Saturday 16 September 2017 19:45, UK
Ipswich condemned Bolton to their sixth Sky Bet Championship loss of the season with a 2-0 triumph at Portman Road on Saturday.
Cole Skuse put the hosts ahead three minutes into the second half and David McGoldrick put the result beyond doubt a minute from the end. The result left the Tractor Boys fifth in the table and Wanderers rooted to the bottom with just two points from eight games.
Joe Garner's cross from the right evaded raiding full-back Myles Kenlock as Ipswich's first attack of the game fizzled out.
Commanding defensive work by Luke Chambers set another attack in motion as Grant Ward made a forward run and, following neat interplay by McGoldrick and Garner, Ipswich won their first corner of the match. However, both Bolton goalkeeper Ben Alnwick and Garner were injured from the resulting cross.
Craig Noone mustered Bolton's first attempts on goal, one over the bar and another comfortably saved by Bartosz Bialkowski. Skuse was required to break up play in the penalty area on 26 minutes as the visitors threatened the Ipswich goal.
Five minutes later a clash of heads between Bolton's Antonee Robinson and Ipswich's Tom Adeyemi held up play, before Filipe Morais bought a fine save from Bialkowski.
Ipswich bought on Bersant Celina for Callum Connolly at the interval, and the away fans did not have to wait much longer for the opener. Skuse's deflected shot from the edge of the penalty area off Josh Cullen found the back of the net following a cross from the left by McGoldrick in the 48th minute.
Bolton almost got back into the game in the 57th minute when David Wheater had a great chance to draw level but his shot was blocked by Kenlock. Four minutes later Reece Burke's forward pass over the Ipswich defence was hit over the bar by Gary Madine, but Ipswich strode upfield and a shot from 25 yards by McGoldrick was knocked around the post by the Bolton goalkeeper.
A dazzling 50-yard run by Celina in the 65th minute ended when he was brought down by Wheater, who was booked as a result. A cross from the right by Dominic Iorfa in the 72nd minute led to a clearance from Alnwick for a corner and then, two minutes later, neat interplay between Garner and McGoldrick set up Celina, whose shot was parried for a corner by Alnwick.
McGoldrick found himself clear on goal in the 80th minute but fired over the bar. Noone was then cautioned for having tripped Celina in the build-up. The hosts made sure of the points in the 89th minute, however, when McGoldrick won the ball in the penalty area and slotted past Alnwick.
Mick McCarthy: "A great result, a fabulous result. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we were brilliant. They are a good side and they are a handful with well worked Championship players. They were far better than us in the first half and we were lucky to get away with it.
"We had to defend and be belligerent and I decided to change it at half time, it wasn't working they were doing better than us. I thought Skusey was outstanding. I would like Skuse to score more and I would like our defenders to score more. I would like the goals from midfield to come but you know also the reality is I'm not really bothered provided we get enough goals and we can win games."
Phil Parkinson: "I thought we did enough to get something from the game. We came here and Ipswich didn't have a midweek game and we had which everyone knows is a factor.
"I thought we were in parts excellent and created a lot of chances and a deflected goal just after the break was a crucial moment. But even after that we got in some good positions to get a goal back and we have had 16 or 17 attempts, only three or four of them on target and obviously that stat has got to be better."
