It was a day when probably both teams will point towards their central defenders when looking for the best players and this despite them being up against Daryl Murphy, last season's Championship leading goalscorer, and Andre Gray, currently at the top of the scoring chart.
We found it difficult, as we so often have done, to break down a Mick McCarthy side who played exactly as you would have expected them to; very organised, having players back in numbers and being a bit physical. Unfortunately we didn't have that spark to break all that down and I wonder whether the score might still have been 0-0 had both teams played without goalkeepers Tom Heaton and Dean Gerken.
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| The last match day for the ticket office and club shop |
I went down Harry Potts Way to take a last look at the old building that houses the ticket office and club shop. Part, if not the whole, of that building is older than the cricket field stand but by the time we play our next home game on 25th January, or even should there be a need for a cup replay against Middlesbrough, both ticket office and shop will have been relocated in readiness for what was initially the 'Turf Moor Development Office' to be demolished.
Across the road, I bumped into Martin Dobson, a big Burnley FC icon of the 1970s and more recently our director of youth. It's always good to see Dobbo, a real gentleman and a man who was an absolute pleasure to deal with regarding our fundraising.
I'm not so sure about his friend though. He looked like a 1970s fashion icon and I'm sure I've seen him previously some years ago on one of my mum's old knitting patterns. Geoff Nulty turned up too, but Dobbo quickly whisked him away from the red cardigan.
We received the news that George Boyd was fit again and would be on the bench for the first time in a league game for the Clarets, and with Dean Marney not making it, that meant just one change to the squad with Boyd taking Chris Long's place.
We were all delighted with the way we played in the previous game but this one was never going to be a similar game given both Ipswich's status in the league and the way they play, but I raised my serious concerns very early in this game and thoseconcerns were referee Peter Bankes.
The official, who was as bad as anything I've seen in a long time, was constantly blowing for just about anything although missing more clear infringements. He , more than any player, was breaking up play and this after a start that saw us lose four minutes due to injuries requiring treatment for Christophe Berra and then Gray.
He was frustrating the crowd and clearly the players while the two managers were constantly in the ear of the beleaguered fourth official who, frankly, would not have been able to defend his colleague.
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| Burnley FC icon Martin Dobson with the 1970s fashion icon |
You just knew that when decisions needed to be made he wouldn't make them and there were occasions when clear fouls on Gray went totally unpunished. With one there was even an opportunity for a red card.
In terms of the football, there were few chances but the best fell to Gray and it was no surprise that the ball came in from Michael Kightly who was the pick of the attacking players in this game. Gray looked to try and place his shot just inside the post rather than put his foot through it and his effort went some way wide.
Kightly himself came close when he cut in from the left to shoot but then we did think we'd got our noses in front only to be denied by the aforementioned Mr Bankes. A right wing corner from David Jones was turned in by Ben Mee only for Bankes to rule it out, telling Mee there had been a foul on the goalkeeper.
That's absolute nonsense, he'd clearly got another decision, this time a big decision, completely wrong and so, instead of taking the lead just a few minutes before half time, we went in at 0-0.
We might have got a lead right at the start of the second half with Gerken saving at the foot of his post to deny Gray, but it was not a foretaste of what was to come. For much of the second half a 0-0 draw became more and more likely and long before the final whistle I'd come to the conclusion that there weren't going to be any goals.
We brought on Boyd for Kightly but there were over 88 minutes gone when we made our two other changes which saw both Matt Taylor and Rouwen Hennings come on and it was Hennings who nearly had the last say with a shot right at the end of stoppage time.
But ultimately, neither side really tested the goalkeepers and I don't think either side could complain at the result. McCarthy, despite missing out on a new Ipswich record, was cock-a-hoop with it. He'd come for a point in such a game and got what he wanted, but for us it was a disappointing afternoon to kick off the year.
It will be some time before we play at home again, three weeks tomorrow to be exact when Derby come for the Monday night game. It's off on the road now to Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes and Brentford with hopefully a few points and, who knows, a cup win to bring home.
The teams were;
Burnley: Tom Heaton, Matt Lowton, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, Stephen Ward, Scott Arfield (Matt Taylor 89), Joey Barton, David Jones, Michael Kightly (George Boyd 70), Sam Vokes, Andre Gray (Rouwen Hennings 89). Subs not used: Matt Gilks, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Fredrik Ulvestad.
Yellow Cards: Matt Lowton, Joey Barton.
Ipswich: Dean Gerken, Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith, Christophe Berra, Jonas Knudsen, Luke Hyam, Cole Skuse, Ryan Fraser (Tommy Oar 59), Freddie Sears, Kevin Bru (Brett Pitman 64), Daryl Murphy (Luke Varney 73). Subs not used: Bartosz Bialkowski, Piotr Malarczyk, Jonathan Parr, Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside).
Attendance: 16,307 (including 885 from Ipswich).