JOE’S LATE SHOW ROCKS TOWN 10
Battling Ipswich denied
IPSWICH Town manager Paul Lambert was left to bemoan “one lapse” that cost his side what would have been a much-needed three points at fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic.
Despite playing for 65 minutes with 10 men, after the sending-off of Jonas Knudsen for a foul on Leon Clarke, Town took the lead from a penalty just after the half-hour mark.
Collin Quaner was felled in the box by Chey Dunkley, and Will Keane – a former Wigan loanee – beat Jamie Jones from 12 yards.
But as the game entered the six minutes of stoppage-time, sub Joe Garner popped up to convert Reece James’ excellent delivery, to deny the side he left to join Wigan last summer.
“I thought we played very well with 10 men, I thought we were excellent,” said Lambert.
“We defended really strongly ... and one lapse at the end costs us. We should have done better, we should have stopped the cross, but we’ll learn.”
The result leaves Ipswich nine points adrift of safety with only 12 games to go. When asked whether it was now ‘mission impossible’, Lambert replied: “No, not at all.”
Ipswich, looking to improve the worst away record in the Championship, started brightly when Keane saw a shot helped round the post by Jamie Jones at full stretch.
Despite the positive opening, Town were rocked on their heels after 25 minutes when Clarke got goal-side of Knudsen, who dragged down his man and was awarded a straight red by Lee Probert.
Wigan looked set to take over control of the game. However, after 32 minutes, the visitors went ahead against the odds, when Quaner raced into the Wigan box only to be helped to the ground by Dunkley.
The referee pointed to the spot and Keane made Wigan pay when he found the bottom corner, via the fingertips of Jones and the left-hand post.
Rather than sitting back on their lead, Town pushed for a second and it almost arrived shortly after the restart. Alan Judge pulled the trigger from 25 yards and Jones had to move swiftly to tip it away.
Wigan raised their game but were still lacking in the final third. Clarke could only flick wide after great work from Windass and he did likewise after a Michael Jacobs cross.
The home team’s final move was to throw on Garner for the last nine minutes, and he was immediately into the game, getting on the end of a Lee Evans cross only for Bartosz Bialkowski to make a fine save.
But Garner wasn’t to be denied and, as the game ticked into the first of six added minutes, he did find the net.
James did all the work, and in truth Garner couldn’t miss at the far post as he prodded home past the goalkeeper.
Wigan almost won it at the death, as Bialkowski just about got in the way of a Jacobs shot.
“You’d have to say it’s a feeling of relief, from the situation we found ourselves in,” said Wigan boss Paul Cook said.
“They frustrated us for long periods, and I didn’t feel we really looked like scoring, to be truthful.”