World News – GB – Stu says: Five observations after Ipswich Town’s 4-1 loss to Doncaster

Stuart watson

Luke Chambers and Tomas Holy are not happy with a decision at Doncaster Rovers Image Pagepix Ltd

First and foremost, the Blues won all the individual battles on the pitch Even Alan Judge and Freddie Sears won the heads

Once they took possession of the ball the ball was played quickly and with determination You could hear Paul Lambert constantly shouting « pass forward » from the touchline

Gwion Edwards produced a silky spin before Sears won a corner Emyr Huws saw a low shot from outside the box held Then came the deserved breakthrough in the 15th minute

PLUS: « We never did the basics off the ball Maybe this is the little kick we needed » – Lambert on the 4-1 loss at Doncaster

Luke Chambers won an imposing header on the right then immediately charged to receive a return pass from the judge If Joe Wright hadn’t turned the dangerous low cross past his own goalkeeper in the six-yard box, Sears would have had a tap-in

The skipper of Town, who is now 10th in the club’s all-time list of appearances in the club’s championship, cupped his ear towards the empty grandstand behind the goal in celebration

The first warning sign of what was to follow came in the 21st minute when Tomas Holy presented a short pass straight to Josh Sims’ feet on the edge of the box On this occasion, Toto Nsiala did so get out of prison with a saving tackle

Later in the game he wouldn’t have been so lucky In the 64th minute the tall Czech gave the ball straight back to the Sims trying to play from behind This time, the loan from Southampton faced Fejiri Okenabirhie And it’s 4-1

Let’s Go Back How easily you dismiss Doncaster’s first two goals as unhappy depends on your personal level of generosity

Yes, when Nsiala came out of defense to face Okenabirhie the ball fell well for John It didn’t help that Nsiala and Wilson both put pressure on the same ball, leaving space behind Matt Smith slipped into the forward John and he shot from under the bar It was Doncaster’s first shot on goal

And yes, Ben Whiteman’s deep cross was one of those moats that everyone slips away and squeezes to the far post City had everyone back to defend the little-taken turn Someone had to put his head on Holy was slow to respond too

So Town was late in a league game for the first time this season. How would they react after the break? The answer is they didn’t

Nsiala escaped with a moment of nervousness on the ball soon after the restart Which set the tone

Again, there was a pre-goal warning sign when the Sims ran behind, jumped a slippery tackle from Nsiala, and fired a shot in the distance

Ten minutes later, the Sims were just too quick for Nsiala as the pair chased a ball over The desperate first shoulder grip was outside the box, but the possible awkward clip heels looked inside It brought back bad memories of Nsiala of yore Whiteman crashed home on the kick

MORE: « Terrible I have to react to Lincoln No time to panic » – Town fans react to thud in Doncaster

It would be unfair, however, to focus only on individual defensive errors. Town was dominated in the second half because his midfielder and attack didn’t work hard enough off the ball

Andre Dozzell, Jon Nolan and Huws just weren’t stuck enough You might see the city’s defenders begging them to provide more protection

Dozzell never had the time or space to play his positive passes on the turn, but his counterpart Whiteman had all day to pull the bites in contrast

Kayden Jackson’s positive coronavirus test result over the weekend led to the entire team being tested early Monday morning

At this point, with the Blues not knowing how many people in the camp might have the virus, training had to be socially remote Players were told they might have to drive their own cars at least part of the way to the ground the next day if the results were expected The club had several young teams waiting to step in if a whole slew of positive results returned

Fortunately, the results were known late Monday night and everyone received a clean checkup

It is, however, a sober reminder of the scale of the role Covid-19 may still have to play on and off the pitch during this weirdest season

Town’s first loss in 2020/21 came exactly one year after his first league loss of 2019/20

This 2-0 loss to Accrington Stanley turned out to be the start of a long demise. Days later Lambert’s men lost 2-0 at home to Rotherham Both games showed glaring shortcomings which bubbled below the surface in an 11-game unbeaten start

It is essential that Town respond quickly to allay fears that the same thing will happen again

Saturday’s game at Lincoln – the scene of a 5-3 beating last season – is certainly a huge test of character The new-look Imps are third in the table and only behind Town on goal difference

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Ipswich Town FC, Doncaster Rovers FC, EFL League One, Ben Whiteman