Ebb and flow of the Championship getting complicated

The ebb and flow of the Championship gets ever more complicated with just a handful of matches left to play.

Town jumped up to second spot on goal difference from Millwall yesterday (Sunday, April 10) following their pulsating 2-2 draw with fellow promotion rivals Middlesbrough at Portman Road.

Ipswich essentially need nine points from their remaining four matches to be virtually guaranteed a place back in the Premier League.

But that’s no easy task.

A dominant first half in Sunday’s clash against the Teesiders saw the Tractor Boys go behind when David Strelec tapped in from close range but Boro’s lead lasted less than five minutes as Ivan Azon and Kasey McAteer combined for the latter to level matters with a stunning strike.

A rejuvenated Middlesbrough took control of the second half and were deservedly back in front when Tommy Conway rolled the ball in from two yards.

But, with time running out, referee Jarred Gillett adjudged that George Hirst was ruled to have been pulled back by Boro defender Adilson Malanda and Jack Clarke smacked home the resultant penalty.

It was a border line decision that outraged the visitors’ players and fans in the Cobbold Stand but I think it was the right one.

We’ve had decisions go against us – notably Leicester at home and Stoke away – but it kind of levels things out over the course of the season.

So now it’s onto Charlton on Wednesday, followed by a trip to West Brom on Saturday, and crucially with fellow Premier League hopefuls Southampton, next week, who are on an amazing winning run.

It’s going to be a hectic finish to the season but we’ll be hoping that the boys in blue will still be in with a chance of promotion come the final game of the campaign at home to QPR on May 2.

Speaking to Town TV after yesterday’s match manager Kieran McKenna said: “I thought first half it was a really, really good performance all round except of course for a really key piece.

“In general if I talk about our intensity, our pressing was outstanding, we moved the ball so, so well through their pressure.

“Created good chances and we were by far the dominant team against a team which has been by far the dominant team in every game that they have played probably in the last four or five months.

“So big positives in that. We were frustrated not to give ourselves a half time lead at that point and we know we didn’t defend our box on a key moment.

“We need to be more clinical in their box both on open play and on the set plays and I think up until the point of their first goal we were the better team really and the team pushing to win but then they score.

“We’re disappointed with the goal and then they had a big period of 15/20 minutes of pressure and we were hanging onto the game really.”