A post-match lap of honour seemed a singularly inappropriate response to an opening day victory on their 16th consecutive season at the Championship coalface, but such was the torpor of last season and a miserable summer where season ticket sales dropped by 15 per cent, it was hard to begrudge Ipswich Town’s sense of joy and relief.
“We were cr*p last week,” said Mick McCarthy, the Ipswich manager, refereeing to the 6-1 friendly defeat at Charlton Athletic. “But I hate pre-season it makes me sick. Looking at those results people might say ‘he’s a pretty good manager to turn things around’ so I’m going to give myself a pat on the back, even if nobody else is.”
Physical, but bereft of imagination, Birmingham City may feel hard done-by after dominating the first half, but they barely troubled home goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski and once Joe Garner had marked his first Ipswich appearance with a neatly taken goal, the home side cruised to three points.
Birmingham began full of swagger. They finished last season three places lower than their hosts’ mediocre 16th, but the fillip of Harry Redknapp’s unlikely three-match appointment and his decision to stay, saw them and their 2,000 noisy fans head east with a puppy-like optimism unseen since Steve Bruce plied his trade on the blue side of the second city. Ninety minutes later, realism had kicked in.
“I couldn’t see us conceding before they scored,” sighed Redknapp. “Then I look at the bench and the only forward is a lad I gave a free transfer last week. I want to build a team that will get us promoted and I still believe I can. But we need players badly: no one can turn a fifth-bottom team into a promotion-winning one without new players.”
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Initially, Ipswich struggled for fluidity, struggled to cross with anything approaching accuracy and were lightweight in a midfield ruled with Gallic hegemony by Birmingham’s muscular summer arrival Cheikh N’Doye. Seconds before the break, Ipswich’s most inventive contributor, Andre Dozzell – who had required treatment early on – fell clutching his knee and was stretchered off, clearly in distress. Dozzell’s injury will be formally assessed on Monday but McCarthy fears cruciate damage.
Birmingham’s first-half friskiness was halted five minutes after the break. Grant Ward linked with the overlapping Jonas Knudsen. The Danish full-back whipped in a low cross which eluded Freddie Sears only for Garner to sweep in a sweet goal.
The goal surprised Ipswich, but after it their confidence soared. Knudsen pushed forwards to capitalise on the serendipitous double-whammy of David Davis’ reluctance to track back and Emilio Nsue’s tendency to get sucked into the centre. And when Knudsen crossed again to the back post Jordan Spence collected and crossed low himself, only for Sears to screw his effort wide from close-in.
Birmingham’s response was muted and Ipswich’s defence, transformed from a three to a four after Adam Webster’s arrival, remained resolute. At the death, only one team looked likely to score: it wasn’t the one who needed an equaliser.
Star man: Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich Town)
Yellow cards: Ipswich: Spence Birmingham: Roberts
Referee: T. Robinson
Attendance: 18,153
