Championship
Ipswich
Aug 9, 2014 5.15pm
2
1
HT : 1 0
FT
Fulham
  • Daryl Murphy 32' goal
  • Luke Hyam 37' yellowcard
  • David McGoldrick 61' goal
  • Tyrone Mings 81' yellowcard
  • Christophe Berra 87' yellowcard
  • goal Tim Hoogland 86'

Live Commentary: Ipswich Town 2-1 Fulham - as it happened

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Ipswich 2-1 Fulham - as it happened
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The final game of the first full day of the Football League season saw Ipswich Town entertain Fulham at Portman Road in the Championship.

Fulham are back in the second tier for the first time in 13 years and they didn't get off to the best of starts by going down 2-1 to the Tractor Boys.

Read how it all unfolded in Suffolk with SM's minute-by-minute updates below.

7.16pmMake sure you stick around on site for plenty of reaction from Portman Road as well as much more throughout the evening. See you again soon!

7.14pmClick here to see how the table looks after the first full day of the season. Just Wolves and Norwich to play tomorrow afternoon - another game we'll be covering live here on SM.

7.12pmFulham are sure to improve, but today they looked like a side not quite ready for the season to start.

7.11pmThe Tractor Boys went two up with goals from their top two scorers last season - Murphy and McGoldrick - before Hoogland's late strike made it a nervy finish for the home side.

7.09pmA big, big win for Ipswich on the opening day as they see off Fulham by two goals to one.

90+5 minFULL-TIME: IPSWICH 2-1 FULHAM

90+3 minIf Ipswich do hang on here, it will stretch their unbeaten run against Fulham to 51 years.

90+1 minThe visitors have a couple of corners but nothing comes of either. Ipswich will slow the game down now.

90+1 minALL FULHAM now as four minutes are added on.

89 minCLOSE! Almost another deflected goal for Fulham as Roberts shoots from inside the box but is denied by a phenomenal last-ditch tackle by Berra.

88 minIpswich looked so comfortable at 2-0 but now it'll be a very anxious few minutes. Roberts has just dragged a shot wide as Fulham look to salvage a point.

87 minBOOKING! Berra has gone into the book for a tug back on a Fulham player.

86 minDeficit halved by the Cottagers and it's a debut goal for Hoogland as his tame shot takes a lucky deflection that sees it nestle in the near corner.

86 minGOAL! IPSWICH 2-1 FULHAM (HOOGLAND)

84 minMcGoldrick almost goes clear on goal from a Murphy flick-on, but Stafylidis gets across well to make a challenge.

82 minIPSWICH SUB: Hyam seems to have picked up a knock and is replaced by new signing Kevin Bru.

81 minBOOKING! Mings goes into Martin's book for a foul right on the edge of the box. The foul in itself wasn't a bad one, but he has committed several like that today.

79 minCHANCE! It shoudl be three to Ipswich, but Wordsworth can't keep his header down after a fine cross from Chambers. Superb crossfield ball from McGoldrick to start the move too.

77 minReally neat build-up play from Fulham that comes to an end when Chambers flies in to deny Eisfeld the chance to cross or shoot. Time running out for the visitors.

75 minA chance for Fulham to get back in the game as Ipswich concede possession to Dembele, who could feed a teammate but goes for goal and blazes it well over the top.

74 minFULHAM SUB: Hutchinson's afternoon is over as he is replaced by Patrick Roberts. He'll watch the first goal back and certainly not be happy with the way he let Murphy drift past him.

73 minWatching today's game you wouldn't be far wrong in thinking that Fulham have better players, but you can tell that this Ipswich group has been playing together for much longer. Eight debutants in the Fulham side, just one for Ipswich and he's no longer on the pitch any more.

70 minIPSWICH SUB: A change in midfield for the hosts as Skuse makes way for Anthony Wordsworth.

69 minNervy goalkeeping from Joronen as he drops a looping cross under little pressure to concede a corner. Nothing comes of it, though.

66 minIpswich confirm that today's attendance at Portman Road is 17,218, with 1,539 Fulham fans travelling from West London.

