The Breakdown: Analysing Ipswich Town’s 3-0 victory at Barnsley

Ipswich Town took a step closer to automatic promotion by beating Barnsley 3-0 on Tuesday night – ruling their opponents out of the running in the process. 

Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst struck in quick succession on the stroke of half-time, before Conor Chaplin sealed the victory in the 80th minute.

The result continues a remarkable run that has seen Ipswich win 12 of their last 13 games, scoring 37 goals and conceding just two.

Following the Tractor Boys’ latest triumph, we used the Twenty3 Toolbox to analyse the key battles at Oakwell – and how Kieran McKenna’s men return home with all three points. 

Match overview – Ruthless Ipswich

Utilising Twenty3’s Smart Reports, it is immediately apparent from the Match Overview how clinical Ipswich Town were in Yorkshire. 

The visitors had just one more non-penalty shot on target than Barnsley, yet were able to score three times. The quality of their chances, however, were much better than the Tykes’ opportunities, who managed just 0.49 xG to their opponents’ 1.46 xG.

Both sides targeted the right flank more frequently, with the hosts attempting more crosses (15 to 11).

On balance, this was a more evenly contested clash than the scoreline suggests.

Attacking Analysis – McKenna’s attacking masterclass

No team in League One has scored more goals than Ipswich Town this season (93).

And their lethal finishing against Barnsley provided some insight about why they have been so impressive in attacking areas.

In the first half, they looked to attack down the left-hand side of the pitch, despite carrying a greater threat on the right flank. Recognising this at the break, 44% of their second-half attacks went down the right.

The Tractor Boys’ first goal came from a corner that was whipped towards the front post by Leif Davis to find Broadhead, who did well to hit the target where the xG value was high, given the distance from goal.

Hirst’s second was a composed strike from distance, while Chaplin dealt the final blow by collecting a rebound from Hirst’s effort and coolly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Harry Isted.

It was not an entirely dominant attacking display, given Ipswich won just 25 of their 58 attacking duels, had a penalty saved and managed just four non-penalty shots on target.

However, when they needed to be, the visitors were clinical with their finishing.

Passing Analysis – Hirst causes havoc

Ipswich Town trusted their striker Hirst to win the battle against Barnsley’s defence.

He was clearly an outlet for his team-mates, especially in the first half, as seen on the passing network visualisation below. No player on the pitch was involved in more duels than the forward (31).

The 24-year-old gave Barnsley’s three-man rearguard a torrid time, winning six loose balls – more than any other player.

McKenna’s trust eventually paid off, when Hirst wrestled off the efforts of Mads Juel Andersen before unleashing a right-footed effort over and around the keeper, and into the back of the net.

In the end, Hirst only managed four touches in the opposition’s box, but that was all he needed to strengthen Ipswich’s lead.

Defensive Analysis – Woolfenden would not let Barnsley through

With just two goals conceded in their last 13 outings, Ipswich Town are one of the best defensive sides in League One – and Barnsley are no slouches in attack, having bagged 76 goals this term.

But centre-back Luke Woolfenden dominated at the heart of the visitors’ defence. 

He won nine of his 11 duels – the joint-third highest on Tuesday night – while also managing four interceptions, 17 ball recoveries and giving away just one foul.

In possession, he was equally important, registering eight long balls, 39 passes and one through-ball. 

The 24-year-old’s defensive performance meant Ipswich managed to limit the number of opportunities from their opponents – conceding just three shots on target.

Match momentum

Barnsley maintained a high intensity, which is reflected on the Match Momentum Chart – particularly in the first half, until Ipswich Town’s opener.

After netting in quick succession, the Tractor Boys were able to control the match more effectively, before killing off the game with a third to take another crucial step towards promotion.

Interestingly, these moments were highlighted by McKenna in his post-match interview, when asked about whether he had to change his half-time team talk.

He said: “Of course, it changes the mood [the two goals] in the stadium a little bit, gives us a cushion, but we knew we were still going to have to play well in the second half.

“We knew the intensity of their pressure was dying off a little bit at the end of the first half, so we knew we would be able to find our connection through the pitch a bit better and control the game a little bit more than we were in the first half.

“We needed to improve a few things defensively, in terms of stopping them connecting in behind our front line, and we improved those things at half-time, and I thought the second half was outstanding.”

All Smart Reports in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.