Jamie Clapham's own-goal handed Charlton a priceless first leg advantage after
a bad-tempered clash at Portman Road.
Referee Mike Fletcher was the centre of attention as he dished out nine yellow
cards and dismissed Danny Mills for a second bookable offence after 73 minutes.
That meant a tense last few minutes for Charlton but they deservedly hung on
for an extraordinary eighth consecutive clean sheet.
And they go into the second leg of the play-off semi-final at the Valley on
Wednesday with an away goal to defend and Wembley just 90 minutes away.
The visitors started brightly against a nervous looking Ipswich, Mark Kinsella
forcing a good save from Wright after just one minute, and there was no surprise
when they took the lead after just 12 minutes.
Neil Heaney put Keith Jones clear on the left hand side and when his lowcross
came in towards Mark Bright, Clapham slid in to clear but only managed to steer
the ball past his own goalkeeper Richard Wright.
For two good footballing sides the first-half was a major disappointment as
perhaps the importance of the game weighed heavily on two teams with a lot of
young players.
At times the play was very scrappy and physical with far too many poor
challenges and it was a surprise that only two names found their way into
referee Mike Fletcher's notebook, Jason Cundy for a foul on Bright and
Charlton's Heaney for a pointless challenge on Keiron Dyer.
Ipswich looked a shadow of the side that had suffered just one defeat intheir
last 23 games and they were restricted mainly to shots from distance.
Clapham almost made up for his costly error with a 20-yard effort that brought
an excellent save from Sasa Ilic while Matt Holland and Bobby Petta both failed
to find the target.
When they did finally threaten Charlton's record of seven consecutive clean
sheets, Youds blocked Mark Venus' shot and Dyer's poor first touch let him down
when he was put through by Mauricio Taricco.
Petta was forced to switch from his customary left wing position to go in
search of the ball but he always found the impressive Richard Rufus andcompany
blocking his path as Charlton defended in numbers.
Whatever manager George Burley said at half-time appeared to have had
thedesired affect and Ipswich started the second-half in determined mood.
Petta and Stockwell both tested Ilic with long range efforts before Johnson
should have equalised on 55 minutes.
The striker raced on to his own flick-on and into the penalty area but he
hesitated too long and allowed Youds to get back and make a last-ditch tackle.
The game had always been on the point of boiling over and it threatened to get
out of the referee's control.
Johnson was lucky to escape with a yellow card after reacting angrily to being
held down by Mills after a tackle on the edge of the area and grabbed
theCharlton right back by the throat.
Kinsella and Mathie soon followed Johnson into the referee's notebook and it
was no surprise when Charlton were reduced to 10 men after 73 minutes.
Mills, who had been booked along with Johnson, made a wild lunge at Taricco
and although he did not appear to make significant contact, the referee had no
hesitation in reaching for the red card.
Ipswich had by now lost their rhythm and almost went 2-0 down on 75 minutes,
substitute Steve Jones beating the offside trap but unable to flick the ball
past Wright's legs.
Mark Venus went close with a 25-yard drive but although Burley threw everyone
forward Ipswich failed to find a way through and travel to Charlton on Wednesday
with an uphill task.
Teams
Ipswich: Wright, Stockwell, Taricco, Dyer, Venus, Cundy,
Clapham (Uhlenbeek 67), Holland, Johnson, Mathie,
Petta (Scowcroft 67).
Subs Not Used: Sonner.
Booked: Venus, Taricco, Cundy, Mathie, Johnson.
Charlton: Ilic, Mills, Bowen, K. Jones (Brown 85), Rufus, Youds,
Newton, Kinsella, Bright (S. Jones 65), Mendonca,
Heaney (Barness 75).
Sent Off: Mills (74).
Booked: Mills, Kinsella, S. Jones, Heaney.
Goals: Clapham 12 og.
Att: 21,681
Ref: M Fletcher (Warley).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook