James Norwood headed his ninth goal of the season but David Wheeler equalised for Wycombe Wanderers as the Blues and the table-topping Chairboys drew 1-1 at Adams Park. Norwood nodded in the opener on 54 but Wheeler looped home the leveller 12 minutes later.

Fresh from signing his new contract, Town boss Paul Lambert made two changes to the team which lost 5-3 at Lincoln on Sunday as his side faced the Chairboys, his first English club.

The Blues started in a 3-5-2 system with James Wilson returning to the backline alongside skipper Luke Chambers and Luke Woolfenden.

With Janoi Donacien dropping out of the 18 having suffered a knee injury against the Imps, Gwion Edwards and Luke Garbutt were the wing-backs.

Emyr Huws came into midfield for Andre Dozzell, who was on the bench, with Flynn Downes and Alan Judge, while James Norwood and Kayden Jackson were up front.

On the bench for the first time since suffering a knee injury in pre-season was midfielder Teddy Bishop. Freddie Sears was left out after playing 59 minutes at Lincoln having only recently returned from his ACL injury

For Wycombe, former Blues midfielder Matt Bloomfield skippered, while man mountain striker Adebayo Akinfenwa was on the bench.

After an uneventful opening at a sell-out Adams Park and on a heavy pitch, the home side should have gone in front via their first serious attack of the game in the sixth minute.

Alex Samuel managed to get on the ball on the right of the box close to the byline as Chambers tried to shield it away from him and out of play and crossed low to the far past from where Paul Smyth somehow put the ball the wrong side of the post with the gaol gaping.

Almost immediately, Town, wearing their Barcelona-style away kit, broke up the other end and Gwion Edwards struck a shot from the right of the area which Darius Charles cleared away from the line.

Smyth tried to make amends for his earlier miss on eight with a shot which was blocked, then two minutes later Joe Jacobson curled a 25-yard freekick wide.

The early stages of the game had quickly developed into an end-to-end affair and soon afterwards Edwards saw a cross from the right blocked, then on 12 Norwood was sent away on the left but shot over when he might feel he could have done better.

Seconds later, Nnamdi Ofoborh similarly went too high with a strike from distance for the Chairboys.

The chances dried up for the following 10 minutes as the two teams battled to get on top with the Blues passing the ball around with perhaps a little more patience than in some recent games and the very direct Wycombe looking to get it forward quickly.

As the game reached the half-hour mark, a long spell of Town possession was ended when Jackson was fouled 30 yards out. Garbutt took the freekick but was unable to repeat Sunday’s strike at Lincoln and the ball looped into the stand behind the goal.

The Blues were beginning to take charge and on 32 Norwood saw a shot blocked following a corner.

Two minutes later, Wilson was shown the game’s first yellow card for halting the breaking Smyth 10 yards outside the area. Jacobson curled the freekick deep into the Town fans massed behind that goal.

Wycombe keeper Ryan Allsop was forced into his first significant save of the game in the 37th minute when Chambers found Garbutt with a cross-field pass, the on-loan Everton man sent in a ball and Judge looped a header which Allsop clawed away for a corner.

The Chairboys’ only threat after the early stages had been set pieces and they were awarded another just outside the area on 40. Jacobson looped to the far post and a Nick Freeman shot was blocked.

As the fourth official raised his board indicated one further minute, Jacobson sent over another freekick, this time form the right. Charles flicked it on and Giles Phillips nodded well over at the far post. Referee Robert Lewis ended the half moments later.

Having been fortunate to escape going behind in the early stages, the Blues had begun to look the better side.

Edwards might have been unlucky with his early chance which was cleared away from the line, Norwood will probably feel he could have done better with his opportunity, while Judge forced a good save from Allsop with his header.

The final minutes of the period were very stop-start with the home side winning a lot of set pieces, from which they looked dangerous.

Town got the second half off to a bright start and might have taken the lead in the 47th minute when Judge was played in on goal between two defenders to the right of the box, however, Allsop quickly came off his line to save and Norwood’s follow-up was blocked.