64 minIs this too far a mountain to climb for Fulham? They looked at their strongest in the first half and have shown very little bite since the break.

61 minTwo-nil to the Tractor Boys and it's a goal on his return for David McGoldrick. Brilliant work from Murphy to win the ball back in the left corner before his low cross squirted out to McGoldrick who buried in into the net.

61 minGOAL! IPSWICH 2-0 FULHAM (MCGOLDRICK)

58 minSome breaking news for Fulham fans: Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has completed a loan move to Monaco:
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57 minFULHAM SUB: No goals for McCormack today as he is replaced by Cauley Woodrow. They need a goal and it's an odd decision to take him off.

55 minIffy decision from Martin as he awards Fulham a free kick for a nothing tackle of Bodurev by Murphy. Parker floats it in and it's easy enough for Gerken to clutch.

51 minSHOT! Parker the orchestrator again for Fulham. The initial chance comes to nothing before the ball drops to Stafylidis, whose rasping drive whistles just over the top. Some hit that.

47 min

46 minKICKOFF! We're back underway in Suffolk. Both sides have made a change now as Ipswich brought on McGoldrick for Bajner just before half time.

6.17pmFULHAM SUB: Interesting change from Magath as he takes off probably his best player in the first half, David, for former Arsenal man Thomas Eisfeld. Reports are that David might be injured.

6.15pmWas Joronen beaten a little too easily at the near post?

6.13pmIt might only be the first full day of the season, but this is how the table looks right now. Ipswich seventh, Fulham 18th.

6.11pmThere will be so much attention on McCormack this season after that big-money move and he hasn't had a single sniff at goal yet. If someone is going to provide him with a chance, it's likely to be David, who has been the Cottagers' best player.

6.08pmThe Cottagers only had one real chance, though, and it was superbly saved by Gerken after he had spilled a shot at the feet of Dembele.

6.07pmIpswich got off to a good start but between Christophe Berra's header and the Daryl Murphy goal just after half an hour, Fulham were the stronger side.

6.05pmIf you're only just joining us and want a quick update on the opening 45, our half-time report is here.

6.02pmThe Tractor Boys lead at half time thanks to a powerful near-post finish from Daryl Murphy.

45+1 minHALF-TIME: IPSWICH 1-0 FULHAM

45 minStafylidis isn't happy with Hewitt, but that was a proper tackle by the young Welshman right in front of McCarthy, who applauds.

44 minIPSWICH SUB: An odd time to make a change by the Blues as David McGoldrick is introduced for Bajner, who must have picked up an injury. It's so close to half time, surely if it was nothing he would have told him to carry on.

43 minCareless play from Fulham in their own box as Bodurov appears to handle, but he was just a couple of yards away from his own man and couldn't do anything about it.

40 minHewitt has a long throw on him and Ipswich have been looking to utilise that in the early stages. Bajner is winning plenty of headers as he stands at 6'5".

38 minOne thing McCarthy has definitely told his players to do is harass their opponents in white. The question is whether they will get tired in the sunshine as the game wears on.

37 minBOOKING! Good refereeing from Martin as he books Hyam retrospectively after allowing advantage to be played.

35 minIpswich have had just a third of the ball this half, but they're in front on the one stat that matters.

34 minPortman Road is in much better voice than it was five minutes ago and now Murphy curls a shot over from the edge of the area.

32 minFirst blood to Ipswich! I just said that it was Fulham looking more likely to score but they fall behind as Hyam perfectly feeds the ball into Murphy, who drives past Hutchinson before beating Joronen at the near post with his weaker right foot.

32 minGOAL! IPSWICH 1-0 FULHAM (MURPHY)

31 minCLOSE! Skuse finds himself with another inviting bouncing ball and again he dips one goalwards. Last time it went over this time wide.

29 minAfter that decent start by Ipswich, Fulham have dictated the play since the 10-minute mark. They look like the side more likely to score at the moment.

25 minSAVE! Best chance of the game falls to Dembele as David's initial shot is spilled by Gerken. Dembele is there straight away but he can't beat the recovering Gerken from close range.

