Ipswich still searching for first win after draw with Brentford

Posted Wednesday, September 19, 2018 by PA

Ipswich are still looking for their first win of the season and remain at the foot of the Championship table after a 1-1 draw with high-flying Brentford.

Neal Maupay gave the Bees a 31st-minute lead before Kayden Jackson headed Ipswich level 17 minutes from time.

The visitors dominated the first half and should have led by more than one goal but the home side came back into the game after the break in an entertaining game.

There was a minute’s applause ahead of kick-off for former England defender Kevin Beattie, who died of a suspected heart attack earlier this week.

Neat interplay between the visitors’ South African international Kamohelo Mokotjo and Algerian Said Benrahma led to the latter firing straight at Ipswich goalkeeper Dean Gerken in the third minute.

A minute later, Brentford were denied a penalty when former French youth international Maupay looked have left a trailing leg and fell over the Ipswich keeper and received a booking from referee Darren Bond.

Then a right wing cross in the 10th minute from Romaine Sawyers evaded the Ipswich defenders and was glanced out of play for a corner.

Four minutes later the Brentford midfielder was wonderfully placed outside the penalty area but fired just over the bar.

The visitors went ahead when Sawyers crossed from the right and Maupay was on hand to head the ball past Gerkin and into the top left-hand corner of the net.

At the start of the second half Ipswich introduced Gwion Edwards and Jon Nolan for defender Jordan Spence and forward Ellis Harrison.

A positive run by Grant Ward into the penalty area in the 50th minute led to him feeding raiding full-back Jonas Knudsen whose shot was saved by Brentford keeper Daniel Bentley.

And from the resulting corner Ipswich almost levelled when a melee in the visitors’ penalty area saw Jackson rifle a shot against the crossbar.

Good interplay between Mokotjo and Maupay led to Gerkin making a good save in the 62nd minute to deny the forward.

Yoann Barbet’s 64th-minute free-kick from the edge of the box hit the bar before Ipswich levelled in the 73rd minute when Jackson headed home a cross from the right by Trevoh Chalobah.

Jackson was close to winning the game in stoppage time as he was put through on goal by Town substitute Flynn Downes but his fierce shot sailed just wide of the goal.