The Blues came even closer to going in front in the 52nd minute when Judge fed Garbutt in down the left and the wing-back sent over a low cross which Norwood at the far post diverted just wide in front of the Town support.

Two minutes later, the striker did find the net for the ninth time this season. Jackson was fouled on the Town left by Anthony Stewart and Garbutt brilliantly whipped over a quickly-taken freekick immediately after Judge had placed the ball and Norwood headed home from a few feet before celebrating with the ecstatic Blues support behind the goal.

As the match moved into the 65th minute Wycombe introduced talismanic striker Akinfenwa for Smyth.

And a minute later, the Chairboys levelled with another goal the Blues’ backline and keeper Norris will want to forget.

Allsop played a long freekick forward from deep in his half, Akinfenwa flicked on and David Wheeler was somehow allowed to loop it over the unnecessarily advanced Norris and into the net.

The goal gave the home team and fans a boost of energy but the Blues might well have gone back in front in the 71st minute. Norwood crossed low behind Jackson but the ball was stabbed out to Judge, who hit a low shot which Allsop did well to save down to his left.

Akinfenwa continued to prove a danger for the home side, who had largely had the Blues pinned back in their own half since the goal, and on 75 the 37-year-old headed a freekick from deep wide at the far post.

Three minutes later, Woolfenden was booked for a high challenge, then in the 79th minute Town swapped goalscorer Norwood for Will Keane.

Town, who had seen much less of the ball since the equaliser, made a rare break forward in the 81st minute, a clearance eventually cannoning wide off Edwards.

Wycombe came close to going in front in the 84th minute when Samuel hooked an acrobatic effort across the face and wide.

A minute later, after a superb crunching Downes challenge midway inside the Wycombe half, Judge just failed to find Jackson with a deft ball over the top.

On 86 the Chairboys swapped the impressive Samuel for Scott Kashket, then with two minutes left on the clock Bishop made his return for Judge.

Neither side threatened in three minutes of injury time and in the end a draw was probably a fair result, even if Town will feel they should have won once they had got the lead.

The Blues began the half the better side and had been looking the more likely scorers when Norwood headed in the well-worked well-worked opener.

But after they had conceded what was a poor goal from a Town perspective, Wycombe were much the more dangerous side and had the better of the later chances.

A much better display from the Blues than at Lincoln or at home to Gillingham even if the winless League One run has now stretched to eight games - and the live-on-Sky lack of victories has increased to 16 - and Town are without a victory in all competitions over 90 minutes in 11.

The draw sees Wycombe stay top with the Blues down to fifth. Town are next in Leasing.com Trophy action at Exeter City on Saturday afternoon.

Wycombe: Allsop, Phillips, Stewart, Charles, Jacobson, Ofoborh, Bloomfield (c), Freeman, Wheeler, Smyth (Akinfenwa 65), Samuel (Kashket 86). Unused: Yates, Jombati, Pattison, Aarons, Parker.

Ipswich: Norris, Woolfenden, Chambers (c), Wilson, Edwards, Downes, Huws, Garbutt, Judge (Bishop 88), Jackson, Norwood (Keane 79). Unused: Holy, Nsiala, Kenlock, El Mizouni, Dozzell. Referee: Robert Lewis (Shrewsbury).

Photo: Pagepix

Karlosfandangal added 18:57 - Jan 1 Before Christmas the talk was about Wycombe and Peterborough being our biggest rivals. Yet after Christmas we have done better 2 points out of 12 to their 1 out of 12 and they conceded far more goals than Town have. We were 7 points from the top now only 6. The bad thing is the chasing pack have all closed the gap. Those that call Chambers it's funny how he has only played in about 3 of the last 9 games yet still no wins. But it's still his fault the team is no winning Still think we will make the top two as the teams around us will drop point when they have their bad patch and teams like Peterborough could lose the likes of Toney. Hit the minus button but I would rather look at it as positive then all then negative views on here.

