Are we the team which played Millwall off the park in the first half, with quick, clever football? Or are we the side who struggled so badly after the interval, with the visitors almost stealing all three points?
The game as a whole neatly summed up our season. On occasions we’ve performed brilliantly, looking a class above opponents. But at other times we’ve been very poor, seeming all at sea. On Saturday we managed both in one game.
The blunt truth is that Kieran McKenna was out-thought by Alex Neil. After a first half in which his team was comprehensively outplayed, Neil cleverly changed his formation and his tactical set-up.
Worryingly, McKenna and Ipswich had no answers, and utterly failed to respond. Once again, we displayed a concerning lack of flexibility and came within a few inches of losing the match.
Ipswich Town’s Jack Clarke takes a tumble over Millwall’s Caleb Taylor (Image: PA)
In a sparkling first half, we created so many excellent situations but our old failing of poor decision making and lack of clinical execution came back to haunt us. We should have had far more than Jack Clarke’s solitary goal.
After the break, there was so much about our performance which was perplexing. Why did Christian Walton keep launching the ball long, much to the delight of the towering Millwall centre-halves?
Why did Jack Clarke, a potential match winner playing down the left, get shunted across to the right to accommodate Jaden Philogene’s introduction? Is there some kind of hierarchy there?
And why on earth was Clarke eventually sacrificed for the once again ineffective Sindre Walle Egeli? At that point, I knew for certain we weren’t going to win.
We’ve said many times that McKenna’s substitutions have been key to Town’s success in recent seasons. But on Saturday the changes worked against us. Without exception, each sub made us weaker. In truth, this wasn’t Kieran McKenna’s finest hour.
Ipswich Town’s Ivan Azon (right) and Millwall’s Billy Mitchell battle for the ball (Image: PA)
Of course, Millwall upped their physicality in the second half. Watching the grappling before corners was like a re-run of the all-in wrestling from ITV’s World of Sport on Saturday afternoons in the 1960s. The likes of Mick McManus and Jackie Pallo would have felt right at home.
Why on earth can football not sort out the ludicrous scenes at corners? Anywhere else on the pitch, and the whistle blows. It wouldn’t take many penalties to be given to stop this nonsense overnight.
It was yet another game when our lack of a quality centre-forward was glaringly obvious. Ivan Azon spends far too much time on the floor, and refs have seen too much of it now. As for George Hirst, he still looks a mere shadow of the player he was.
Talking of strikers, it was wonderful to see the great Ray Crawford looking so fit and well at the old players’ dinner on Friday evening. Ray, who stands alongside Paul Mariner as our greatest number nine, celebrates his 90th birthday in the summer.
I really hope the hierarchy at Portman Road have that landmark date on their radar to celebrate a fantastic player and person. By the way, Ray, have you still got your boots? We could do with you!
Jack Clarke celebrates his strike (Image: PA)
In truth, Saturday didn’t change very much, with us, Millwall and Middlesbrough all drawing. Our relationship with Middlesbrough really is what you might call “After you, Claude,” with neither of us seeming to want grab that all-important second place.
Meanwhile, Coventry are disappearing over the horizon. Ironically, our two games against the runaway leaders were just about the only occasions when we have produced high quality 90-minute performances.
We now have an unusually long break of more than two weeks before we’re back in action. A good time for the squad to rest and recuperate before the final, crazy sprint to the line. Are we good enough? Who knows!