Julio Enciso struck a vital equaliser as Ipswich Town fought back to draw 2-2 with Hull City at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. The point extends the Blues' unbeaten run but was a tale of two halves after they had dominated the opening period. This result on Saturday 31 October leaves the club 12th in the Premier League with 10 points from eight games, having recorded three wins and a draw so far this season.
Florentino Luís gave Ipswich the lead in the 22nd minute, finishing from Abdoul Ouattara's pass. The visitors controlled over 80% of possession before the break, but Hull emerged transformed after switching to a 4-3-3 formation at halftime. Tim Iroegbunam equalised with his first goal for the Tigers in the 58th minute, before Oli McBurnie curled in a superb free-kick ten minutes later to put the hosts ahead.
Ipswich responded six minutes after falling behind. Enciso, who had earlier opened the scoring, fired home from the edge of the box to level the match at 2-2. The Paraguayan's goal was his first in the Premier League and capped a resilient display from Kieran McKenna's side. Enciso also scored in the previous match, a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday 23 October.
"Suddenly the Tigers were playing with intensity, and effectiveness," said Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic. The hosts ended a run of seven consecutive league games without a win, but they were indebted to their goalkeeper for preserving the point.
The result leaves Ipswich 12th in the Premier League table with 10 points from eight matches. They have scored 12 goals but conceded 16, leaving them with a negative goal difference. Their recent form shows one win, two draws and two losses from their last five outings, a sequence that includes the 2-2 draw with Hull, a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, a 3-2 loss at Manchester City on Saturday 17 October, a 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday 10 October, and a 1-0 loss at Everton on Saturday 19 September. They now find themselves 11 points behind the league leaders, Manchester City.
Key absentees J. Taylor and S. Lukic remained sidelined, but the Blues showed character to recover from a difficult spell. They face Bournemouth at Portman Road in their next fixture on Sunday 8 November, a match against a side just one place below them in the standings. The full fixtures list shows a key run of games ahead as they look to climb the table.
Attendance at the MKM Stadium was 24,459, with referee T Kirk overseeing the contest. Ipswich's next challenge is to turn draws into wins as they aim to consolidate their mid-table position.
The original report is at Yorkshire Post
