Town edge past Blues to go second with game in hand

Pre-match preamble

Our opponents today are currently sitting at 14th in the table. They started the season quite well, I believe, but have since stuttered. My Brummie friend Trish tells me their away form is not great. Let's hope. The reverse fixture at the opening of this season was a very grumpy affair, with handbags at dawn amongst the players. It ended in a hotly disputed penalty for Town, giving them a lucky draw after a fairly poor showing.

But that was a very different team from the one we have now.

I believe they have some squad issues this time, with lots of possible ins and outs – even though their manager, Chris Davies, was backed by the owners in the Christmas transfer window to address any weaknesses in the team.

Kyogo Furuhashi, who promised much, won't play for Birmingham City again this season after undergoing shoulder surgery, and it is thought he is unlikely to stay with the club for a further term, with rumours of a return to Parkhead or links to Swansea City being floated.

So they may be a little unsettled, which could be a bonus for us.

Stats show that from our last 86 games, Birmingham have won 36 times, have drawn 20 times and have lost 30 times.

The club's nickname is the Blues, after the colour of their kit – which could prove confusing today (not the kit – the name). The fans are also known as the "Bluenoses" – who knew? Well, Trish did, of course, and her boyfriend Dave is the proud owner of four of the blue noses they hand out at the club!

Looking it up initially supplied me with the definition of "a person who is exceptionally puritanical, prudish, or a strict moralist, often trying to impose their moral code on others" – which sounds unlikely as a source. It apparently has more affectionate meanings. If you like to Google, the US version is interesting, but I think it is irrelevant here, and has to do with potatoes. On further inspection, I found the origin was potentially linked to a blue snuff tobacco product, and Dave proffered blue pool chalk as an answer. I shan't dwell on what else may have been blue.

If anyone knows better, answers on a postcard please. I am a preternaturally curious individual, I'm afraid.

On the train

I met Adrian again at the station, so we travelled down together – it's always nice to discuss and get differing opinions on expectations for an upcoming match. Not being quite sure who is injured at the moment didn't help us predict how strong we are, which made it a tough one to call.

Young James, at Colchester station with his dad, predicted a 2–0 win for Town. I hope you've nailed it, James.

First half

Town got off to a swift start with McAteer sending a shot just over the bar in the first few minutes. They were pressing hard, passing well and seemingly had command of the game, but could not get that all-important shot on target. Hirst had a good run in, but didn't control the ball in front of goal, and the chance was lost. Though Town were dominating play, goalkeeper Beadle had little to do. McAteer's shot on 30 minutes was gathered with little trouble.

As often seems to be the case, despite all the pressure from Town, the Brummies got their blue noses in front via a pass from Stansfield to Vicenti, who angled a decent shot straight into the left-hand corner.

We unfortunately lost Matusiwa before the break to an injury – I do hope our stalwart will not be out for long. Just after he left the field, with Mehmeti taking his place, Town seemed revived, and this led to the equaliser. A cross by Furlong was fired in by Johnson, and though Neumann tried, he didn't succeed in keeping it out of the net. This was followed shortly after by a second goal from Town, courtesy of McAteer, from a clever pass by Hirst.

HT score: Ipswich Town 2–1 Birmingham City

Second half

Town seemed more sluggish in this half, and the ball was heading towards our goalmouth too much of the time. From the way they played in the first half, I had been expecting maybe a brace of goals at least in the second half from our team, so we could sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the game. A vain hope! For much of the half, we were chasing the ball or defending at their end. Town seemed to be incapable of digging the ball out and moving it up the pitch for quite a while.

At 70 minutes, our hearts dropped when Osman's cross ricocheted off O'Shea and found the back of the net. Fortunately, it was ruled out, as the assistant referee said the ball had gone out of play on the back line before he took the shot. It looked that way to me, even from where I sit, but it was heavily disputed by all the Birmingham fans. For once, the possibly flaky decision had been called in our favour.

Town picked up a little after this and consolidated at the back, but were lucky to see the game out without conceding again. At one point, Walton made three brilliant saves, one after the other, to keep us in the game. I was really happy to see Kipre subbed in, and though late on, I knew at that point we would win the game. And so it was.

FT score: Ipswich Town 2–1 Birmingham City

Players of the match

Some of our less-played players did well today – for example, Ben Johnson, Jack Taylor and Kasey McAteer, the latter with three or four decent attempts on goal and some really useful passes across. Congratulations to both Kasey and Ben for netting their first goals for the club.

It will be good to get Leif Davis back for the next match. When Mehmeti was brought on, the tempo of the game definitely lifted.

Man of the match: Christian Walton – he made some incredible saves, thereby keeping us in the game. It can be frustrating when he plays short passes out, which have proved dangerous on occasion, but there is no doubt that he is a top-notch goalkeeper.

Post-match pondering

It was really good to be back in the stadium today. I've missed the buzz of the supporters, seeing friends and especially the united roar of the crowd when the ball hits the back of the net. Even the singing too.

We've had some bad luck in the last few games and were due for a bit of luck coming our way instead. Maybe we got that today? If so, please don't let it stop there.

The crowd were really up for the game too, especially after the break – very vocal, and there was a great atmosphere. It's always good to be at Portman Road when it's rocking.

It wasn't a pretty game, but it gave Town a welcome three points and has taken us to 2nd in the table with a game in hand.

This, of course, is the main focus at the moment for many: where we are and where we might end up. And then of course, where everyone else is, because you can't factor one without the other. I try hard not to do that; I think that way lies madness. If I spent my time working out who must win and who must lose each week, it wouldn't make it happen! Kieran always says he takes one game at a time, and this is eminently sensible – but I guess harder to do at this stage in the competition, even for him and the players.

I'd love to win every one of our last games of this season – home and away. But as that is fairly unrealistic, can we please definitely win the next one? "They've gone and got better" since the last time we met them – let's show them we have too.

(Safe travels to all the fans going to Norwich next week.)

On the train

Busy, busy. Lots of Ipswich fans, all strangely content. The Brummie lads, not so. I chatted to Matthew from Manningtree, and we both agreed Christian Walton was our man of the match. But having said that, I'm glad Kasey was picked by the sponsors. He has been getting better with each match, and the delight on his face when scoring that goal was great to see – he deserved it. For me, it all adds to a good, positive feeling going forward.

And he's better than most at fist pumps, too.