This one was less a game of football and more of a game of chess, but nevertheless a good result for both teams.
A point at this stage or the season is never to be sniffed at and, let's face it, no-one wants to be on the end of one of the crazy results we see in the first month ... do they Ipswich fans?
City and Portsmouth were very evenly matched and any insomniacs in the stadium will have been grateful for the ninety minute cure.
City played with Nicky Maynard fighting alone up front and it was going to take more than even a striker of his quality to break down the Pompey defence.
At the other end, Lewin Nyatanga and James Wilson had the measure of experienced campaigners Kanu, Dave Kitson and substitute Benjani.
Youngster Wilson stood out for me and when I spoke to the equally impressive keeper Dean Gerken after the game, he agreed with me that there were similarities between Wilson and Stephen Caulker who spent much of last term on loan at Ashton Gate from Spurs.
Wilson suffered from injuries last season, but does have a league champions medal to his name after a stint with Brentford when Andy Scott took them to top spot in League Two a couple of years ago.
Gerken himself looks to have come of age and the battle between him and David James will be an interesting one this season. The younger man is also a character. When I stated the bleedin' obvious - that there was only one position to play for - Gerken took joking exception to this observation and told me that he could definitely do a job getting to the flick-ons for Maynard up front. His confidence is such at the moment that who am I to doubt him.
I suspect though that Millen will err on the side of caution though and keep Gerken between the sticks and, after performances like the one on Saturday, he might find himself there for some time.
See my clipping from this morning's paper
NB: A public apology to Dean for the lame intro!
NB: A public apology to Dean for the lame intro!
Game of professionals who wanted to ensure that they could not be blamed for much after the result was known, the players conned the referee too much and the referee duly obliged. Referee bottled a couple of important decisions, notably the Kilkenny disallowed goal.
ReplyDeleteIt's the professionalism of this nature (by all parties) that will drive the loyal fans away from the game in the long term.
You make a fair point Geoff. I think that many people in football (at all levels - and I include the fans) forget that it should be a form of entertainment. However, football has become a massive business the financial stakes are now so high, caution rules sadly. Best wishes, Jeff
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