Armstrong comes back to stun Inter

13 April 2012

Alun Armstrong should not have been anywhere near the pitch last night. He should have been watching from the stands, or maybe even from the comfort of his sofa at home, recovering from the bout of post-viral syndrome which had kept him out of training for a month.

Instead, typifying the heroic attitude of his little club, the striker demonstrated a huge heart and perfect timing to give Ipswich Town a deserved victory over the aristocrats of Internazionale.

Thrown on with 13 minutes remaining, he needed only 240 seconds of play to make a difference, rising brilliantly to head home Jamie Clapham's inviting cross.

Armstrong had only resumed training a couple of days before the first leg of this UEFA Cup third- round tie, having been ordered to rest as the only cure for a strength-sapping virus which hit the former Middlesbrough man after a bout of food poisoning.

With the club in the middle of a forward injury crisis - Marcus Stewart's broken jaw and Finidi George's fractured cheekbone typical of manager George Burley's current luck - the manager could be forgiven for asking Armstrong to go the extra mile.

Burley, close to signing £3million Blackburn striker Marcus Bent before last night's game, said: 'Alun's hardly done any training, but I knew he was capable of scoring if I threw him on - and he came up trumps. It wasn't a gamble to give him 10 or 15 minutes. He wasn't fit to start but I knew he could do something.'

Armstrong said: 'It's been a really frustrating few weeks. I was training for 25 minutes and just throwing up. With the injuries to the other forwards, we were really struggling, so I was keen to play. I've trained for a couple of days and felt I could do something.'

Ipswich will need to show that kind of courage in Milan and, even with more than 8,000 of their own fans behind them in the San Siro, their great European adventure may still be curtailed in a fortnight.

But last night at least their unbeaten home European record was stretched to a staggering 28 games. It was a victory built on the defensive foundations of Titus Bramble and Mark Venus, crafted by the attacking width of the industrious Jermaine Wright and the accurate Clapham, and secured with that one giant leap from the invalid striker.

From the first it was clear that Ipswich intended to defend their honour by attacking, with Argentine midfielder Sixto Peralta - ironically, on loan from Inter - causing all kinds of problems behind the starting front pair of Pablo Counago and Richard Naylor.

They left space at the back but Bramble, in particular, marshalled everything which came in his direction, putting in two thunderous early tackles which left Nicola Ventola and forward partner Mohamed Kallon wondering if Suffolk was earthquake country.

Inter had probably the best chance of the first half, Matteo Sereni saving brilliantly from Ventola at point-blank range, but it was the home side creating - and squandering - opportunities in greater number.

Had captain Matt Holland's 30-yard shot two minutes from the break been a couple of feet either side of goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, they might even have gone in with a deserved half-time lead.

Clearly not unnerved by finding themselves outplaying a team expected to challenge for this year's Scudetto, the Premiership strugglers continued to excel in the second half.

Ventola did send a free header wide after a few minutes but, roused from any creeping complacency, Ipswich hit back with a string of efforts.

Counago was wasteful with his shot after turning Ivan Cordoba inside out, while a few minutes later Peralta waited too long for a bouncing ball to sit down perfectly while defenders quickly closed in.

Spanish striker Counago also had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned down as the Tractor Boys grew desperate for their efforts to be rewarded.

On came Armstrong, replacing the exhausted Naylor, and almost immediately Burley was made to appear a tactical genius with the golden touch.

If that kind of magic continues in Milan, or even at Middlesbrough on Sunday, Ipswich will be just fine.

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Armstrong comes back to stun Inter

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