Watford Vs Ipswich Town: Ipswich back to winning ways at Vicarage Road

In a strong away performance, watford vs ipswich town ended 2-0 as Ipswich Town secured victory at Vicarage Road thanks to strikes from Sindre Walle Egeli and George Hirst. The result included a penalty save by Christian Walton, a yellow card for Darnell Furlong and six minutes of added time at the end of the second half.

First-half control and opener

Ipswich dominated large periods of the first half, with one former Ipswich and England captain, Mick Mills, saying it was "a super first half" in which his side had over 60% of possession and the statistics were heavily in Ipswich's favour. Ipswich took the lead shortly before the break when Sindre Walle Egeli fired home after Marcelino Nunez's free-kick struck the wall, giving Ipswich a deserved half-time lead.

Watford Vs Ipswich Town match events

The match saw a sequence of substitutions and a pivotal moment just after the restart. Ipswich prepared a double substitution at one stage with Anis Mehmeti replacing Marcelino Nunez and George Hirst coming on for Ivan Azon. Later Benjamin Johnson came on for Jack Clarke. Watford made a change as well, with Pierre Ekwah replacing Imran Louza.

Penalty, save and reactions

Watford were awarded a penalty after Tom Ince was brought down by Darnell Furlong in the area; Furlong received a yellow card for the foul. Tom Ince stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Christian Walton guessed correctly and palmed the shot away with two strong hands to his left, preserving Ipswich's clean sheet. A commentator noted that "Town still have that clean sheet and Ince's head is in his hands, " adding that it was a good save, following on from the side's recent match on Saturday.

Second goal and key contributions

George Hirst doubled Ipswich's lead from the centre of the box after a cutback from Jacob Greaves; the ball deflected in following contributions from Wesley Burns and others. Wesley Burns was instrumental in the move, using his experience to influence the game and keep Watford at bay. Hirst's finish marked his second goal in 17 games and he celebrated with the away fans.

Managerial and pre-match context

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna praised his side's intensity, saying: "It was a really strong performance. I really enjoyed the way the boys went about it tonight. I thought our intensity, our duels and our aggression was really good. That’s the absolute starting point for any game in this division, especially away from home. " He added that the good pitch helped Ipswich play with tempo, calling it "probably the best pitch we've played on since Coventry. " McKenna said the team built good pressure in the first half despite Watford playing with a back five, and that "Sindre stepped up with a really good finish to give us a deserved half-time lead. "

McKenna reflected on the second half: "They were always going to push on a little bit in the second half and you know you have to stand up to that. We wanted to get the clean sheet in the second half and we wanted to get the second goal, but we knew we had to find the balance between defending that clean sheet and pushing forward at the right moments. We did it with the starters, but the subs really helped with that. " He acknowledged a late penalty given away as "a great lesson for us in there and brilliant for Christian to step up with the save that got the clean sheet that he and the team deserved. "

Form, fixtures and broader picture

The win was framed by recent results: Ipswich had a response to a 5-3 defeat to Wrexham and sought to cut the gap on second-place Middlesbrough, who were held at home by Leicester City. McKenna had previously urged the team to rectify errors from the weekend defeat at Wrexham while keeping positives, noting that Ipswich had travelled for a postponed match at Portsmouth and that the trip to Watford was the club's fourth successive away game on a Tuesday evening. He had asked the team to prepare quickly after the loss at the Racecourse Ground, saying: "It’s going to come round quick and we need to prepare and be ready. "

Watford had been managed by Ed Still for just under a fortnight prior to this match, Still having gone unbeaten in his opening two matches with a 2-2 draw at Preston followed by a 2-0 home win over Derby, ending a seven-game winless Championship run (eight including a 5-1 FA Cup exit at Bristol City). Watford had the fourth-best home form in the division, with nine home wins, five draws and three home defeats this season, and had scored 26 goals at home while conceding 17. McKenna noted that the new manager had put his twist on the team even though many players were the same, and warned it would be "a really tough game. "

Town also took heart from past success at Vicarage Road, where they had previously come from behind to claim a 2-1 victory to go top of the Championship; McKenna described that as "one that we have fond memories of" and said it did not hinder their confidence going into the fixture.

Match officials signalled six minutes of added time at the end of the second half, and Ipswich saw out the closing stages to record a 2-0 victory at Vicarage Road.

Final score: Watford 0-2 Ipswich Town.