Ipswich Town 3-1 Bristol Rovers (CO Cup R1)

Rovers fell to a 3-1 defeat against Championship side Ipswich Town last night but put in a valiant display and for an hour at least they held the home team at 1-1. But as Rovers began to tire and made substitutions, the Tractor Boys managed to assert more sustained pressure on our back-line in the second half and ultimately got their reward courtesy of some slack marking. They scored twice to condemn Rovers to a Capital One Cup exit but that won't necessarily be a bad thing.

264 hardy Gasheads made the long trip to Ipswich to support their side in the opening match of the season and were treated to what could easily be our goal of the season already. That didn't come until 27 minutes in to the game and in that time Rovers performed admirably. Our starting eleven of; Walker, Smith, Virgo, Paterson, L. Brown, Clarkson, W. Brown, Gill, Norburn, Anyinsah and Harrold contained Ipswich in the opening exchanges and kept their shape well to deny them any chances. Lee Martin looked lively for the hosts but both Clarkson and Smith tracked his runs and ensured he didn't whip in too many dangerous crosses to his team-mates Jason Scotland and Michael Chopra. When he did cross in to the box debutant Sam Walker claimed the ball confidently and with minimal fuss.

We started to play our way in to the game and showed some neat touches in and around the Ipswich half. There were a couple of good patterns of play and one of them lead to us taking the lead in spectacular fashion. Full-back Michael Smith went forward in support of an attack and found himself 30 yards out with the ball on his left foot. Usually that would mean a swift pass off to a team mate but not on this occasion as the Northern Irishman unleashed an exceptional effort the curled up and over Scott Loach and in to the top corner. Cue an incredible celebration in the away end and applause from all areas of the ground as a mark of respect for the quality they had just witnessed.

Here is the goal for those of you who haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NdIcQcy8k10

 Unfortunately though we were unable to hold our 1-0 lead until half-time and Scotland managed to drag the home side level with a low effort from outside the penalty area. Still, 1-1 at the interval considering we still want to make a couple of new first team signings, have injuries to contend with and international call-ups decimating our front-line was a decent start.

Sam Walker pre-match

In the second period though Ipswich were in the ascendancy and took the game to Rovers before earning themselves the perfect opportunity to take the lead. Adam Virgo felled Chopra from behind in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Chopra struck high to Walker's right but the youngster guessed right and made a tremendous save before the ball was cleared behind to safety. This gave hope to Gasheads that we could hold on and take something from the game. However, from the resulting corner we conceded a soft goal as Tommy Smith was left unmarked and guided a header in to the far corner of the net. Harsh on Walker but with the amount of pressure they'd put us under it was little surprise they found the back of our net.

Our conservative formation that saw Matt Harrold play up front alone failed to offer many goalscoring opportunities and instead meant Ipswich retained the ball more easily. They eventually made it 3-1 with 5 minutes left as Aaron Cresswell headed home following another top save from Walker but many were already resigned to a cup exit. As the final whistle sounded the players got the round of applause they deserved for their efforts and nobody went home majorly disappointed with what they had just seen. I for one felt very encouraged going in to our first league game against Oxford on Saturday.

Post-match McGhee revealed he thought he was 'close' to completing the two signings he'd been chasing all summer and hoped to have them on board before we face the U's at the Mem. He referenced a bid for a striker and negotiations with a defender - which makes speculation as to who he means rather widespread. It will be incredibly interesting to see who is recruited - I for one am excited to find out.