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RobsonWark added 19:02 - Jan 1 I don't know why we have to start with 10 men against the top of the table team today. We have so many players in the squad. What was the point of Chambers being picked? Yet again he looked like someone who had been pulled from the crowd and borrowed a pair of boots to make up the numbers. We will never get promoted with him in the team :(
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Suffolkboy added 19:07 - Jan 1 Stats look hugely better ,but how can we get the ball in the net : any answers to ITFC first team coach ! Just a little more commitment, confidence and general coordination should see a dramatic improvement in results ! Shame this forum is largely filled with people looking to allocate blame : did we not do anything praiseworthy ? Come on you Blues , the signs are there – take us to the right destination ! Onwards !

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dirtydingusmagee added 19:14 - Jan 1 as with the past weeks, next match we will be hoping to halt the win less run ,next.
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Dolphinblue added 19:24 - Jan 1 Disagree robsonwalk Chambers club legend
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 19:27 - Jan 1 Better performance today, even though the standard was poor in general. If we can get Bishop and Freddie back on a regular basis, that will help, but it's going to be a slog and a close run thing this season. COYB!
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midastouch added 19:42 - Jan 1 Wycombe don't have an U23 team (which I think they are hoping the new US investors will look to address) and I think this is the highest they have ever been in the league in their entire history. So from an infrastructure standpoint, we're miles ahead. With our budget and staff and squad we really should be taking at least 4 points from 6 from teams like this. As TimmyH said previously, I don't think we're any better than we were last season, in fact you could argue we're worse as we've lost the likes of Pennington, Chalobah and Quanar. I think if we had the squad we have right now in the Championship we'd be bottom just like last season. I don't see any great progress. Luton scored 90 goals last season and ended up with a goal difference of nearly +50! They managed 94 points in the end and right now they are sitting rock bottom of the Championship. So even winning this league in style is no guarantee of being able to compete in the Championship. If we were to somehow turn our form around and get promoted this season I do fear we'd be in for a rude awakening back in the Championship, unless Evans sanctions a lot more transfer investment than he has in a very long time (to give us a fighting chance), but based on the fact we're spending less on players now than we were way back in 1994 (Steve Sedgley - Spurs to Ipswich 1 million) you can see the odds are certainly stacked against us!

2

cat added 19:46 - Jan 1 Norris ain't a bad keeper as many on here think. The high ball for their goal was horrid to deal with. The real problem is why is he keeping Holy out as he's no better and not one of ours, but that's hardly his fault.
4

warktheline added 20:55 - Jan 1 The moral boosting ‘draw' has whipped the numpties into a frenzy! Noted: talk of automatic promotion has disappeared over the horizon ! Next best, play offs! And thereafter .......🤣
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budgieplucker added 20:56 - Jan 1 Not taking anything away from Norwood's excellent finish, we do seem to struggle up front, no excuses today as a number of good balls played into the box. Some dilly dallying around when we got close. Jackson - again can't fault the guys energy however, his first touch is very poor and still doesn't look an out and out centre forward to me. Judge had a good game but quite frankly about bl00dy time he put in a worthy performance. Norris definitely has to take the blame again for the goal, but the defence has to be more courageous and Do not allow the opposition to bully us. I can see how 3-4-3 can be an effective formation for us especially when KVY returns, but before getting carried away with a performance that looked good apart from the finishing touches, Wycombe always concede a lot of possession according to Sky they have one of the lower possession stats in the league but have been making the most of their chances and look to bully the defence with a physical approach - so how much did they allow us to look good today? Off the back of a good run, todays result would Have Otherwise looked To have been a good one, however, our ability not to punish further or see the game out only continues to highlight that we miss the ruthless element to our game. A tall physical target man is the key missing link.

