Unable to travel to this game, PompeyChicken spent the afternoon at home listening to BBC Radio Solent's commentary from Portman Road with Lawrence Herdman and former Pompey Alan McLoughlin, soon to be inducted into the Pompey Hall of Fame, something he described as “an absolute honour” at the start of commentary when Herdman mentioned it.
Here are some notes from the afternoon's commentary.
There was a pre-match interview with Pompey manager Steve Cotterill who said he enjoys going to Portman Road and was looking forward to it, he expected it to be a tough game. In Steve's view not much had changed in the way Ipswich had played under their former manager Roy Keane and the way they were playing under current manager Paul Jewell. Clubs have good runs (under Jewell) and bad runs (under Keane) he observed.
Herdman and McLoughlin reminded the listeners that Pompey had already won once in East Anglia this season (against Norwich City) and that the players were full of confidence and would be hoping to produce the same sort of performance as they did at Doncaster Rovers.
The Pompey team was unchanged from the previous game.
McLoughlin commented that Dave Kitson still had a lot to do to re-capture the form he showed during his days at Reading when he won promotion to the Premier League.
It was a damp Portman Road. Pompey were playing in their all black strip.
Former Ipswich player Hermann Hreidarsson got a good reception from the home fans.
Early on in the game Ipswich starlet, 17 year-old Connor Wickham, ran at Ritchie de Laet and McLoughlin commented that he saw that as an interesting match-up. On this occasion, de Laet 'put on the after burners' and was able to easily see off the threat. De Laet had started the game well.
Ipswich had started fractionally the better of the two teams.
On 5 minutes, David Cotterill and Ritchie de Laet overlapped and the ball was crossed in to the box but was safely gathered by Marton Fulop with Dave Kitson hovering.
On 6 minutes, Kitson flicked the ball on to Cotterill who crossed the ball but Joel Ward was unable to get on to the end of it.
On 7 minutes, Ipswich started to exert some pressure on Pompey and Jason Scotland fired in a shot that was well blocked by Hermann Hreidarsson.
On 9 minutes, Grant Leadbitter had a shot for Ipswich which hit Greg Halford. The shot came after good build up play involving Wickham, Lee Martin and David Norris.
On 10 minutes, Leadbitter was again in the action and his cross from the right hand side took a deflection off Halford for a corner which was taken short the ball eventually finding its way to Jimmy Bullard whose shot from distance came to nothing. McLoughlin described it as a “ridiculous shot”.
Ipswich were making the pitch big and creating lots of space through the midfield.
On 11 minutes, there was another Ipswich corner, taken by Bullard. Gareth Mcauley got in a header which hit Scotland in front of Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown. Mcauley hadn't been picked up at the corner by his marker David Nugent.
On 13 minutes, Hreidarsson lost the ball down the left flank giving Ipswich an opportunity for the ball to be crossed in to the box but it came to nothing.
On 15 minutes Pompey had a throw-in taken by Hreidarsson which found its way to Halford via Ricardo Rocha and Kitson but the move came to nothing and broke down. For Ipswich Leadbitter, Bullard and Martin were all regularly involved in the play and the home team were looking confident and had a good team shape, passing the ball around quickly.
On 17 minutes, the ball fell to Connor Wickham on the edge of the six yard area but Ashdown put his body on the line and flicked the shot up and over the cross bar for a corner kick. It was a good reaction save.
At this stage of the game McLoughlin's summary was that Pompey had no shape and were no real threat going forward. Ipswich were attacking and defending ' in numbers' according to Herdman.
On 20 minutes, Ricardo Rocha picked up what looked like a harsh booking for a foul on Norris.
On 21 minutes, Jason Scotland rose a la Paul Mariner in his pomp only to see the ball flash wide of the post from his header. McLoughlin commented that Pompey's defenders should have done better as Scotland wasn't the tallest of players.
He went on to say that Ipswich were creating plenty of chances and if that continued Pompey would eventually crack. Ipswich were moving the ball 'fantastically well' and had many options. Surprisingly Pompey were not working as a team but as individuals, their movement was inferior to their opponents. Pompey needed to hold a higher line, which would take some nerve, their backline was dropping off far too deep and there were big gaps opening up between the defenders, the midfield and the lone attacker.
The play had got a bit scrappy, with Jonathan Hogg losing the ball and Rocha mis-hitting a clearance up in to the air, all this as the pitch started to cut-up and the rain was lashing down much stronger than at the start of the game making play a bit tricky and benefiting Pompey a little as it hindered the flow of the home team's style.
