Ipswich had to be content with a share of the spoils against struggling West
Brom at The Hawthorns as keeper Brian Jensen shattered their dreams of hitting
second spot in the table.
The big Danish keeper was in terrific form and time and again he denied the
Town strikeforce with a swing of marvellous saves.
Striker Lee Hughes fired Albion into a 43rd-minute lead with his 16th strike
of the campaign but Matt Holland made it 1-1 with his close-range shot in the
68th minute.
In the one-sided first half it was Town who held the attacking reins with the
impressive Jensen joining the action after only nine minutes to dive and hold a
20-yarder from Jim Magilton.
Then in the 25th minute the giant keeper - a bargain £100,000 signing from the
Dutch club AZ Alkmaar - made a brilliant save when he threw himself to his left
to fingertip away a swerving goal-bound drive from David Johnson.
Then just two minutes later Johnson lashed in another shot that looked set for the back of the net but this time Jensen stretched to fingertip the ball
over the crossbar.
Albion opened the scoring completely against the run of play when Hughes
latched onto a cracking through-ball from Richard Sneekes and he found the
target with a low shot underneath the advancing Richard Wright.
After the break it was again Town who piled on the pressure and they tossed
away a golden chance in the 63rd minute when James Scowcroft nodded the ball
down for Johnson.
The striker dribbled his way around Jensen and he had an open goal staring him
in the face but could only fire his shot high and wide.
Town's efforts were finally rewarded in the 68th minute when the hard-working
Jamie Clapham opened up the Albion defence for Holland to grab his ninth goal of
the season - and his seventh on Town's travels.
Albion, now without a win over Ipswich in 26 games, came desperately close to
snatching the points that would have given them more breathing space near the
foot of the table in the dying minutes.
A shot from Fabian de Freitas rebounded off a defender to Albion's Peter
Butler and his first-timer beat Wright only to hit the woodwork.
Teams
West Brom: Jensen, Lyttle, Butler, Santos, Clement, Quinn,
Van Blerk, Flynn, Sneekes, Hughes (De Freitas 46), Taylor.
Subs Not Used: Adamson, Burgess, Oliver, G. Potter.
Goals: Hughes 43.
Ipswich: R. Wright, Stockwell (Reuser 51), Mowbray, Venus,
Croft, J. Wright, Holland, Magilton, Clapham,Johnson (Stewart 60), Scowcroft.
Subs Not Used: Naylor, Branagan, Brown.
Goals: Holland 68.
Att: 12,536.
Ref: C Wilkes (Gloucester).
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