Key events
77 min Liam Delap turns 22 next month. If and when he leaves Ipswich, whether it’s this month or in June 2029, Ipswich will make a huge profit on the £20m they paid him.
76 min Marco Silva looks like the world is against him. The scoreline is harsh on the balance of play, no question, but all of the big decisions have been correct in my neutral opinion. The potential red card for Davis was 50/50 so I can understand his frustration, but to me it was a clear example of Referee’s Call.
74 min “Half time at Fir Park,” reports James Humphries. “After 43 dire minutes, Well now two goals and a man up against Aberdeen following 90 action-packed seconds. I dunno how we’ll throw it away from here, but I have no doubt whatsoever that we will. I think it’s just started snowing, too.”
73 min: Double substitution for Ipswich Kalvin Phillips and Jack Taylor replace Jens Cajuste and Sammie Szmodics.
In other news, Dara O’Shea was booked for dissent just before the Fulham equaliser.
GOAL! Fulham 1-2 Ipswich (Delap 71 pen)
Bernd Leno tries to play silly buggers, delaying the kick for as long as possible. Delap smiles back at him – knowingly, not nervously – and then rams a brilliant penalty into the right-hand side of the net. Leno went the wrong way but he wouldn’t have saved it anyway. That’s a great penalty from a seriously impressive young striker.
Delap tries to cut inside Castagne and is kicked on the foot while changing direction. It’s a penalty – softish, but a penalty nonetheless. It came 21 seconds after the kick off, and Craven Cottage is ready to blow.
70 min: Penalty to Ipswich!
GOAL! Fulham 1-1 Ipswich (Jimenez 69 pen)
Lovely penalty. He strolled up, sat Walton down and passed the ball to his left.
68 min Morsy is booked. Raul Jimenez will take the penalty…
Penalty to Fulham
67 min Marco Silva is still fuming. The angle of Morsy’s run made it hard for the referee to be certain it was a penalty, so it isn’t a howler. But it was a clear and obvious error and it has been overturned.
66 min: Fulham penalty appeal! Wilson is certain he has been tripped in the area. The referee disagrees and Wilson loses the plot. This will be overturned by VAR; it’s a clear foul by Morsy.
64 min: Double substitution for Fulham Just before that Broadhead shot, Fulham brought on Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz for Alex Iwobi and Tom Cairney.
64 min: Fine save by Leno! A long ball forward is knocked down by Delap towards Broadhead on the edge of the area. He charges onto the bouncing ball and smashes a shot that is tipped round the post by the diving Leno. Excellent reactions.
63 min: Chance for Fulham! Iwobi moves from left to right to receive the ball and clip a lovely ball to the far post. Smith Rowe gets the wrong side of Szmodics but plants a header wide from eight yards. That was a pretty good chance.
61 min Ipswich managed only one victory first 15 Premier League games; if it stays like this they’ll have won three of out five since then.
Like the song says: Pragmatism not idealism. Will not cry in public. Less chance of relegation.
59 min Iwobi splashes well wide from the left side of the area. A poor idea, badly executed.
58 min The camera cuts to Ben Godfrey in the stands; he is set to join Ipswich on loan from Atalanta.
57 min For all Fulham’s dominance – 72 per cent possession as I type – Christian Walton has had only one save to make. That was from Raul Jimenez’s header in the 21st minute.
56 min “In this continuing age of not knowing what truth is was or who should own it, there was a shocking display of that last night on MotD,” says Ian Copestake. “That headbutt thing, accidental, but in the box, etc. But then it became about the defender having touched the ball (but not first) when the ball touched him off the accidentally butted player. They were all suddenly in agreement about the truth. No penalty as he touched the ball! This is the first question to ask on any date.”
The main argument against a penalty seems to be that we hadn’t seen it before. If you applied that principle elsewhere, the population would consist entirely or virgins and humanity would be hurtling towards extinction.
54 min Walton runs right to the edge of his area to beat Robinson to a long ball. He did well to slow down and ensure he didn’t handle it outside the area.
52 min Ipswich started the second half well but now Fulham re starting to impose themselves. The weather, since you asked, is still utterly disgusting.
49 min “I’m not familiar with that Lukic character but he’s got the air of a good, old fashioned troublemaker,” writes J.R. in Illinois. “I particularly enjoyed the incident 1.5 seconds into the game as you noted. He tried blocking Delap from chasing the ball and Delap obliged in giving Lukic what he richly deserved.
“It’s a shame the darts is over as it’s a beautiful day to stay inside here in flyover country. We’re in the process of getting 4-10 inches of snow and they’ve already let us know they’re not forecasting the temperature to rise above 0° C any time for at least three weeks.
“Apparently they’re naming our winter storms after former UK prime ministers because this one is called Blair. The one I’m really dreading is when Truss comes along.”
No, no, they’re naming them after famous Lionels. The next is one is Storm Messi, then it’ll be Storm de Niceville.
48 min Davis’s precise low cross finds its way to Szmodics, 12 yards out, and he screws a first-time shot off target under pressure from Bassey. It looked like Bassey caught him but there were no appeals for a penalty.
47 min “Hi Rob, and Happy New Year!” begins a peculiarly jaunty Simon McMahon. Ah. “One of the things I enjoy most about the MBM is that it gives me an interest in teams that I otherwise would know nothing about. Like Fulham and Ipswich for example. Or Everton, who I cannot think of now without being reminded of the long suffering Mary Waltz.
“It also allows me to connect with fans of other teams, particularly so called ‘provincial’ sides like, say, Nottingham Forest. Who are of course riding high this season in third place, coincidentally like Dundee United in Scotland, who are at home to Hearts today, after consecutive wins against St. Johnstone, Aberdeen and Dundee over the festive period. It’s like the 1980s all over again. Without Brian Clough and Jim McLean of course, more’s the pity.”
It’s such a shame they didn’t meet in Europe. Imagine the colour of the air had McLean and Clough shared a touchline. There isn’t a hex code around for that shade of blue.
46 min Ipswich begin the second half, and why not.
Fulham substitution Emile Smith Rowe comes on for Issa Diop, which presumably means a return to 4-2-3-1 as below.
Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Cairney; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Half-time reading
But will he pick Chris Powell?
Half time: Fulham 0-1 Ipswich
Marco Silva stomps off with a face like thunder. Fulham have dominated throughout yet find themselves behind to a goal from Sammie Szmodics. Silva’s anger stems from the decision to give Leif Davis a yellow card rather than a red when he took out Harry Wilson. It was one of those newfangled Referee’s Call decisions – had Davis been sent off, I’m not sure VAR would have overturned it.
45 min On the Ipswich goal, I thought Robinson headed against his own bar but Sky are saying it was Johnson’s effort. The end result is the same.
44 min Iwobi’s cross from the right is headed away to the edge of the area. Wilson meets it with a sweet, technically superb volley that is headed away by Greaves. Turns out it was going wide anyway.
43 min “I hate to say I told you so,” says Richard Hirst, “but…”
Be patient young man, you’re playing well.
42 min Vincent Kompany was criticised last season for refusing to compromise Burnley’s style of play. Kieran McKenna is more of a flexible idealist, and his pragmatism is serving Ipswich extremely well right now. They beat Chelsea with around 24 per cent possession and are leading Fulham with 26 per cent.
40 min “Only ever been to Craven Cottage once,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Late 80s, Boxing Day, supporting the Mighty Shrews while I was in London. Third Division (ask your dad), everyone nicely relaxed after plenty of Christmas beer and spirits. Ground 1/4 full. Rubbish footie but who cares? Shrews take the lead, against the run of play, we jump up and down from our great seats on the halfway line, in the Bobby Moore Stand, enjoying the josh with the good natured Fulham fans.
“Policeman arrives. ‘You will have to go and join the away supporters in the segregated area at the end of the stand.’ Everyone shocked, even the Fulham fans (‘leave ‘em alone, they’re alright’), eventually it came down to me asking:
‘What if I decide not to go and sit in the segregated area?’
‘You may always choose to leave the ground if you wish, sir.’
“A sense of perspective helps in football.”
At the risk of ruining the moment with entirely needless pedantry, it wasn’t quite Boxing Day. Looks like it was 30 December 1989, which brings us back to the present day as that’s the last time Man Utd were flirting with relegation. John McGinlay scored your goal that day; I had no idea he played for Shrewsbury. Or that David Moyes was your centre-half!
