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Graham Humphrey

Let's not get too carried away

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Yes, it was a much better performance today and we did well, but it''s only one game and we''re still bottom of the league, five points off saefty.

There is still a lot to work on - individually the defenders did fine but as a unit they were a total liability. Both goals were soft and I felt that every time Ipswich attacked they were going to score.

Even though I seem to be in the minority I thought Brellier had a shocking game (ditto Dublin) and Russell was basically doing two players'' jobs in central midfield and not doing a bad one at that.

However, just as we always looked likely to concede, we always looked like we would score too, and we played some very good football at times and created several decent chances. We should never have been 2 down in the first place, partly because we should have defended better but also because several chances went begging (Cureton''s two before half-time were awful misses).

I was also impressed with the spirit and the character of the team. They didn''t let their heads drop and were always determined to get back into the game, and thoroughly deserved to draw level. Cureton''s goal in particular was fantastic. For me the best players were Chadwick and Taylor, Russell and Lappin were much improved too and Hartson made a difference in the second half. We also looked more like a team and everyone knew their jobs.

And of course, the atmosphere was fantastic even at 2-0 down. We''ve been missing that sort of atmosphere since the Premiership season.

Overall, there are a lot of positives to take from this and purely as a game of football it was one of the best I''ve seen this season. It''s important we build on this (especially with some difficult games coming up) and actually start winning games - that''s nine without a win and we are still in danger of being cut adrift. We still have a group of very poor players but if they can keep playing with that sort of spirit and cohesion then we''ve got a good chance of getting out of it.

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Have to agree that I didn''t really notice Brellier today. Maybe it''s because it is hard to pick him out from the central defenders, but Russell and Chadwick seemed to be everywhere.

Dublin had a few really bad touches, but he still got a few decent attempts at goal so wouldn''t say he had a shocker.

The Ipswich front two in fairness looked class. They obviously have a good understanding - something that surely comes from having a consistent team. They also played it on the floor. Our central defence I''m sure would have been happier dealing with crosses with their height - and this will be fine for most matches as most Championship teams play this way.

Even though they did get a goal from playing this way I felt overall Ipswich''s style of play was in our favour today as other teams could really have exploited our left. With Huckerby sometimes AWOL and Lappin a stand in left back a team with a decent winger could have had lots of time and space to get plenty of crosses in.

To get anything out of the game from 2-0 down at half time was amazing...but I couldn''t help feeling disappointed we didn''t go on and win. They were there for the taking...and for a good 10 minute spell could do nothing but hoof it away from our constant attacks. The Smith substitution was a strange one IMO, it seemed like we were happy to settle for the draw when we could have had 3 points. Still with the Ipswich counter near the end when they almost scored, maybe this was for the best.

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I think it''s very important not to get too carried away. It wasn''t a great performance - we should have won, we defended their two goal moves very poorly and missed a couple of golden chances - and it was a derby game with a new manager on a honeymoon. The danger is if we get carried away by euphoria now, we''ll get carried away by depression when we lose. But what the hell   -  IT WAS *ING MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!What Ipswich really need now is to lose 3 of their key players to injury and 2 more to suspensions. Then let''s see how they get on....

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