Nigel Adkin's side extended their unbeaten run to nine matches (last four under him) and our longest unbeaten spell of the season in the revised kick-off today against Ipswich Town. We may have kept the run going but once again we looked that bit less impressive at The Valley than when on our travels this season.
It was a big game for the visitors too as they sought to keep their diminishing play-off hopes alive. They started brightly and looked like they had a goal in them although they faded in the second-half. By contrast we were slow to get into the match and Amos kept us in it early on with two smart stops from the same attack. Eventually we began to get forward and Jayden Stockley had our best chance, predictably a header but it went straight to Holy in the goal. He also managed a hurried shot on the turn after Holy spilled a cross but it was easily cleared by the last defender.
Our unchanged back-four were tidy enough and Forster-Caskey and Pratley kept things moving but there wasn't much to aim at in front of them. Jaiyesimi had a quiet opening forty-five and Millar didn't trouble his two markers much either. He and Gilbey also played like they didn't know each other.
In the second-half and with the sun behind us (attacking the Covered End), we saw more of the ball in their half but the end product was still short of what was really required. Holy held a few half chances poked at him and a couple of headers from the back of the six yard box.
The real problem was there was little in the way of reinforcements. With Aneke and Washington injured, there was only Schwartz or Shinnie to call on. Adkins decided to stick with more-or-less what he had and the only change was Watson for Pratley, presumably to allow Watson to maintain his booking ratio.
We remain in seventh place, two points behind Portsmouth with a game in hand. Portsmouth lost at MK Dons but with Lincoln and Blackpool both winning, a victory for the south coast side would have left us five points adrift, so perhaps we should be thankful for small mercies. We are at Plymouth on Tuesday and then face in-form Peterborough at the Valley. We will need a better performance in both of those games if we are to continue the chase.
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