Seaman
Lauren
Keown
Adams
Cole
Parlour
Vieira
Edu
Ljungberg
Bergkamp
Henry
Kanu
Grimandi
Battling display not quite enough
Ipswich Town are now almost certain to be relegated after a battling display against Arsenal was not quite enough, thanks to Freddie Ljungberg.
The Swedish midfielder scored two second half goals as the Gunners returned to the top of the Premiership. But Ipswich will be reflecting on a season of what might have been but will now be preparing for a season in the Nationwide League.
The match started fairly evenly although the Gunners' class showed through in the early exchanges. Arsenal had several shots in the opening half but rarely threatened Andy Marshall's goal.
Town, on the other hand, struggled in the attacking third but looked comfortable defensively. And when they finally managed to conjure up a chance it was spurned. Finidi George led a counter attack into the Gunners' penalty area before fizzing in a cross to the back post for Reuser. The Dutchman's header was firm but it came off the post of a virtually unguarded goal. It was a huge let off for Arsenal which they would take full advantage of in the second half.
Just minutes into the second period it looked like Dennis Bergkamp was going to score a stunning goal but his curling effort agonisingly hit the inside of the post.
Town continued to defend well in numbers but they could nothing about a Thierry Henry thunderbolt. But the woodwork came to our rescue again as Henry's effort cannoned off the crossbar.
Arsenal didn't seem dismayed by their bad luck but they took their foot off the gas for a minute and were almost punished by Marcus Bent. His header flew over though.
Enter Freddie Ljungberg. The Swede had looked lacklustre for most of the match but managed to finish off a great spell of pressure. Martin Keown tried to head the ball goalbound but was clipped away by the Town defence to Ljungberg on the edge of the box. After controlling well, Ljungberg belted the ball past Marshall's despairing dive to give the Gunners the lead.
10 minutes later, it was all over. Grimandi clipped the ball in to Ljungberg but his header was saved superbly by Marshall. Unfortunately, the rebound fell straight back to the Swede and he made no mistake from two yards out. To our credit we never gave up on the match and clipped the post again through Reuser. But we never quite had that killer instinct today, a problem that has dogged us for most of the season. In the end it has cost us dearly...
From The Terrace