Fun trip to Ipswich

Ipswich Town 0 - 2 Everton

Obviously it’s a long way to Ipswich so we set off at around 6 am to get a head start on the traffic. Gaz did the driving. We held our bladders all the way until we reached one of the strange service stations along the A14, the sort where even finding it is difficult. Here we found a Subway though one which could sell neither coffee nor water, albeit the All Day Breakfast sandwich wasn’t bad.

We arrived at the hotel in Ipswich at around 10:30 am. It was too early to check in at that point, so we left our bags and, with the hotel being a little out of town, we got a taxi into the centre, and found a great pub called Three Wise Monkeys. We’d been tipped off that getting into pubs as away fans is quite difficult in Ipswich, so with this one being welcoming to us, we based here for a few hours for food and drinks and caught up with a few other hardy Evertonians.

Once finished, we followed the crowds on the fairly short walk to Portman Road. As we navigated towards our turnstiles, I noticed a very lengthy queue of Ipswich Town supporters, but didn’t put two and two together that there was an entry issue. It was only when queuing for the toilet in the remarkably cramped facilities in the Upper Tier that someone alerted us that the game had been delayed 15 minutes.

The central view from the Upper Tier was amazing, and the atmosphere created by the travelling Toffees incredible. The game began at quite a lively tempo from both teams. Ipswich Town had a good opportunity fairly early when Jack Clarke fired horribly over and wide from the penalty spot.

Thereafter, we had plenty of chances of our own, however, and the final scoreline was more than fair. Dominic Calvert-Lewin could have scored at least one goal in the first half and would have done if he could sharpen his finishing with one-on-ones against goalkeepers.

Fortunately Ipswich Town were quite accommodating with their defending, and Iliman Ndiaye was alert to some poor defending and ruthlessly pounced and smashed the ball into the roof of the net to give Everton the lead on 17 minutes.

Frustratingly at the time, as it was something out of kind of nothing really, Ipswich Town were awarded a penalty. We couldn’t really see what was going on from where we sat, we just saw a player go down and Michael Oliver point to the penalty spot.

It was nice to be on the right side of a VAR decision this time and upon review, Michael Oliver changed his decision as Jack Clarke had kicked Dwight McNeil, not the other way around. Having seen it again since, it’s probably the right call.

I can’t say I wouldn’t be disappointed if we had been awarded that and it was called back but, given the penalty we didn’t get a fortnight ago, can you imagine the uproar if this was then given against us?

If we thought that Iliman Ndiaye’s goal was a great finish, then Michael Keane’s was even better when he was well picked out by Dwight McNeil. Our oft-maligned centre-back then added yet another one to his collection of brilliant Everton goals by smashing it first time with his left foot past Arijanet Muric from a tight angle. Gaz missed the goal as he’d gone down a little early for a half-time pint.

When I joined him at the break, it was so busy down there it was pretty dangerous though thankfully no harm done.

Everton did a great job in the second half of professionally seeing out the game. There were times in the second half when we looked very good, an excellent shape and we brought the ball forward well and played good football. Ipswich didn’t have any answers and none of their five substitutions had any effect. If anything, we really ought to have added gloss to the scoreline at the death when Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed another good opportunity when through on goal. Terrific movement to get himself there though.

We were already in party mode by this point, our fans in great voice. It was great to stay behind and applaud them off. Jack Harrison and Kalvin Phillips had a long conversation. Ashley Young seemed about the happiest man alive, apart from Michael Keane I suppose, who was visibly delighted to hear the fans singing “Keano” towards him.

Afterwards, we had a few pints in The Plough fairly nearby, before getting back to the hotel to finally check in, and then carry on with our evening.

A great day. A great game for us. A great night.

Happy days.

Player ratings

Jordan Pickford: Had so little to do really but did well with what he had to. 7

Vitalii Mykolenko: Defended solidly against the impressive Omari Hutchinson. Nice to have him available. Would be a real boost if he can put his injury problems behind him. 7

Michael Keane: He scored a brilliant goal of course, but importantly defended very well and headed out a lot of balls. I’m made up for Michael. He takes a lot of stick but never hides and is always available. Two clean sheets in a row now with Michael in defence, and it creates a nice problem for Sean Dyche when Jarrad Branthwaite is ready to return. 8

James Tarkowski: That was much more like James. Probably the best he’s been this season for us. Much more like his old self, hopefully that’s a sign that his injury issues have cleared up. 7

Ashley Young: Another one who is really standing up to be counted lately. I thought he was doing quite well last season until his injury and now is really showing his quality. Let’s hope he can maintain fitness because he’s really showing his worth. 7

Idrissa Gueye: Had a good game in there. 7

Abdoulaye Doucoure: There are some moments of frustration, but you couldn’t argue with his output and what effort he brings to the team. 7

Iliman Ndiaye: Unless we can really tie up the likes of Iliman and Jarrad Branthwaite to big contracts with our new ownership and new stadium vision, he won’t be with us for long as one of the big fish will come calling. He really is good enough. He’s a brilliant player and is always capable of producing key moments and using the ball intelligently. A great player, and a well-taken goal. 8

Jack Harrison: Worked very hard. A bit frustrating at times but you couldn’t argue with his effort. 6

Dwight McNeil: At the game in real time I felt he was a bit frustrating to watch, but then when you watch it back on TV you really see how impactful his performance was, with another key assist. Great to have him contributing. 6

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: He did very well with his hold-up play. It’s a shame he’s missed some big opportunities when through on goal recently, but his movement and effort is good and his hold-up play would be difficult to replace. A good game generally, just wish he had more confidence when through on goal. 7

Orel Mangala (for Illiman Ndiaye): He got involved and settled into the game quickly. 7

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