Leeds United YEP Jury verdict: A point better than none from difficult trip to Town

DAVID WATKINS

Well-done to four of the Jury for correctly predicting the 1-1 result. I went for a 1-0 home win and for 42 minutes I thought I was going to be right!

Leeds were awful in the first-half, never getting going as passes went astray far too often. The pitch was not the best and the argument that it was the same for both sides fails to take account of the fact that the home side play on it every other week – but I don’t think it was the whole story.

Going a goal behind in the ninth minute felt somehow “usual” at Portman Road where we’ve frequently arrived full of hope and optimism only to be disappointed within minutes of the start. For much of the first-half there was no sign of this game ending much differently to the seven defeats we have suffered in the previous nine visits.

There were a few glimpses of what we can do though when attacking down the left and on those rare occasions Ipswich didn’t actually look that good in defence.

Nevertheless, it was against the run of play that Stuart Dallas popped up at the back post to collect the merest flick from Chris Wood to send us into the break level.

Something had to change and for the second-half and Garry Monk turned to Liam Bridcutt. Most were surprised it was Ronaldo Vieira who was replaced and not Eunan O’Kane but it did eventually make a difference. Not immediately though, for the opening minutes of the new half it was like the Alamo as the ball ricocheted around the Leeds area but somehow a combination of poor Ipswich finishing, the woodwork, Rob Green and a hefty dose of good fortune meant the game remained level. Then, mid-way in the second-half we began to make a better fist of it with Liam Bridcutt now controlling the middle and Pablo Hernandez pulling the strings further forward.

Leeds had lots of possession but didn’t fashion any chances worth the name and Dallas’ goal was our only attempt on target. Even the introduction of Mo Barrow and Souley Doukara didn’t improve our penetration as both struggled to get the measure of the bobbly pitch.

We have to start better than this on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday or they may not be as generous as the Tractor Boys.

Man of the match: Pontus Jansson.

KEITH INGHAM

Hold on to your hats, this is going to be a bumpy ride! A point at in-form Ipswich was very welcome, as last season another defeat would have been in our column.