0

heathen66 added 22:25 - Jan 1 Thought we played reasonably well today, even if we played 5 at the back. Huws and Downes looked good together in the centre, but unfortunately poor defending from the usual suspects cost us yet again.
1

Bert added 22:46 - Jan 1 Nice to see Wickham score late against Norwich. Could do with his bustling presence at Portman Road.
3

algarvefan added 22:50 - Jan 1 Budgieplucker could that man have been Murphy?
0

fieldsofblue added 22:55 - Jan 1 Need to sign Garbutt Come on Lambo we're behind you
1

shakytown added 23:17 - Jan 1 Dolphin. Chambers is the worst defender in this league. Slow, Positionally clueless and needs to retire ASAP for the good of all.
0

KiwiBlue2 added 00:37 - Jan 2 While most of the key stats substantially favoured us it is disappointing that we could not manage to get a second goal. While a reasonable result, but only from the fact that Wycombe are top of the table, we need to string together a run of 3 or so straight wins to get out of the pack of teams we are now in following the form slump over the past month or two. It seems that we have lost momentum following too much rotation resulting in reduced cohesion and the postponement of games that we had the momentum and form to win. I liked the look of the team selected for today with my only change being Holy in and Vincent-Young if he was available. I hope that this team but with Holy in goal is given a good run of games and I think we will see results improve ..... coyb

1

KiwiBlue2 added 00:41 - Jan 2 One further thought is the question of whether we could get Cameron-Vickers back in the January window. A back three of him, Woolfenden and Wilson with Holy back in goal would surely result in a less generous approach to our opponents.
2

ITFCsince73 added 07:59 - Jan 2 Changingman. Unfortunately this is how the club is run. Look at our win percentage over past 12 months.....The result. Manager, captain and vice captain get fresh bumper new contracts. 5th in the 3rd tier. The lowest position in over half a century. You fail, you get rewarded at ITFC.
2

shakytown added 08:09 - Jan 2 23rd out of 23 on the form table says it all. By far the worst defence in the football leagues led by the worst defender in the game.
2

ITFCsince73 added 08:12 - Jan 2 And if anyone thinks that not to be the case....please explain why?
2

ThaiBlue added 08:21 - Jan 2 Holy to come back in after norris mistake.well done jackson chased everything.but another poor performance cant put more than 2 passes together v a very average wycombe.just cant get excited about this team.
0

PortmanTerrorist added 10:08 - Jan 2 Spine all wrong. Norris, Chambers, Wilson, Huws all less than 5 out of 10. Huws worries me as I think he is the only one who is a cut above this league but seems devoid of confidence.....did he pass the ball forward once ? Toto has made the dd mistake but is proven at this level, Woolfy too. Skuse back in alongside Flynn and suspect we hard to beat again. Then just need to get some creativity further up the field, and in that respect positive signs with Judge, or is that just the window opening getting him excited ?!

1

Razor added 10:35 - Jan 2 Huws is devoid of confidence because he is not being played-----thought he did very well and got through 90 minutes OK. Would play the same team at Exeter apart from changing the keeper of course and Bish in for Judge or Edwards----take your pick. Lets not forget Wycombe were and are top of table and in anybodys language a point is a good point, though would have been 3 but for a shambolic mix up in our defence.

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Westy added 14:58 - Jan 2 I will be most annoyed if Will Norris is picked to start in the next league game. We are trying to get out of League One and if we have a loan player who is better than our own then by all means play him, but by my reckoning Holy is a better keeper and less likely to make mistakes. Will Norris is becoming a liability and Holy did nothing wrong to warrant being dropped in the first place. The perception is that Paul Lambert is a strong character. I'm not so sure. Volatile, yes. I've said it before that Lambert is under pressure from somewhere to play Norris - either Wolves or from Norris himself who I suspect is more likely to confront Lambert if he is not playing than Holy would be. Is Lambert just doing this for an easy life ?

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ITFCsince73 added 10:29 - Jan 3 Lathers. Feed of Keans flick ons? I don't think I've ever seen Will Keane win anything shoulder height or above.
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