Ipswich Town drew 3-3 at Hull City last night in a classic Championship encounter. Stuart Watson reflects on the action.
BOYS ARE BACK FOR TOWN
It was a shock to see both George Hirst and Wes Burns in the starting XI.
Burns had sat out the previous five games having pulled up with a hamstring injury in the 6-0 home win against Sheffield Wednesday on March 16.
Hirst, meanwhile, hadn't featured since rupturing his hamstring in the Boxing Day draw with Leicester.
This was a game that suited pace in attack given Hull leave spaces to counter. So Kieran McKenna decided the risk of going with two players lacking match sharpness was outweighed by the potential reward.
It paid off as the duo combined for the opener, showed glimpses of some trademark qualities before being withdrawn after an hour.
"I wouldn’t play a player, no matter what stage of the season it was, if I thought it was a medical risk," said McKenna.
"George has trained fully for the last two weeks and played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors game last week.
"The biggest challenge was going to be getting the rhythm of a game of this level and I thought he did a really good job.
"Of course, he’s shown that he can produce big moments and big finishes in big games and he’s stepped up and done that again today.
"We knew Hull would defend man-to-man against us on the top line and the running power, especially of those two boys, was always going to be important tonight. I thought they did a really good job.
"The positive thing is that I thought they were getting stronger as the game went on. They both give us a great option for the next two games. It’s great to have them both available again."
OH-MARI! YOU BEAUTY
In Omari Hutchinson we're watching a special young talent blossom in front of our very eyes.
The Chelsea loanee restored Town's lead just before half-time when, following a half cleared corner, he darted inside from the right and unleashed a shot that had whip and dip into the top left corner from outside the box.
Midway through the second half he repeated the feat from a similar scenario and position, this time finding the bottom corner with another fiendish strike.
It wasn't just those two magic moments that were impressive either. The 20-year-old defended with athleticism, won fouls, forced saves and picked out team-mates with some good bits of decision-making.
Town's travelling fans serenaded him with a chant of 'I want to dance with Omari' (to the tune of a Whitney Houston classic).
When he's on it, Hutchinson is unplayable. That's 10 goals and five assists in his debut season of men's football. And he's only started 23 games.
"He's got a pretty special mindset for a young player," enthused McKenna.
"He’s so hungry to improve. He wants to work on his game all the time. He’s taking on information so, so well and he’s come on leaps and bounds.
"You could see that tonight in his performance in two different positions, two different roles (starting left wing and then moving to the right after Burns' withdrawal).
"He had big tactical jobs to do in both positions, carried a big threat in both positions, produced two goals and, as he is, he’s in there disappointed he didn’t get his hat-trick."
THE GOALS AGAINST
Three times Town led. Three times they were pegged back.
Frustratingly, all fell in the self-inflicted/preventable categories.
Vaclav Hladky playing a short, straight ball into the feet of Sam Morsy is a pass we've seen dozens of times this season. More often than not, it leads to the Blues finding a spare man and building an attack. On this occasion, Morsy turned into danger, was dispossessed by Jean Seri and Ozan Tufan scored.
"I don’t know many points we’d be worse off if Samy hadn’t been doing that all year, but it’s an awful lot," said McKenna. "That can happen and, of course, they’ll have our full support." I can't argue with that. As I keep writing, live by the sword, die by the sword.
It's Hull's two second half goals that the Blues boss was, rightly, more disappointed by.
For the second equaliser, Leif Davis doesn't get out to Fabio Carvalho quick enough to stop a low cross, while Liam Delap shouldn't be allowed to dart in front of both centre-halves to score at the near post either.
Noah Ohio's finish in off the underside of the bar, to level things up once more in the 87th minute, then left McKenna hammering his fist against the Perspex dugout in frustration. Matty Jacob rose highest to win a back post header following a free-kick delivery and Hladky pushed the ball back into a dangerous area.
Could the Czech keeper have held the ball? I'm not sure. Could he have pushed it into a less dangerous area? Perhaps. It's all easy to say in hindsight though. Situations unfold in a flash.
And let's not forget that Hladky has been one of Town's top performers this season. He's won Town more points than he's lost.
WHAT A GAME!
Hull boss Liam Rosenior said afterwards that this could easily have finished 6-6. It wasn't an exaggeration.
You could not take your eyes off a breathless game that often had basketball like end-to-end action.
Hladky produced an outstanding save to deny Jaden Philogene at 1-0 and a smart stop from a deflected effort at 2-3. There was a collective gasp of disbelief when Tuzan headed a glorious close-range chance over the bar for the hosts early in the second half too.
The play-off chasing Tigers, buoyed by West Brom and Norwich both dropping points earlier in the day, really went for it. Rosenior threw a third striker on at half-time and a fourth in the 75th minute.
For Town, Massimo Luongo poked narrowly wide on the stretch at 0-1, Cameron Burgess saw a glancing header hit the crossbar at 2-2, while Kieffer Moore, Hutchinson and Jeremy Sarmiento forced Ryan Allsop into six second half saves between them at various stages.
Two huge blocks in quick succession, on Sarmiento and Sam Morsy respectively, also denied the Blues bagging a dramatic stoppage-time winner.
This game had 35 shots (21-14 to Ipswich), with 18 of them on target (11-7 to to Ipswich).
Players on both teams slumped to the turf in exhaustion at the end. Home and away fans stood as one to applaud their efforts. It was a highly entertaining game that neither deserved to lose.
TWO TO GO
A four-game winless run at a crucial stage would be the negative view. Only one defeat against a quartet of decent sides would be the more positive outlook.
For me, Leeds' shock 4-0 defeat at QPR on Friday night means this has to be viewed as another valuable point gained rather than two dropped.
Remarkably, Ipswich, for the second season in a row, have hit the 90-point mark.
Having just faced a string of sides fighting for a top-six finish, they now take on two teams whose seasons are over.
On Tuesday night, it's a trip to Coventry. The Sky Blues will be playing their fourth game in 10 days. One of those was a heartbreaking FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United over 120 minutes. The highest Mark Robins' team can finish is seventh.
Then, on Saturday lunchtime, it's a home game against Huddersfield. Due to goal difference, the Terriers were effectively relegated this weekend.
Lose to Coventry and Town will go into the final day needing Leeds to drop points, at home, against a woefully out of form Southampton. Urgh.
Draw at Coventry and a win against Huddersfield would guarantee promotion.
Beat Coventry and a draw against Huddersfield would get the job done.
A reminder that just two years ago the Blues played out a dead rubber penultimate game draw at Crewe ahead of finishing 11th in League One.
Now, back-to-back automatic promotions to the Premier League is within touching distance. It's incredible. It's exciting. It's also stomach-churningly nerve-wracking.
Try and enjoy it if you can.
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