Vital Viewpoint – Ipswich vs Owls

Our man on the spot, fozzyp, provides his player ratings from the weekend.

Grant – 8/10 MOTM

Maybe I am being a little harsh on his rating. I thought Grant did everything right. In the first half controlled his box especially his six yard box. Second half again controlled everything in his box, he nearly got caught out with the wind mid-way through the second half but his exceptional agility pulled off a wonderful recovery for me. Quite clearly our Man of the Match: the only factor in Grant not collecting the maximum rating was Ipswich’s lack of ability to really test him consistently. A very positive performance.

Spurr – 6.5

I think the captaincy is affecting his game a little. Sometimes I thought Spurr was caught out of position and his clearances were a little soft but in the second half showed a much better performance: his fitness really came through in the end, and aided the attack. If I could base his all-round performance on the second half it would be a 7.

Buxton – 7

Although could have been sent off for a second yellow, he put some great interceptions in, was left a little bit for pace at times but good in the air in a game where our back four had to stand up and be counted.

Hinds – 6.5

Gave position away a few times with long balls when a ball into central midfield was on, although I suspect this was instructed. But again another solid defensive play.

Simek – 6.5

An absolute pleasure to see our Frankie showing the signs of how we know him. Although some way off his game he supported the attack and defended well. A rash challenge got him a yellow card and to be honest I have seen people sent off for challenges like that, it was pretty awful. I would imagine the great Frank Simek will be back on true form soon if he plays regularly.

Gray – 6.5

Had a steady game, nice to see him get through 90 minutes considering his injury. Personally I think a more wider role suites him better but adapted well in the centre and never really put a foot wrong but also never really as heavily involved as we usually see him. I thought he could have done better with a rebound chance from a Tudgay shot in the first half but it did fall awkwardly for him to be fair.

Potter – 6.5

Quiet game ran the midfield well played deep again and played it simple, was good in the air, won a few headers as last midfield man. He let himself down with set pieces for me as I felt we should have been more direct and a few times he played it short.

JOC – 7

Strong on the tackle and energetic.JOC is a bit of a unsung hero in the midfield, a lot of his unselfish work goes unnoticed and this was another typical performance.

JJ – 6

Game wasn’t played to JJ’s strengths for me, he was too far up field and never really had the ball as often as he should have. Maybe a bit of jet lag or tiredness in there too but nothing negative on his contribution, linked up well and showed a good first touch.

Tudgay – 7.5

Won most headers again and his first touch was superb. In a scrappy game, he was a lot more involved in the second half and he was the only player showing any real quality up the field. You would have thought if we were to score, he was the one who would have made it happen.

Varney – 6.5

Mixed feelings on Varney: I thought he could have supported better. He worked his socks off and was relatively quite although he won the team a few corners and throws that came to nothing, he also gave the ball away a few times. Maybe a little harsh on the rating but I thought he could have contributed more.

Clarke – 7

A bit unjust to give a 7 based on his time on the pitch but I thought his contribution when he was on was faultless: strong and positive, held the ball up well and never gave the ball away. I would have like to see Leon start based on his performance.

Team 6.5/7

As a team I thought our performance was a little above OK. The conditions were awful. The team defended well as a unit but played the ball way too long especially in the first half. Ipswich played deep in the first half making it hard for us to get the ball over the top and exploit them with our pace and for that reason it made our midfield and strikers look non-existent and made our clearance from the back look a bit clueless and desperate. Second half much better the game was more open and football was being played again the lads at the back defended well but this time played the ball more allowing our midfield and strikers to see more of the ball to feet. I still thought we could have created more but putting the ball in the box more often but generally pleased with the second half.

Thanks to fozzyp. Note: If you’re a member of our forum, and you’re going to the match, you can contribute player ratings for the site. Watch out for the forum thread each week, volunteer, and we may select you for the job!