HURST: WE WERE LIKE WARRIORS
IPSWICH are still looking for their first win of the Championship campaign, but they ensured a creditable and hard-fought draw at home to high-flying Aston Villa, despite being a man down from the 39th minute.
Both goals came in the first half, courtesy of Jonathan Kodjia for the visitors, with Trevoh Chalobah replying for Ipswich.
Aston Villa midfielder and playmaker Jack Grealish was dominating the midfield in the opening minutes of the game and, in the fifth minute, won a free-kick which was taken by John McGinn. It caused confusion in the Ipswich penalty area, which resulted in a head injury to midfielder and Chelsea loanee Chalobah.
Villa were dominating the game with their slick midfield play but, in the 13th minute, when Gwion Edwards broke clear down the right wing and evaded three tackles, the ball broke to Tayo Edun, whose low cross from the left met Edwards and his first-time shot hit an upright.
In the 21st minute the visitors went ahead when a cross from the right by former Hibernian midfielder McGinn was headed home at the near post by Jonathan Kodjia.
But Town levelled matters in the 36th minute when a throw-in from Knudsen into the Villa penalty area fell to Chalobah, after the visitors’ Norwegian goalkeeper Organ Nyland failed to grab the ball, and, with his back to goal, the Town midfielder turned and fired into the net.
Six minutes before the half-time whistle the home side were reduced to 10 men when Edun was shown his second yellow card following a foul on Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe.
Despite being a man short, Ipswich took the game to their visitors and pressed for a second goal. They won two corners in the opening few minutes with ex-Bristol Rovers striker Ellis Harrison heading narrowly wide.
The visitors then introduced Conor Hourihane and Andre Green in the 64th minute to replace Birkir Bjarnason and Tuanzebe and, eight minutes later, Ipswich brought on Kayden Jackson for striker Harrison.
In the 77th minute Town midfielder Cole Skuse was dispossessed by McGinn, but his shot from 25 yards went high over the bar. Three minutes later a low cross from the right by Edwards evaded everyone as it went across the penalty area.
Ipswich manager Paul Hurst was full of praise for his team after the match. He said: “The players stood up absolutely to be counted and they were like warriors out there.
“Everyone in the ground was proud to be associated with that team and we saw that with the ovation that the fans gave.”
Meanwhile, Villa counterpart Steve Bruce was left feeling that his Villa side still have much to work on.
He said: “We have got to be a bit more clinical. We did not do enough at the top end of the pitch. We did not move the ball quick enough and that gave them hope. When you are up against 10 men you have got to move the ball quicker into forward areas and we did not do it well enough.”