Ahead of this one, it was five home games, five away games left and hardly the easiest run in. Three of those homes, tonight included, against Premiership contenders. Three of the aways against relegation rivals. This contest was as tough as it gets. City were well beaten (3-1) at Portman Road last August when times were good and we had both Robert Earnshaw and Graham Kavanagh in the ranks.
The gulf between the clubs has further increased. Ipswich, in administration a couple of years ago, visited Ninian Park in 3rd spot, 3 points behind Wigan and Sunderland in the automatic Premiership promotion spots and that's where they remain with all top sides winning. 31 points now separate them and 20th placed Cardiff with a game in hand (away at Leicester) that could still seem them rise to 17th but it's those below us now causing real concern.
Both sides were confident. Ipswich, fresh from blitzing Nottingham Forest 6-0 at the weekend are easily the Championship's leading scorers (69 goals and counting) but let in plenty too (3 more than City have). Cardiff, once again by total contrast, don’t score many but don’t concede many with a magnificent 8 clean sheets in their previous 11 games and only 2 defeats since Christmas (that was twice as good as Ipswich).
The Tractor Boys may be untouchable at home but, away from Portman Road. they’re relatively average – 6 wins in 18 away trips this season. Recent form has been dodgy to say the least. They headed the Championship by 5 points a month ago but 3 successive defeats before last Saturday now has them chasing instead. It gave Cardiff hope of grabbing a point in a game when any reward would be very welcome.
City enjoyed a thankful uneventful 72 hours between Coventry at the weekend and this evening although a cool £75,000 of Michael Isaac's £1M interest-free loan may well have been eaten up in wages alone in that time. Given 8-9,000 season ticket holders, the club wouldn't have received the greatest income with a crowd of just 11,768 including an excellent 800 or so from Suffolk, their fans not getting home until it was time for them to start revving their tractors, milk the herd and muck out.
Lennie Lawrence’s easiest job of the night was picking his side as a threadbare squad, injuries, suspensions, recent form and results mean that it really does pick itself. They were unchanged with Alexander, Weston-Collins-Gabbidon-Barker, Langley-Ledley-Inamoto-McAnuff, Bullock-Jerome. Subs were Fleetwood, Koskela, Margetson, Vidmar, Williams.
Joe Royle, who had his eyes on the Ninian Park hotseat and even spoke with Sam a couple of years ago, must have equalled found it a formality to name his line-up. Influential Captain Jim Magiuton was injured at the weekend, Darren Currie taking his place in a slight reshuffle was saw them start with Davis, Wilnis-DeVos-Unsworth-Naylor, Richards-Millar-Westlake-Currie, Bent-Kuqi.
Plenty of good footballers and well known names. Jason DeVos familiar to City fans having come within a fraction of signing for Cardiff last summer before choosing Ipswich due to their superior training facilities. How sound his decision looks now. Subs included Pablo Counage, Jamie Scowcroft and Kevin Horlock who is best mates with the main security guard at my workplace near Newport since they own adjoining villas in Spain.
It was a mild night and kick-off with light drizzle but City were hot as they battered Ipswich in the opening 15 minutes.
In the first minute, Lee Bullock headed a fraction over the bar meeting a Joe Ledley cross from 15 yards, Cameron Jerome gave DeVos a torrid start as he burst through twice getting behind defenders, once hitting the side netting from an angle. City won three corners and put two balls across the face of goal. Ipswich's reply was one corner kick and a 20 yard shot that warmed the hands of someone towards the back of the Grange End.
The game was flowing well, goods and easy on the eye to watch with Cardiff performing very well indeed. Jerome making Davis save with a header but then came the first of two spells when Ipswich raised their game and showed they had that little bit extra. The Tractor Boys although not playing anywhere near as well as they can showed why they're a good side to watch. Every move started from the back, they looked organised, passed and moved as they wanted and tried to dictate how the game ran which, eventually, they did.
