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Ipswich Town 1 Hull City 0
Championship IN the end, an afternoon that had begun with both sets of fans dreaming of the Premier League ended in disappointment all round.
Results elsewhere – most notably Stoke City claiming the point they needed at home to Leicester City to clinch automatic promotion and Watford clinging on to the last play-off place by their finger-nails with a draw at Blackpool – meant Alan Lee's second-half winner proved to be academic.
Hull City, despite a second consecutive away defeat in a row, would finish the season occupying the third place in which they had started the day, while Ipswich Town's promotion ambitions would have to remain on hold for at least another 12 months.
Such a conclusion to the final weekend always seemed the most likely, even in a division where each passing week seems to have brought an even more bizarre set of results.
But, even so, there was no mistaking the frustration etched across the faces of the Ipswich fans at the final whistle as the reality of having to spend at least another year in the Championship began to dawn.
For Hull, it was a similar story of disappointment as the dream of automatic promotion disappeared amid one of the flattest displays of what has been a memorable campaign for Phil Brown's side.
However, the big crumb of comfort for the 2,500 Tigers fans inside Portman Road was that a second path to the promised land of the Premier League had now opened up with a two-legged play-off semi-final against a badly-out-of-sorts Watford.
Aidy Boothroyd's men may have been the one-time pace-setters of this season's Championship, but just one win in the final 14 games is all you need to know about the manner in which the Hornets have collapsed. It is, in fact, less than five weeks since Watford were humbled 3-0 at the KC Stadium on an afternoon when Boothroyd admitted his side had "produced the worst display of my three years in charge".
A repeat of that in either leg would surely be enough to book a first ever trip to Wembley, new or old, for the Tigers.
If that is to become reality, however, there can be no doubt that City will have to improve on their showing at Ipswich.
Starting with an attack minded formation that had Dean Windass playing just behind Fraizer Campbell and Caleb Folan, Hull simply never got going in the Suffolk sunshine.
The slick pass and move play that has characterised much of their season was notable only for its absence with the visitors instead relying on launching long balls forward that bordered on the aimless.
Such an approach – whether unwitting or not – suited perfectly an Ipswich backline led by the imposing Jason De Vos, so much so in fact that it took the Tigers 71 minutes to muster an effort on target. That came courtesy of a Nick Barmby header from close range, but even then Stephen Bywater was not unduly tested in the Ipswich goal as he gathered comfortably.
By then, City had fallen behind after Jim Magilton's decision to bring Lee, a summer transfer target for the East Yorkshire club, off the bench with 21 minutes remaining had paid dividends almost immediately.
The former Rotherham United striker had only been on the field for 20 seconds when he diverted a header by Jon Walters back across goal and just beyond the reach of Boaz Myhill to put the Tractor Boys in front.
Hull could have few complaints at falling behind, Lee's decisive strike being the sixth clear-cut chance that the home side had fashioned in a
10-minute spell in which the visitors struggled to escape their own half.
Former Sheffield United man Alan Quinn was guilty of wasting perhaps the best opening when blazing over from 10 yards out, but both Pablo Counago and De Vos will also have been unhappy not to take advantage of some excellent approach play.
It had been a similar tale before half-time with the home side quickly seizing the initiative in midfield – where they out-numbered Hull four men to three – through the outstanding Owen Garvan and Tommy Miller.
The latter was particularly unfortunate not to score with his drilled shot beating Myhill before bouncing to safety off a post, while Jon Walters was another who went close with a stinging drive that followed some more hesitant defending.
There was little doubt City were fortunate to reach the break still level, but any hopes of claiming a smash-and-grab win were ended with Lee's dramatic entrance.
By a strange quirk of coincidence, it meant that the Ipswich striker had, for the second consecutive year, played a major part in keeping City in the Championship at the end of the regular season – it being his late equaliser for the Tractor Boys against Leeds in the penultimate game of 2006-07 that guaranteed the safety of Brown's men.
Whether this latest strike proves to be just a temporary setback to the Tigers' dreams of escaping the second tier this time around, only time will tell.
PLAYER FOCUS
Ipswich Town
Bywater 6
Simpson 7
De Vos 7
Bruce 7
Wright 6
Walters 7
Miller 7
Garvan 8
Quinn** 7
Kuqi* 6
Counago*** 7
Substitutes:
Haynes* 6
Lee** 6
Sumulikoski*** 6
Not used:
Colgan
Castro
Hull City
Myhill 6
Ricketts 7
Brown 6
Turner 6
Dawson 6
Ashbee 6
Marney 6
Hughes* 5
Windass 6
Folan** 5
Campbell 6
Substitutes:
Fagan (61)* 6
Barmby (65)** 6
Not used:
Duke
Doyle
Walton
MATCH FOCUS
HERO
Owen Garvan: Was outstanding from the first minute to the very last with some incisive running and an eye for a pass making the midfielder the standout performer.
VILLAIN
Pablo Counago: Brandished an imaginary card at referee Andre Marriner after being fouled by Dean Marney, already booked, is behaviour that needs stamping out.
KEY MOMENT
70th minute: Alan Lee had only been on the field for 20 seconds when he met Jon Walters' header across goal to break the deadlock.
REF WATCH
Andre Marriner. Missed a blatant penalty when Sam Ricketts was guilty of handling Danny Haynes' attempted cross.
ENTERTAINMENT
Seven and half out of 10. A frustrating afternoon if you were a City fan but Ipswich's attacking approach meant there was plenty to keep the crowd of 28,233 entertained.
VERDICT
City were well beaten on the day and will be glad that it is not a return trip to Portman Road that awaits next weekend in the play-off semi-finals.
NEXT GAME
Watford v Hull City; Sunday May 11; Championship play-off semi-final first leg. The Hornets are out of form and the Tigers will be full of confidence.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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