On 28 minutes, Pompey won a corner, Damien Delaney putting the ball out of play, following David Cotterill's good run having been put through by Hayden Mullins. The corner came to nothing but Pompey appeared to have weathered the storm and their play was picking up.
On 29 minutes, de Laet broke through down the right flank and swapped a one-two with Cotterill but with a number of Pompey players waiting for the pass in the box the Belgian picked out nobody and the opportunity went begging. This was looking like an area that Pompey could exploit. They were beginning to grow in confidence and the on-loan Cotterill was starting to see a lot more of the ball. However, Pompey hadn't really tested Fulop in the Ipswich goal.
Carlos Edwards playing at right back was starting to get forward for the home team and got in a couple of useful looking crosses. Bullard, Leadbitter and Martin were continuing to see a lot of the ball and were passing it between themselves well.
On 35 minutes, a poor Halford free-kick aimed at Hreidarsson couldn't find its target.
On 36 minutes, a promising move between Kitson and Nugent broke down. The move started with a good Nugent turn but Kitson's pass back to his colleague was terrible. McLoughlin commented that Kitson either needed to hold the ball up for longer or make sure he finds the right pass.
On 38 minutes, Pompey had their first clear cut chance of the game and it fell to Kitson following a mistake by Leadbitter who should have cleared the ball away to safety. Kitson fired in a shot from the left hand side of the penalty area, with Delaney sliding across in front of him, but Fulop managed to save with his legs.
On 39 minutes a Rocha header put Cotterill clear but his cross in to the box was headed away by an Ipswich defender for a corner. Cotterill took the resulting corner which was met by Ward's head and Nugent was just unable to redirect the ball goalwards.
At last Pompy were starting to exert some pressure on the Ipswich goal. McLoughlin observed that Steve Cotterill would be happy to take the team in at half time with the score at nil-nil having survived the onslaught from the Ipswich juggernaut.
On 43 minutes, Edwards curled a cross in to the near post but Scotland just failed to hit the target. Hreidarsson appeared to be wilting a bit under the pressure from the home team down his flank.
On 44 minutes, Wickham missed the best opportunity of the first half from 3 yards out putting his header wide when it looked easier to hit the target and score. Norris found himself unmarked in the box and crossed perfectly to the far post but Wickham contrived to miss it, he tried to be too precise.
Ipswich had half a dozen presentable chances to this point and not taken any of them. Their profligacy could cost them. McLoughlin commented that if Wickham had scored it would have given the home team a well deserved lead. However, although Wickham looked a very special talent thankfully his heading wasn't as good as his footwork!
HT Ipswich Town 0-0 Portsmouth
Pompey were lucky to be going in at half-time on level terms. Ipswich had eight chances they'd contrived to miss during the first period. Pompey had not played well. In the second half they needed to up the tempo of their game and be more aggressive.
At the start of the second half the pressure from the home team was just as fierce as it had been in the first half. Ipswich were playing with a swagger and it appeared to be only a matter of time before they scored according to Herdman.
During the opening minutes of the second half Pompey couldn't get out of their own half and were 'hanging in there'. Wickham was again a key player and McLoughlin commented on his strength and power adding that he would be surprised if he was still at Portman Road after the Summer.
Ipswich were still pressing forward and Pompey were hanging on, similar in some respects to the away game against Swansea city.
On 53 minutes, Wickham passed to Scotland who saw his left footed shot come back in to the field pof play having hit the stanchion of the goal frame.
On 55 minutes, Bullard gave away a silly free kick which was taken by Cotterill. The cross went over Kitson only to find Nugent in the penalty area who skipped past Norris and fired off a shot which appeared to take a slight deflection in to the bottom corner goal past Fulop. It was a fantastic strike. The home fans booed Nugent as he celebrated yet another goal against Ipswich by running around the park. The goal had come against the run of play.
A minute later and Nugent found himself running in on goal but his shot went straight in to the arms of Fulop.
The rain had turned in to a steady deluge at Portman Road, inclement conditions on a dark and dirty day weather wise but the travelling fans were in good voice. There was little bit more urgency and belief in Pompey's play following the goal. The wind and the rain were making conditions difficult.
On the hour mark Kitson took the ball down the left flank and passed the ball to Nugent who in turn passed to Mullins. This was much better from Pompey. The game had become more open.
