Ipswich Town v Stevenage player ratings

Ipswich Town

1 Dean Gerken: 6.5. A pair of safe hands. Looked as bemused as anyone as the ref changed his mind about the ‘ghost’ penalty.

4 Luke Chambers: 6. Wasteful at times when well placed, with the home crowd showing their frustration at his lack of composure. Also headed wide when should have done better.

6 Christophe Berra: 5.5. Good in the air helped by an excellent jump on him. Will be more concerned Parrett beat him easily in the box in the lead up to his shot which was unfortunate to thud off the Town defender and into the net – sending the loyal travelling fans into raptures. Surprisingly indecisive at times when dealing with the second ball.

10 David McGoldrick: 8. Showed good vision in switching the play. Great technique and creativity. Unlucky not to score with a low finish that went the wrong side of the post for the home team. Credited with an assist and always a threat – as a strong skilful forward, or a deeper lying creator playing between the lines. A class act.

11 Brett Pitman: 6.5. Slotted wide when perhaps should have scored when one-on-one with Day as Ipswich upped their tempo at the shock of going 1-0 down.

16 Giles Cooke: 6.5. Booked for a cynical challenge with Stevenage about to embark on a counter.

18 Jay Tabb: 7. Busy player who could have netted at the end of the first half when well-placed. Scorer of the winner on the night with an easy finish after great work by McGoldrick – which made it so near yet so far for the Boro.

22 Jonathan Douglas: 7. Combative and energetic. Did the simple things well and left the Boro players knowing they had been in a game.

25 Josh Yorwerth: 6.5. Rattled and severely tested at times by the pace and trickery of Akinyemi, with one particular run by the Boro man in the box leaving him with twisted blood. However the young debutant showed character in rising to meet a header early in the second half to make it 1-1 – in a first game he won’t forget in a hurry – even if you could argue he went unchallenged in the box.

30 Myles Kenlock: 6. On the periphery of the action when his talent should have seen him more heavily involved.

39 Larsen Toure: 7. Effective at shielding the ball and a powerful presence throughout. Booked for a late challenge on Pett in the first half prompted perhaps by frustration at Stevenage’s impressive tenacity in the opening 45 minutes. Subbed at half time.

Subs

33 Bartosz Bialokowski

5 Tommy Smith n/a on for Kenlock on 76 minutes.

9 Daryl Murphy

14 Ryan Fraser 6.5. Energetic display which helped Ipswich over the line. Good crosser of the ball.

20 Freddie Sears

26 Adam McDonnell

31 Kundai Benyu

Stevenage

16 Chris Day: 7. A calm head. His reactions defy his age as he got down low to save early in the second half when the home side pushed on, and made a great block to keep his team in the game on the hour mark. Great point blank saves on the final whistle kept the score respectable.

4 Jamie McCombe: 6.5 Concentration is a huge part of a defenders’ armoury and despite his experience he may be disappointed with his positioning.

5 Fraser Franks: 6.5. Unlucky with a well placed header that Gerken did well to push past the post. Encouraging to see his movement during offensive set pieces but needs to focus on defensive activities for the full 90 minutes. Was desperately disappointed with the defeat and cares deeply.

8 Steven Schumacher: 6.5 Tasked with picking up Town’s fleet-footed dangerman Toure when Boro looked to push on and did his job well. Possesses a powerful shot we could see more of as the season progresses.

11 Tom Pett: 6.5 Worked hard on the defensive side of his game in denying space and time to the Tractor Boys back line.

12 David McAllister: 6.5. Not afraid to play the ball out from the back and link up with his forwards, but most effective when he ‘sat’ in a deep lying defensive position in midfield.

18 Dean Parrett: 6.5. Tenacious display, never stopped battling, and sent the travelling support into ecstasy – after playing a big part in the move which ended with a ricochet off Berra that ended up in the net. Won the penalty that never was through an example of his powerful running.

19 Dean Wells: 6.5. Reliable in the air and marshalled his defensive colleagues, Took pride in winning his aerial duels. Stood firm when under pressure. Held his line well. Great timer of tackles. Part of a defensive unit that collectively needs to cut out occasional lapses – as small margins make all the difference in games like these.

20 Dipo Akinyemi: 7. Difficult game for him having to drop deep to receive the ball with his back to goal but never tired of the task. Not afraid to cut inside when having no joy out wide. Excellent run and through ball to Parrett which led to Stevenage’s goal, and will hopefully build on this confident display.

22 Charlie Lee: 6.5. Nice to see he appeared to have time on the ball at times, looking up before stroking it team mates – despite a hectic tempo around him. Committed and resilient as ever.

23 Jerome Okimo: 6.5. Reliable but needs to cut out basic errors. A good team man. Can be proud of playing his part in giving Ipswich a fright.

Subs

50 Ben Jackson

6 Mark Hughes

9 Brett Williams: 6.5. Never stopped trying but found it difficult to influence proceedings with Ipswich stepping up the gears in the second 45 minutes.

26 George Casey

27 Ryan Johnson

32 Tom Conlon: 6.5. Enthusiastic and battled gamely.

34 Dale Gorman: 6.5. On for McAllister at half time as a precaution – the young battler gave his all but is still raw.