City were indebted to Neil Alexander who made three great saves in 5 minutes around the 35 minute mark. Ipswich's striker is undoubtedly Bent and Darren got behind Gabbs before shooting across Alexander, the keeper's agility saw him stretch to take and hold onto the ball. Then he did even better to deny Shefi Kuqi twice in one on one situations, both times bravely coming out to narrow angles and blocking. In between, a Westlake low effort skidded past the far post. On a night when Alexander did everything right, he was awarded City's man of the match but didn't really have any more telling saves to make.
Back came City before the break with a couple fo corners, crosses and an excellent opportunity with an edge of area free kick. Five players debated it, for a near eternity it seemed, before Gabbs took it and clipped the top of the wall, the ball ran away for a fruitless corner.
It was an excellent opening period for City. A very honest, enthusiastic effort, where, if only we had enjoyed a little luck, shown a touch more quality in the final third, we may have been deservedly in front.
Half-time: CITY 0 IPSWICH 0
Half-time entertainment was unusual to say the least. The Cardiff City development under-10's girls teams played on the pitch. Neither side had a goalkeeper - obviously they didn't want to get dirty diving in the wet or break their nails - so it must have been a basketball score. The smallest girl on the pitch looked the biggest star, a young Andy Legg lookalike from distance!
Meantime, Ali was doing his best on the p.a. with the most subversive half-time song interlude ever. After paying tribute to a City fan, Richard Bull aka Bully, who died far too young with a sudden heart attack last week, the choice of music was City running off to At The Edge (Stiff Little Fingers) and I also heard some Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs (wooly bully) before both teams came back on with more ska from The Liquidators. Final whistle was The Ruts Babylon's Burning. All coincidental I'm certain! ;>)
Unfortunately it was a proverbial game of two halves and, to some extents, not too dissimilar to what happened at Coventry last weekend. City needed a bit more than enthusiasm and spirit and didn't have it tonight. Crucially, although Lee Bullock played as well as could be expected, Ipswich got closer to Cameron Jerome as they realised his first touch wasn't the best and his threat waned.
Meantime, Inamoto and Ledley were struggling in central midfield, Inamoto even less effective after being booked for a series of fouls, none bad but the accumulation counted and other players were below par. Richard Langley again failing to impress and neglecting the defensive side of his game, McAnuff couldn't get going and so our whole midfield were spluttering and with that came mistakes. Mistake after mistake as Ipswich applied a little more pressure and City continually handed possession straight back almost at will when the had the ball.
The Tractor Boys were vaguely threatening but staring to push us back, Vilnis made Alexander save and Darren Currie's goalbound effort was denied by clipping a defender's head and running for a corner before, on 58 minutes, Royle brought on Jamie Scowcroft for an unhappy Kuqi. Kuqi showing his displeasure at being taken off by making his exit last forever and then throwing his track-suit top to the floor in the dugout. He also had a strop at Portman Road, walking down the tunnel, when taken off against us last season.
Cameron Jerome had a good opportunity just after the hour found him free on the edge of the area but his got his body shape wrong behind the ball and hooked over the bar. The resulting goal-kick lead to the incident that won the visitor's penalty.
Two crosses were fired into City's box and only half-cleared, we weren't getting out either and when Westlake played a low, direct ball and Tommy Miller cleverly tried to spin past Danny Gabbidon in the box, he was clipped by the slightest of touches and went down. He played for the penalty and he got it. It may have been harsh but it seemed about right.
The rest, with Neil Alexander in goals, was formality. Ipswich scored of course, TOMMY MILLER picking himself up to convert it but it's worth noting that Alexander, for once, actually DIVED THE RIGHT WAY! The penalty was too good though, hit low and making contact with the inside side netting.
City's best chance to equalise came within three minutes as Davis mishit a kick upfield, Richard Langley in his single meaningful contribution to the game chested down, moved ahead and played a superbly weighted diagonal low ball which dissected Ipswich's central defenders and ran into the path of McAnuff facing the keeper. His effort was poor lacking both power and placement and simply travelled at shoulder height straight to Davis, no doubt relieved. We should have scored.
