Chelsea Res 2 Ipswich Res 1

[Gaz]

A second-half rally by Chelsea Reserves rescued the evening and recorded a first win in five games.

The two shots that overturned an early Ipswich lead were expertly struck, making it three high quality goals in the game. Chelsea’s first was the third for Phil Younghusband this season, the second was Joe Keenan’s first in a Chelsea shirt since returning from a near-two year loan spell in Belgium.

The winner came very late on. There had been earlier chances for Chelsea but most definitely not in a barren first-half.

Ipswich found their shooting boots first. One early dipping effort from Liam Craig cleared the crossbar, but not by a huge distance, and the next attempt on 15 minutes was bang on target.

Adam Proudlock, on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, latched onto a ball outside the area after Chelsea dithered and gave Lenny Pidgeley no chance with a stinging volley.

Pidgeley demonstrated safe hands in gathering a Billy Clarke shot soon after but in attack Chelsea toiled away without encouragement for the whole of the opening 45 minutes.

Joe Tillen put a couple of balls in from the left; Filipe Morais saw one lob drift harmlessly wide but against a side that have been conceding an average of four goals-per-game on their travels, it was an impotent display.

For Chelsea to get back on level terms as early as the seventh minute after the restart was a big boost. Captain Danny Hollands won a fifty-fifty tackle in midfield and the ball looped forward to Phil Younghusband.

Onside and suddenly bearing down goal, the 18 year-old striker kept his composure and smacked the ball in.

Suddenly an attacking edge had been found. Joe Tillen beat the offside call to flick a header that curved onto the bar and when Morais made a similar run and confidently finished, he was dismayed to see the flag up.

A breaking Joe Keenan, onside and onto a fine ball forward from the back, wastefully found the side-netting and he was involved again as the game entered its later stages, combing with his fellow Joe, Tillen, down the left. The low cross was too far ahead of Younghusband in the middle.

With time running out, 18 year-old Jack Watkins was introduced up front for his reserve debut.

In the dying moments of normal time, a high ball came over from the left and looked for a second as if it was sitting up for the new striker to take a swing at. Instead it was cleared but when Keenan was found 20 yards out, he sweetly struck a shot inside the post with keeper Supple flailing.

That was the last anyone saw of Joe Keenan for quite some time as he was buried under a pile of blue-shirted bodies.

Chelsea:

Lenny Pidgeley (gk); Dean Smith, Adrian Pettigrew, Michael Mancienne, Jonas Elmer; Joe Keenan, Anthony Grant, Danny Hollands (capt); Filipe Morais (James Younghusband 83), Phil Younghusband (Jack Watkins 85), Joe Tillen.

Subs: Nick Hamann (gk), Ricardo Fernandes, Jack Cork.

Ipswich:

Shane Supple (gk), Sammy Moore, James Krause, Ian Westlake, Aidan Collins, Gerard Nash, Jaime Peters, Scott Barron, Billy Clarke (Danny Haynes 81), Adam Proudlock, Liam Craig (Liam Trotter 81).

Subs: Chris Casement, Stuart Ainsley, Cathal Lordan.