out with El-Hadji Diouf starting in his place. The game was only Diouf's second appearance from the start of the season. The opening 10 minutes of the game past with little in the way of excitement as both sides struggled to gain control of proceedings. The first goalscoring opportuntity of the evening fell to the visitors. The away side worked the ball from a throw-in and Daryl Murphy played a ball forward that found David McGoldrick at the back post, the striker decided to take it first time and his strike went well wide of the mark. The pattern of the half continued in the same way until the 30th minute when Jason Pearce was on hand to clear a McGoldrick shot. The ball was played across the box and Paul Anderson headed the ball into the striker's path but his shot lacked any pace and the ball was a simple one for the United defender to clear. The following minutes of the half belonged to the away side as they came on strong, with Paddy Kenny called into action to make a double save to keep the visitors at bay. Tom Lees also made a great last ditch tackle to thwart the Ipswich attack as they hit United on the break. United weathered the storm and had their first chance on goal in the 35th minute when Rudy Austin got on the ball just inside the away half of the field. The midfielder carried the ball forward and struck from distance, the shot troubled the Ipswich keeper but he managed to turn the ball round his post. With the half drawing to a close United's second chance of the match opened up. Good build-up play between Diouf and and Stephen Warnock led to the full-back crossing for Ross McCormack but the ball was just too high for the Scot to connect. The away side had a great chance to take the lead in the opening minute of the second half. A crossed ball was cleared but only as far as Ryan Tunnicliffe. The midfielder snatched at the opportunity and he could only watch his shot go wide. United had a chance of their own moments later when Cameron Stewart cut inside to strike, but his effort went over the crossbar. The second period had a much higher tempo about it and the deadlock was broken on 57 minutes. The away side picked up the ball just inside United's half and the ball was played to McGoldrick, the striker carried the ball, shot from 20-yards and his strike beat Kenny at his near post. United responded well to going behind and were awarded a penalty on the hour mark when Stewart was brought down in the box by Luke Chambers. United striker McCormack was the man on the spot and made no mistake by smashing the ball past Dean Gerken. Following the equaliser from the penalty spot Brian McDermott made a double change by introducing the young duo of Dominic Poleon and Alex Mowatt in the place of Michael Brown and Diouf. United took control of the game after McCormack's leveller and the striker had a further chance just minutes later. McCormack picked up a loose ball in the Ipswich penalty area and his strike looked destined for the back of the net but a deflection put the ball behind for a corner. With 20 minutes remaining the striker had another chance but his shot from just outside the box brought a great save from Gerken. With the game heading into the final 10 minutes Warnock played a fantastic ball across the away side's six-yard box. Although the ball just had too much pace on it for the onrushing United attackers to make the telling connection. The final 10 minutes saw United doing most of the pushing and were the side that looked the more likely to steal a winner. But with no meaningful attempts on goal from either side the game ended all square.