22 minNervy at the back again from Ipswich as Tabb and Smith both fail to take responsibility and David pounces. He does a couple of step-overs before his deep cross is headed away by Chambers.

20 minStafylidis's deep cross from the left is punched away quite unconvincingly by Gerken but he gets the job done.

17 minSHOT! Cole Skuse joined Ipswich last summer and is still waiting for his first Town goal. He almost gets it there as an audacious volley from 20 yards dips onto the roof of the net.

16 minAs you can see from that Squawka graphic below, Ipswich have been wasteful in possession. Fulham's brief glimpses in attack have been because of careless play by the Blues.

15 minLovely one-touch passing by Fulham in the middle before Parker's ball over the top for Dembele is shepherded away by the Ipswich defence.

12 min

11 minWIDE! Hoogland storms down the right on the break and feeds it inside to David. He bears down on the box before shooting from 20 yards and dragging it wide.

8 minThat header from Berra has been the only goalmouth action of the game so far. Fulham have seen more of the ball but it's Ipswich who look more dangerous at the moment.

5 minThe resulting corner is a poor one from Hewitt, but the ball comes Hyam's way and his low drive is always swerving away from goal.

5 minSAVE! Ipswich take a free kick quickly and it almost results in a goal as Mings whips it over from the left and Berra's looping header is tipped over by Joronen.

4 minSince then, Fulham have seen more of the ball, with Hoogland just overrunning it on the byline there.

1 minA really shaky start from Fulham as they cheaply concede a corner, but it comes to nothing.

0 minKICKOFF! We're underway at Portman Road.

5.15pmFulham's last victory over Ipswich was their biggest ever win - 10-1 - on Boxing Day 1963. I can't see a repeat of that today!

5.14pmBoth sides have good recent records on the opening day. Ipswich have lost just one of their last four, while Fulham are unbeaten in five. Kickoff moments away!

5.12pm"There's no reason why we should not be confident," Felix Magath tells Sky Sports News. Don't rely on pre-season form too much though!

5.10pmREFEREE WATCH! The man in charge today is Steve Martin.

5.07pmFulham have the top scorer from last season in McCormack, while Ipswich's best marksman in 2013-14 is only fit enough for the bench. David McGoldrick picked up a serious injury in February and is yet to play a competitive match since then.

5.05pmPREDICTION: Ipswich look a little weak, and who knows how well this Fulham side will play as there has been so many changes. I'm gonna say 1-1 this evening.

5.02pmNine games have just finished in the Championship and the early pacesetters are Bournemouth after their 4-0 victory at Huddersfield. See all the results and match reports here.

4.59pmGorgeous evening in East Anglia...

4.57pmAs mentioned above, these two sides have had very different recent history. While Ipswich have languished in the second tier for over 10 years, Fulham are back in the Championship for the first time in 13 years. The pair's last meeting was in January 2002, when Ipswich claimed a 1-0 win at home.

4.54pmSUBS! Here are the seven players in each dugout that will be itching to get on and affect the game:

Ipswich: Bialkowski, McGoldrick, Bru, Wordsworth, Henshall, Marriott, Nouble

Fulham: Bettinelli, Eisfeld, Roberts, Woodrow, Rodallega, Fotheringham, Burn

4.52pmNine debutants today, but eight of them are in the Fulham lineup. Among them is Ross McCormack, who Fulham poached from Leeds for a whopping fee this summer after he led this division's goalscoring charts last term. For Ipswich, their one and only new face is 6'5" Hungarian striker Balint Bajner, who impressed on trial this summer after his release by Borussia Dortmund.

4.50pmFULHAM XI: Joronen; Hoogland, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis; Parker, Dembele; Hyndman, David, Burgess; McCormack

4.49pmIPSWICH XI: Gerken; Chambers, Berra, Smith, Mings; Hewitt, Skuse, Hyam, Tabb; Murphy, Bajner

4.48pmGood afternoon everybody! The final match in the Football League today takes place in Suffolk as Ipswich Town take on Fulham in the Championship. There's no time to waste, let's get straight to the teams...
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