After that, Ipswich seemed content to soak up anything we offered, confident enough that could deal with that and hit us on the break. Their was plenty of huff and puff from City but we lacked guile. Shooting was long distance and not good but we rallied in a closing spell as Lennie brought on Stuart Fleetwood and, for his debut, Finnish Toni Koskela in place of Langley and Ledley for the final 15 minutes.
Two penalty appeals were denied in crowded goalmouths, the excellent unfussy refereeing of the mascot-sized Ray Olivier (who looks more like Tattoo from Fantasy Island than ever) indicating that the ball hit head. From a throw in 20 yards out, Danny Gabbidon latched onto the bouncing ball and beat Davis with his cross-drive but it dipped so narrowly over the bar. Bullock made Davis save twice, his headers not really causing problems though.
As City threw caution to the wind, Gabbidon was almost right-wing and Ginge Collins became a third striker. Toni Koskela showed some good touches and fired in a couple of excellent corners and crosses but we couldn't make a telling connection when the ball dropped and bounced around.
Ipswich were delighted with their win, City hugely disappointed with defeat but certainly not disgraced. On a night when Rotherham (not that they matter) and Gillingham (who do matter) won whilst Coventry, Crewe and Leicester all picked up away draws, all fortune swung against City. The defence still looks very good and won't concede many but we just have to find goals from somewhere and that's the problem. Alan Lee is available again this weekend post-suspension and, let's hope, Peter Thorne is too after injury because Crewe was always a 'must win' but is now more than ever.
There was a mini drama outside the ground. Sam Hammam had secluded himself in the dugout again during the game and chose to drive out of Ninian Park's gates as the grounds filled the road outside. As bad a decision as so many others over the past 18 months.
It's not the first time he's done that but it's not often and gone, for now, are the days when supporters will cheer him, chant his name and want to shake his hand. Instead, his car was surrounded, up went various anti-Sam chants (not many pleasant) and a few in support of Michael Isaacs. Sam was apparently angry and unhappy, more so when police forced him to reverse back into the ground, shut the gates and put a 20 strong cordon across it before dispersing the crowd of 300-400 sending out a clear message.
Did Sam do it to have an excuse to lash out at fans as conspiracy theorists are already arguing? Or was it simply because he's isolated, naive and, without listening to well intentioned advice, lacking all understanding? Time will tell but he wouldn't have gone home happy for many reasons. Thing is Sam, neither have we been doing that this season.
Report from FootyMad
A second-half penalty sent the Bluebirds to another home defeat as the threat of relegation continues to loom large at Ninian Park.
Tommy Miller fired home from the spot to deal City a bitter blow after they had earlier matched the promotion hopefuls.
City boss Lennie Lawrence asked his team to start off at a high tempo and they did just that with Cameron Jerome in particular causing the visitors defence problems with his pacy runs.
In the 15th minute he followed in a back-pass and beat Ipswich keeper Kelvin Davis to the ball but his shot rebounded to safety for a goal kick.
City almost took the lead their early play deserved when a free-kick from Richard Langley beat the Town defence only to drift wide of the far post.
The Tractor Boys were dangerous on the break and Ian Westlake sent a shot skidding past the far post with seven minutes of the first half remaining. The Bluebirds failed to clear the ball at the next attack and Neil Alexander made a superb block to keep out a shot from Shefki Kuqi.
Joe Royle must have had plenty to say to his side during the interval as they looked far more determined at the restart.
James Scowcroft was brought on by Royle in place of the ineffective Kuqi after 57 minutes and City were now being forced back with Darren Currie firing wide from a good position.
City fell behind in disappointing fashion in the 61st minute when Miller fell in the box after a challenge from Daniel Gabbidon. Miller took the kick himself and beat Alexander to give his side an undeserved lead.
Lawrence made a double switch in the 74th minute with Toni Koskela coming on to make his debut and Stuart Fleetwood also coming on as City did everything possible to try and get back on terms. But apart from Gabbidon hitting a cross-shot just over the bar, the Ipswich defence weathered the late pressure reasonably easily.
External reports
The Western Mail
The Echo
The Times
The Guardian
The Independent
East Anglian Daily Times