Another last day of the season decider and again other sides failed to do Town a favour. As with Wolves and Blackburn on the last day of the last two seasons both Charlton and Leicester failed to take points from Liverpool and Leeds. Unlike on those occasions Town failed to fulfil their side of the bargain, only managing a draw with Derby.

Town lined up with what has pretty much become the full strength line-up. Marcus Stewart returned to the strikeforce along with Alun Armstrong while Martijn Reuser, Jim Magilton, Matt Holland and Jermaine Wright made up the midfield. In defence Hermann Hreidarsson was on the left, Chris Makin on the right and Titus Bramble and John McGreal in the middle. Richard Wright took his usual place in goal.

Town started by far the brighter and Chris Riggott was lucky not to see a yellow card from Graham Poll when he rather cynically brought down Alun Armstrong. Martijn Reuser hit in a freekick, but Riggott cleared before it could reach Armstrong.

In the sixth minute Town faced their first moment of danger when Richard Wright had to run quickly from his goal and clear a through ball. A minute or so later Georgi Kinkladze hit a shot which went well wide.

In the ninth minute Marcus Stewart nearly got in on goal from a Reuser through ball, but a defender got back and put the ball for a corner. Eight minutes later Martijn Reuser hit a shot wide, but Town were looking the more likely to score. Derby were breaking well and Kinkladze was proving a bit of a handful. The Derby approach wasn’t quite as defensive as at Portman Road, but they were putting several men behind the ball and having a go at the Blues on the break.

In the 26th minute Jermaine Wright was replaced by James Scowcroft presumably as the ex-Crewe player had an injury.

In the 31st minute Malcolm Christie out Derby ahead. Kinkladze broke away, Bramble failed to get a challenge in and he played the ball to Christie who made no mistake. It was a double blow for Town with news coming through almost simultaneously of a Leeds goal at Elland Road.

Town lost Marcus Stewart after an awful Danny Higginbottom tackle in the 21st minute. Stewart received the ball on the halfway line with his back to the Derby goal. Higginbottom clattered through the back of his legs high, late and from behind. If any tackle is a straight red card then that was certainly and example. It was certainly worse than some of the tackles Graham Poll had seen as red cards earlier in the season. This time though the rarely consistent referee saw only a yellow card offence. Stewart hobbled on for a few minutes but eventually was replaced by Richard Naylor on 41.

Almost immediately Naylor was nearly found by Reuser. Alun Armstrong almost got the equaliser for Town when he put the ball over after a Chris Makin shot had been blocked.

The second half saw Town get back on terms within a minute. Martijn Reuser cut in and hit a shot which cannoned off a defender and then was hit back by Naylor. The ball went through players, may have taken a deflection, but ultimately ended up in the net for Naylor’s second goal of the season.

Town were by now really up for it and the rest of the half followed one pattern. Town out on the pressure and committed men forward. Derby sat back and hoped to get breaks through Kinkladze and Christie.

On 48 Richard Naylor and Martijn Reuser made a good break forward, but it came to nothing. Shortly afterwards Poom saved well from a Scowcroft header after he had been picked out well by Reuser.

Naylor was showing his usual tenacity and charged down a Poom clearance. The ball was deflected towards the corner flag and was cleared. Alun Armstrong almost got on the end of a Hermann Hreidarsson cross. At the other end John McGreal made an important tackle on Malcolm Christie.

The Derby attacker was presented with a gift of a pass by Titus Bramble on 65. The Town defender casually tried to play a pass into John McGreal, but played the ball straight to Christie. The striker hung on to the ball and played in Gudjonsson who hammered his shot over when he should really have done much better.

Gradually news of goals at Charlton and Leeds took the wind out of the noisy, daftly dressed and inflatable throwing Town fans. However, the Blues still seemed keen to get their tenth away win of the season. Matt Holland hit a shot over from an Armstrong knockdown.

Fabian Wilnis replaced Chris Makin in the 73rd minute as Town continued to press. The Blues won a series of corners, but couldn’t get the break which would have seen another goal. Jim Magilton was booked for the most minor of challenges. More consistency from Graham Poll who had just failed to show a card for a cynical foul on Reuser down the left wing by Higginbottom who must have been as surprised as anyone not to receive a second yellow card.

Bramble and Naylor both put in fearsome challenges in the build-up to an attack which almost saw Jim Magilton nearly play in Alun Armstrong.

By now Town fans knew that Liverpool were four goals up and the chance of a Champions’ League place was gone. However, the songs about next seasons trip to Europe continued to ring around a Pride Park which was otherwise bereft of noise.

In the 78th minute Malcolm Christie theatrically threw himself to the ground as he did on several occasions at Portman Road. Referee Poll was unimpressed but showed no card.

The final whistle blew and the Town players slumped to the ground. They should have nothing to feel downhearted about though. It has been a fantastic season and a UEFA Cup place is a fine reward for the efforts of all at Portman Road. Back in August we would happily have grabbed fifth place in the Premiership with both hands and the late battle for the Champions’ League place was an added bonus in an unbelievable season.

At the end several of the players ran over to celebrate the season with the crowd. Hermann Hreidarsson and Fabian Wilnis threw shirts, vests, socks, boots and shin pads into the crowd. Jim Magilton, Richard Wright and others threw their shirts to the crowd.

Then fans and players disappeared to celebrate the end of a season we couldn’t even have dreamed of back when we were being condemned to relegation by all and sundry. Hasn’t it been fun proving them all wrong?

R Wright, Makin (73), Hreidarsson, McGreal, Bramble, Holland, Magilton, Reuser, J Wright (Scowcroft 26), Stewart (41), Armstrong.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls