Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook says conceding just before half time proved costly in his side's 2-2 draw with Cambridge United on Saturday afternoon.

Things had started well for Ipswich at The Abbey Stadium, with Sone Aluko's first goals for the club putting them 2-0 up 36 minutes into the match.

However, James Brophy pulled one back for Cambridge five minutes before half time, before Joe Ironside side netted a dramatic late equaliser to earn a point for the hosts.

That means that Ipswich had once again failed to capitalise on a lead, and now it seems that Cook believes it was the timing of that Brophy goal that proved crucial to the how the game played out.

Reflecting on what went wrong for his team in that game, the Ipswich boss was quoted by Cambridgeshire Live as saying: “For 43 minutes, I genuinely enjoyed us today. I thought we were excellent and thoroughly deserved the lead. The goal before half-time changes the whole mood in the stadium, whether you like it or not.

“It’s a soft goal from our point of view and a great goal from Cambridge’s point of view. Second half, we had plenty of possession in really good areas, but we don’t really create a chance to score again, that probably would’ve put the game to bed."

Following that draw, Ipswich are now 15th in the League One table with three wins and 14 points from their 12 league games so far this season.

Cook's side are next in action on Tuesday night, when they travel to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth.

The Verdict

You can understand the point that Cook is making about the way things played out here.

Scoring a goal so soon before half time will always give a side a lift with the momentum it gives them to push after a break, where they can identify what to exploit at a time when they are in the ascendency.

That is something it seems Cambridge were ultimately able to do to Ipswich on Saturday, and that will be tough to take for the Tractor Boys as they search for a winning formula.

Indeed, the theme of throwing away leads does seem to be developing into a worryingly regular one for Ipswich, and something they need to change soon if they are to compete for promotion this season.