Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell must have feared the worse when he walked into the dressing room at half-time during their game against Barnsley at Oakwell last Saturday.
His side was 2-0 down and staring down the barrel of an eight consecutive league defeat. Incredibly, they hit five goals during the second half as they staged the most unlikely of comebacks.
Barnsley went into the game full of confidence having won their previous four games and looked set to make it five wins on the bounce when Craig Davies gave them the lead from the spot. Those who had placed Championship bets on the side will have been confident things were going their way.
When in-form Ricardo Vaz Te headed home to make it 2-0 five minutes before the break, there looked to be no way back for a demoralised Ipswich side. It seemed a case of damage limitation for Jewell and his men.
Crucially, Keith Andrews got one back within 20 seconds of the restart with a brilliant volley. The Ipswich skipper then hauled his side well and truly back in the game just a few minutes later when he headed past Luke Steele to make it 2-2. The Republic of Ireland international had completely changed the complexion of the game and Barnsley were rocking.
Worse was to come for the home side. Danny Collins gave the Tractor Boys the lead with a powerful header, before Michael Chopra doubled that lead within the space of two minutes.
Ipswich weren’t done yet. Jason Scotland finished Cresswell’s cross to make it five and end a goal drought which had spanned eight games. Barnsley did get one back late on through an excellent Davies free-kick, but it was too late for the Tykes.
It was a brilliant second half display which could well have saved Jewell from the sack. The game could prove to be a watershed in Ipswich’s season.
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