Norwich City 4 Ipswich Town 1:FOUR LEAGUE defeats in a row spells problems for any manager, but it was the manner of Ipswich Town's beating yesterday – in a match that matters to their supporters more than any other – that must have concerned the club's hierarchy. It was characterised by incompetence and disorganisation, particularly in defence, and afterwards Roy Keane gave no indication he foresaw immediate improvement.
When it was pointed out that, despite falling to 16th, Ipswich were still only six points off a play-off place, Keane shook his head. “I don’t think at the moment we are a team capable of going on a run. We see it with other teams, but for us the gap is only going to get wider, because we have a tough run of games coming up. With injuries, we don’t look like we’re going to score many goals; we’re a long way off the play-offs.
“I know there is pressure, losing games creates pressure and you’ve just got to deal with it. I analyse my position every single day and I am just going to try to do my best to turn this around. It doesn’t get any easier, though, with West Brom at Portman Road in the cup on Wednesday. We’ll be looking to bounce back from this but they’ll be on a high after their result at the weekend.”
That League Cup quarter-final at home to West Brom on offers a chance for redemption, but those Town fans who crossed into Norfolk yesterday will not be optimistic. It must have been particularly galling for them that the man who did more than any other to contribute to their defeat, the Norwich centre-forward Grant Holt, was fortunate not to be sent off when the match was barely five minutes old. The referee, Keith Hill, was generous in only booking him for his lunging tackle on Jack Colback. It was not the last time Holt was to be fortunate. Having robbed Darren O’Dea, he took his opening goal very well, but replays suggested O’Dea’s claim that Holt had used his hand to steal the ball may have been justified.
Ipswich came back strongly, Damien Delaney bundling the ball over the line, but it was not long before Keane’s defence was again exposed. The Arsenal loanee Henri Lansbury timed his pass nicely to enable Holt to score. The sending off of Delaney eight minutes before half-time for blatantly pulling back Holt pretty much ended the game as a serious contest. In the second half Holt and Wes Hoolahan added to Keane’s wounds.
“He’s not a lad with great finesse, but he was unplayable today,” said the City manager Paul Lambert of his captain. Unplayable by Ipswich, anyway.
Guardian Service
NORWICH CITY: Ruddy, Russell Martin, Barnett, Ward, Lappin, Crofts, Surman (Hoolahan 64), Lansbury (Korey Smith 80), Fox, Holt (Jackson 85), Chris Martin. Subs not used: Rudd, Nelson, Johnson, McNamee. Booked: Holt, Lansbury, Jackson.
IPSWICH TOWN: Fulop, Zuiverloon (Fallon 69), Delaney, Smith, O'Dea, Edwards, Leadbitter, Norris, Colback, Scotland (Healy 42), Priskin (Brown 81). Subs not used: Murphy, O'Connor, Livermore, Civelli. Booked: Leadbitter, Norris, Colback.
Referee: Keith Hill(Hertfordshire).
