the phoney war had subsided it was the routine of us passing them to death and them set in ranks to cut us off at the pass. After 7m Che found Adam but this first attempt at goal cannoned off a defender. Our next attack saw Stu set up Flynn but his shot flew wide. Leif Davis at left back for Ipswich got their first shot away, collecting Luongo’s pass and dragging beyond the far post.

After more Saints pressure which Ipswich survived, they broke forward again. This time, Morsy rolled the ball to Davis, and this time, he leathered a shot that flew past Baz into the roof of the net. FFS! 1-0 down.

Before I’d stopped swearing, Saints were level. From the kick-off, Joe carried the ball into their half. He laid the ball wide to AA and carried on his run. AA put in a low cross, which Joe toed into the path of Che, who stuck it past Hladky. 1-1 and game on.

To be fair, from this point on, we looked sublime. Our front six is better than anything else in this league, and for the rest of the first half, we barely gave Ipswich a kick. They responded with a string of crude fouls, and how Morsy wasn’t red-carded, only the Ref knows.

Bree missed, Joe and AA had shots blocked, and the second duly arrived when a lovely diagonal pass from Stu picked out Adam, who drove it back across the keeper on 23m. 1-2, and Saints were cruising.

We continued to dominate until the half-hour when a rare foray upfield by the home side saw Skate Chaplin draw a save from Baz. Shortly after, Big Kiefer got into a tangle with Bedders and hurt his back. The Welsh Giant returned to the pitch after treatment but was soon down again and was replaced by Al Hamadi on 26m. He is a different type of forward, not up for the fight but pacey when running by you.

We continued to dominate the ball; they kept kicking our players and getting away with it. On 42m, we put together the best move of the match. We collected the ball in midfield, and Joe carried it on before finding Stu. The canny Scot put our Wee Man in on goal, but his shot just missed the back stick. Close — but no cigar!

Morsy was the only player carded and got away with another dirty foul before +7m were signalled - mostly for Kiefer’s problems. The foul count rose, and the locals were bitching, but the only football of note was Adam shooting over when he had other options and Joe collecting a defensive header and lofting it back in, but Jack was offside. HT = 1-2.

We played some lovely football but only scored twice. They’d hardly seen the ball but were only one goal adrift. I was probably not the only Scummer feeling nervous at halftime.

Ipswich came out with greater intent, but we gave them nothing for 3m, then went down the other end, and Che put another decent chance wide of the mark. I was starting to think I’d seen this play before…

Davis then got forward and crossed, but Jackson’s header flew wide. On 52m, the same player upended Fraser near the corner, and Bree (who seemed on FK duty) put in his best cross of the night. For once, a Saints head met it. Bedders threw himself at the ball, deflecting it to the bottom corner, but the Hungarian stopper dived full length to tip it past the post. How we needed that third goal…

We won a couple more corners, but only a tame effort from AA required their keeper to make a save. Just before the hour, we won a ball deep in our half and broke quickly. Three on two, Flynn opted to play in Fraser but his effort was saved before Woolfenden conceded a corner.

On the hour, play was held up as Bedders seemed to have hurt his back. Whilst the Pole was receiving treatment, K McK brought on 3 subs. Weaver had already been rabbiting on about Ipswich subs scoring more than any other side in England and that McK knew his ideal finishing XI at kick-off. Off came Tuanzebe, Luongo, and Jackson, replaced by Clarke, Taylor, and Broadhead.

The good news was that Bedders was soon back up and chasing around after the refreshed Ipswich attack. On 66m, Broadhead picked out Al Hamadi, who shot from a distance and hit the post, but we were able to hack the rebound away.

It was becoming more end-to-end, which was worrying. Up the other end, Fraser drew another save from their keeper, but back came Town, and Taylor found Broadhead in the middle of our box, and he knocked it past Baz. Shit! We had been so dominant, but our legendary profligacy up front saw us level with a ¼ of the Match to go and Ipswich on the up!

Ipswich’s subs were just as dirty as their starters, and Taylor’s crude foul on Stu earned him a yellow. Brooks came on for Fraser, but our dominance had evaporated, and we were now in a proper scrap. The irritating Davis set up Morsy, who hit his shot right at Baz, and Skate Chaplin stuck another effort well wide.

Russ replaced Che with Edozie, meaning our #9 went to #9, but the flow of the game was no longer going our way. AA did get his next effort on target but couldn’t beat the keeper.

In the last 10 minutes, Russ made a double change, with Stu and Joe off and Will and Rothers coming on, but the game all but got away from us on the next Ipswich attack. Bloody Davis burst past Bree, who pulled him back. It was outside the box, but with our defenders turned and retreating, the Ref saw it as a denial of a goalscoring opportunity, and JB had to walk.

The ball was too close to get it up and down (the sort Prowsy would move further back when the Ref wasn’t watching), and our wall blocked Broadhead’s shot. However, we now had 5 minutes plus added time to find a winner with a man less.

Fair play to Russ. We set up 3-3-3 and tried to win the match and keep our slim chance of automatic promotion, but it was Ipswich looking the more likely - Broadhead had a shot blocked - before they made their final change, Sarmiento on for the Whinging Chaplin.

In +7m, the 10 men tried their best. A lovely carry by Brooks got us another corner, but Ipswich came back at us. Al Hamadi stepped past Bednarek, who duly took him out and was carded. In the last minute, it seemed we’d finish 2-2, but then Davis found Sarmiento in the middle of our box. “Thank feck” I thought as he swung, missed and lost balance. Then, like our defenders, watched in horror as the striker righted himself, prodded the ball goalwards and beat Baz’s slow dive to win the game with the last kick. Jammy bastards!

In the following celebrations, Skate Chaplin managed to get carded after being substituted but moments after the restart the final whistle sounded. Ipswich remain on course for automatic promotion and we must face the lottery of the playoffs.

For the neutral, that was a cracking game. For Ipswich, beating better players was a delight. For us, it was another kick in the balls in a season that promised much but still hasn’t delivered…

Man Of The Match

It is always hard to pick a Saints player as MoM when we lose. There was much that was good about our play, particularly after a great first-half turnaround. Yet that inability to hold a lead has again cost us on a night where we HAD to win. A draw would have been no use, so a defeat was only just worse.

So, off the top of my head, let’s say Jan Bednarek was Man of the Match. (If I was honest, it was Leif Davis, but he is annoying. Wish he was our left back!)