Blues 2 Ipswich Town 1

Nov 26 2008 By Colin Tattum

thought curtailed, and in their lulls Ipswich came into it.

Seventy seconds after the re-start Richard Naylor planted a free header wide of the post from a corner and had that gone in, it might have acted as a wake-up call to keep Blues from chugging along, as they then did.

In response to that scare, Mehdi Nafti and McFadden combined to pop Franck Queudrue in on the left of the area, he swerved back on David Wright and cracked a fierce shot that rebounded off the crossbar.

Blues then did enough to harry and defend when needed, although Bruce's 84th minute goal meant it wasn't to be a straightforward closing out of the match as seemed apparent.

What price a penny for the thoughts of his father, doing his best to keep a low profile just behind the old directors' box?

A year and two days after taking the Wigan Athletic job, he was back at St Andrew's, amid the lowest crowd of the season, 15,689.

He probably saw more than a little similarity between the side Alex McLeish has fashioned for the demands of the Championship and his of 2006-07, plus that efficient winning habit and the mood about the place.

And Janet's instinctive reaction to both Blues goals, as she half-jumped from her seat, showed it's not easy to wipe out almost eight years of your life just like that.

Blues (4-4-2): Maik Taylor 6. Hunt 7. Queudrue 5 (Murphy 68, 6). Jaidi 7. Ridgewell 7. * Larsson 7. Quashie 7 (Agustien 65, 5). Carsley 5 (Nafti 28, 6). Bent 7. Phillips 7. McFadden 7. Subs not used: Jerome, Doyle.

Ipswich (4-4-2): Richard Wright, David Wright, Thatcher, Bruce, Naylor, Sumulikoski (Haynes 61), Garvan, Ambrose, Counago (Lisbie 72), Stead (Miller 61), Walters. Subs not used: Balkenstein, Supple.

Booking: Naylor (foul, 16) - Ipswich.

Referee: R Shoebridge (Derbs)

Attendance: 15,689.