Cambridge United ship three second-half goals without reply in Sky Bet League One clash at Ipswich Town
A spirited Cambridge United were undone by the strength in depth that the Ipswich Town squad possesses during tonight’s Sky Bet League One clash at Portman Road.
The U’s defended stoutly throughout, so much so that they even saw off a couple of the Tractor Boys’ star names.
However, it was two players off the bench that proved to be the difference makers in a 3-0 victory for a home side that will surely be right in amongst it when the prizes are dished out at the end of the season.
It was very much a first half littered with ‘nearly moments’ for a United side showing five changes from the 2-0 home defeat to Derby County last time out.
There were numerous occasions in which they would pick up possession around 30 to 40 yards from the Ipswich goal, but a combination of questionable decision making and the lack of a little bit of quality prevented any major chances from opening up.
A case in point came as early as the sixth minute when Adam May pounced on an error and fed a pass through for Harvey Knibbs to the right hand side of the penalty box, but he elected to pass rather than shoot and the ball drifted behind its intended target James Brophy and the danger was gone.
In the 18th minute a slip from Ipswich’s left wing-back Leif Davis gave Jubril Okedina encouragement to go forward and he unleashed a powerful right-footed effort that whistled a couple of yards over the top.
All the while Ipswich were dominating the encounter in terms of possession, yet the only thing they had to show for it during the opening 20 minutes was a Conor Chaplin free kick that was bread and butter for Dimi Mitov in the Cambridge goal.
It did click for United in the 28th minute when May’s quickly taken free kick set Brophy free down the left flank with Ipswich napping. His cut back was perfect for Sam Smith, but while last season’s leading marksman struck his shot well it posed no threat to Christian Walton’s goal.
And from then on the remainder of the half saw Ipswich’s Wales international Wes Burns enjoy a growing influence.
It was his cross from the right in the 31st minute that Freddie Ladapo headed wide of the near post, while three minutes later he stood a ball up to the back post which was eventually snuffed out by Okedina after Davis had headed for goal.
But it was in the 41st minute where he really should have got his assist, sending a dangerous cross in between Mitov and his defenders for an unmarked Chaplin, but he could only find the side netting.
The pressure was beginning to ramp on the U’s and they will have been relieved to have heard the half-time whistle, yet it only provided brief restbite because unsurprisingly Ipswich – with Burns, Chaplin and Marcus Harness finding pockets of space in dangerous areas – were on the front foot right from the restart.
But to visitors’ credit they stood up to the challenge and an organised rearguard offered Mitov plenty of protection.
Indeed, such was the level of resolve that they showed Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna opted to replace both Burns and Chaplin with more than 20 minutes left to play – and it turned out that his substitutes had the keys to finally unlock the United door.
In the 72nd minute Harness found himself some space towards the right byline and sent in a low cross that took a wicked deflection, leaving Mitov helpless and Tyreece John-Jules – introduced just five minutes earlier – to fire into the roof of the net from close range.
And within three minutes the game was up when another of McKenna’s replacements doubled the lead. It looked for all intents and purposes that Kyle Edwards was attempting to cross from the right wing after checking back on to his left foot, yet his over-hit attempt caught out Mitov and flew inside the far post.
Mitov did well in the 84th minute to turn Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy’s curling effort against the upright, but he was powerless to keep out Edwards’ second goal of the night with four minutes remaining when the winger pounced on some rare hesitation in the United defence to prod home.
Mark Bonner’s side stay 10th in the table despite the defeat ahead of Saturday’s trip to a Bristol Rovers side currently in the relegation zone.
Ipswich Town: Walton, Davis (Vincent-Young 82’), Edmundson, Woolfenden, Donacien, Morsy, Ball (Evans 67’), Burns (Edwarfs 67’), Chaplin (John-Jules 67’), Harness, Ladapo (Jackson 79’)
Cambridge United: Mitov, Williams, Jones, Taylor, Okedina, O'Neil (Lankester 79’), Digby, May, Brophy, Knibbs, Smith (Okenabirhie 82’)
Attendance: 26,414 (1,745 Cambridge fans)