Ipswich pay penalty as Raúl Jiménez’s spot-kick double provides Fulham late draw

Think about the place Fulham can be if they may see off the strugglers. They averted a uncommon defeat when Raúl ­Jiménez transformed his second penalty of the afternoon in the beginning of added time however by no means did sufficient to beat a well-drilled Ipswich.

At occasions it was paying homage to the draw right here a fortnight in the past with Southampton and, whereas no one on this a part of west London might cavil at a run of 1 defeat in 12 video games, a touch extra innovative would certainly see them in fairytale territory by now.

Jiménez picked himself as much as rating confidently after twisting Leif Davis inside out and coaxing the Ipswich left-back right into a foul subsequent to the byline. The intestine punch for Kieran McKenna’s group was that, seconds beforehand, their substitute Jack Clarke had been a put up’s width from ­guaranteeing them the factors. They may nonetheless return to Suffolk feeling consoled: the following 4 months will undoubtedly be rocky however they appear resilient and don’t carry themselves as if destined for a return to the Championship.

For Fulham there was the ­frustration that, for all their close to three-quarter share of possession, clear probabilities have been few and much between. A lot of their annoyance was directed on the ­referee, Darren Bond, for his dealing with of some ­borderline calls however in fact there was little to bristle about as soon as the mud had settled. The Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton was solely known as upon to make two ­vital saves and that was a much bigger issue than any officiating gripes.

Fulham’s primary level of competition was that Davis ought to have been despatched off shortly earlier than the half-hour after crudely checking Harry Wilson’s dart in the direction of objective. He was booked and maybe the actual fact Wilson was nonetheless 40 yards from the posts, coupled with the proximity of no less than one overlaying defender, swayed the choice. That appeared honest sufficient, though Marco Silva was nonetheless in Bond’s ear because the groups re-emerged after half-time.

By then Ipswich had taken the lead with their first critical alternative. Liam Delap, excellent as soon as once more and seemingly rising in stature by the week, held the ball up within the left channel and commenced a transfer that culminated in a Nathan Broadhead cross to the far put up. It was contested by Antonee Robinson and Ben ­Johnson, popping off the previous’s head and ­hitting the bar. There was nonetheless ample o­pportunity for Calvin Bassey to clear however he fluffed his strains, teeing ­Sammie Szmodics up for a blast that went in through the house defender’s try at redemption.

Silva felt Fulham had misplaced “emotional management” after Davis’s reprieve. However that they had solely come shut as soon as when on a extra even keel, Jiménez drawing an excellent parry from ­Walton when he ought to maybe have scored. Their subsequent clear likelihood didn’t come up till the 63rd minute when Emile Smith Rowe, launched on the ­interval for the redundant third centre-half Issa Diop, related with Alex Iwobi’s clipped ball however might solely skid his header vast.

From there, proceedings lastly caught mild. Ipswich had been ­managing any Fulham menace properly and appeared harmful when emboldened to commit gamers ahead. When one such event noticed Delap cushion an extended cross into Broadhead’s path, Bernd Leno reacted brilliantly to tip the next snap-shot vast.

Not for the final time, Ipswich have been left to rue the close to miss. When one other glowing Wilson run led to a tumble underneath Sam Morsy’s problem, Bond saved his whistle in his pocket. The Ipswich captain bore the sheepish look of a person who sensed what was coming, although, and VAR rapidly noticed he had clipped ­Wilson’s knee. It was an pointless problem and Jiménez, beating Walton coolly, emphasised the purpose. Silva couldn’t forestall himself afterwards from expressing disbelief that recourse to video expertise had been required.

Nonetheless it had come about, this appeared a platform for ­Fulham. They have been waved again to the midway line by employees however, 21 seconds after the resumption, gave themselves one other mountain to climb. This time Bond didn’t hesitate when Delap twisted inside Timothy Castagne and hit the ground; there was sufficient contact to benefit a spot-kick and Delap, brimming with confidence after destroying Chelsea on Monday, did the remaining.

Silva threw on the kitchen sink in Adama Traoré kind however, had Clarke not fired low in opposition to the upright from 20 yards after good work from Davis, Fulham’s endeavours would have gone out of the window. Moments later Davis felled Jiménez, who was going nowhere notably quick, and renewed parity set the stage for a frantic closing sequence wherein Walton denied Rodrigo Muniz and Wilson practically punished a dicey Jack Taylor back-pass.

One other jiffy and Fulham, thwarted late on by Bournemouth final day trip, may need accomplished the turnaround. However Ipswich have been price their level and the quandary for each groups centres on the way to extra repeatedly acquire all three.