On 62 minutes, Martin skipped past Hreidarsson and the corner kick was conceded. It was taken by Bullard aiming for Mcauley and Delaney but was somehow cleared away by Pompey for another corner. Ashdown went up to claim the ball from the second corner but it was knocked from his grasp by an Ipswich defender before he managed to reclaim it.
On 64 minutes, Cotterill, Nugent, Hogg and de Laet combined well down the right but the move came to nothing. It was an absorbing, fascinating game now and the prevailing weather conditions had changed matters making it less conducive to Ipswich's passing game.
On 65 minutes, Ward was replaced by Aaron Mokoena, the Pompey youngster appeared to have a calf injury.
On 66 minutes, Pompey won another corner, Nugent winning the decision by playing the ball of Edwards' shins. Cotterill played the ball to Kitson who passed to Mullins but his shot was skewed horribly wide of the goal.
The home crowd had got quieter as Ipswich tended to rush their passes more and moves broke down quickly.
On 71 minutes, Halford played a free-kick in to the box aimed at Hreidarsson but Fulop collected the Ice Man's header in front of Kitson.
On 73 minutes, Ipswich made their first two changes of the afternoon bringing on Drury and Civelli for Scotland and Norris. Wickham was pushed up front in a more central position.
On 76 minutes, Hreidarsson blocked off a run by Martin and the ball was cleared away from danger by Hogg. Hreidarsson hadn't been under as much pressure in the second half compared to the first. This showed the shift in the balance of play.
On 77 minutes, Pompey extended their lead. Nugent played a beautifully timed ball to Cotterill who lifted the ball cleverly over Fulop. The goal had come about following a poor error by the Ipswich keeper, trying to kick the ball away on his weaker foot, he miskicked. It was a well taken goal by Cotterill. Now the home fans were stunned in to silence but the Pompey Chimes could be heard on the radio!
To using a boxing analogy Pompey had been knocked down and taken a count of nine only to bounce back to a winning position. Paul Jewell must have been fuming whereas Steve Cotterill would have been very proud of his players who had stuck to their task and remained stoical.
On 80 minutes, Mcloughlin noted that Ritchie de Laet had been outstanding for Pompey.
On 81 minutes, Fulop slid out of his penalty box like a cricketer fielding the ball with Nugent bearing down on him. Pompey just needed to concentrate now to see out the game and secure another three points.
On 84 minutes, Ipswich brought on Priskin in place of Martin.
On 85 minutes, Leadbitter fired in a low shot which was well handled by Ashdown who saw it comfortably all the way.
On 86 minutes, there were claims from the home side for a penalty as de Laet tackled Priskin but the referee deemed that the Belgian defender had taken the ball fairly. McLoughlin thought it was a penalty. We were urged to watch The Football League Show that evening on BBC1 to see who was right. McLoughlin and Herdman obviously never watch that show, it never goes in to the depth of analysis required.
On 89 minutes, Pompey started to wind down time with Nugent, Kitson and Mullins swapping passes to keep the ball. Herdman announced that de Laet was his MOTM.
In the 90th minute Pompey brought on Kanu in place of Mullins, who had taken a knock, and Dickinson in place of Nugent.
There were three minutes of added time. All of the energy had gone from the home team although Edwards had the last shot of the game firing a shot just wide of the goal.
FT Ipswich Town 0-2 Portsmouth
McLoughlin summarised: Ipswich had played very well but hadn't scored. Pompey collectively had worked much better as a team in the second half and 'stuck in there'. They had three chances in the whole game and scored twice. Ipswich had 15 chances! Pompey had dug in and been resilient. There is still more to come from Pompey, especially Kitson. With a good run of games coming up but no 'gimmes' McLoughlin was hopeful that Pompey could progress up the table.
Following this win Pompey had moved up to 13th on 44 points and 10 points of the play off positions. The play offs were still a possibility in McLoughlin's opinion.
Pompey versus Ipswich Town: Jamie Ashdown, Ritchie de Laet, Hermann Hreidarsson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, David Cotterill, Jonathan Hogg, Hayden Mullins, David Nugent, Joel Ward, Dave Kitson. Substitutes: Daryll Flahavan, Nadir Ciftci, Tom Kilby, Kanu, Carl Dickinson, Aaron Mokoena.
Next up for Pompey: Scunthorpe United at home on Tuesday 1st March at 7:45PM
Attendance: 23,345 including around 900 Pompey fans who'd made the trip
MOTM: despite Herdman calling de Laet as MOTM I'd have given it to David Nugent, he scored one goal and set up the other.
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