Ipswich Town Hold Nottingham Forest to Draw at Portman Road

Dara O’Shea dug in, Ipswich Town bent, and Nottingham Forest somehow walked away from Portman Road with only a point and a nagging sense of regret.

On a cold Friday night under the lights, Gary O’Neil’s side were second best for long stretches yet escaped with a 1-1 draw, while Oliver Glasner was left staring at the scoreboard wondering how his team failed to turn dominance into a rare league win.

Delap’s homecoming falls flat

So much of the pre-match noise circled around Liam Delap. Twelve league goals here last season had powered Ipswich’s rise and banked him a big move to Chelsea. Now he was back in Suffolk in Forest colours, still trying to ignite his Premier League career with just two top-flight strikes since leaving.

He didn’t find what he came looking for.

Delap worked the channels, pressed with intent, and tried to impose himself on a back line marshalled by O’Shea, who played the full 90 minutes and rarely lost his bearings despite the pressure. But when the decisive moment finally arrived, with 16 minutes left and the game there to be taken, Delap blinked.

A gilt-edged chance dropped his way, the sort he buried routinely in this stadium last season. This time, he failed to convert, the opportunity sailing away and with it Forest’s best route to a second league win under Glasner. Eight games, one victory. The numbers are beginning to glare.

Forest strike first, Ipswich gifted a lifeline

Forest had started like a side intent on changing that storyline. They were sharper, braver on the ball, and quicker into the duels. Ipswich, pinned back and unable to control the tempo, spent long spells chasing shadows.

The pressure told early.

On 13 minutes, Neco Williams stepped up with the reward Forest’s bright start deserved. The visitors carved their way forward and Williams applied the finish, a strike that underlined their authority and silenced the home crowd.

Ipswich looked rattled. O’Neil’s men struggled to build from the back, and O’Shea and his fellow defenders found themselves constantly firefighting as Forest pushed for a second. At that stage, Glasner’s side looked comfortable, almost cruising.

Then came the twist.

Four minutes before the break, Nikola Milenkovic undid it all with one loose touch and one dreadful decision. His back pass sold his goalkeeper short, Julio Enciso pounced, and Ipswich were level on 41 minutes without having truly fashioned a clear-cut opening of their own.

It was a gift. Ipswich accepted it gratefully.

Second-half flashpoints and Forest’s rising frustration

The equaliser shifted the mood in the stands but not the pattern on the pitch. Forest came out after the interval still on the front foot, still forcing Ipswich back, and they felt the game tilt even further their way two minutes into the second half.

James McAtee drove forward and was met by a lunge from Issa Diop on 47 minutes. Forest players surrounded the referee, convinced the challenge merited a red card. The official kept his card colour to yellow, and the away bench seethed.

Glasner’s frustration only grew as the half wore on. His side remained the likelier winners, carrying the greater threat and asking more questions in the final third. Ipswich, by contrast, relied on resilience and the organisation of O’Shea and his back line, happy to survive in moments and break the rhythm where they could.

Yet for all Forest’s territory and intent, the final pass deserted them. When the big chance did arrive, Delap’s misfire summed up their night: promising approach play, no killer edge.

Ipswich, under pressure for so long, clung to what they had. Forest, with the game there to be claimed, let it slip. For Glasner, the performance offered control and chances. The table, though, only shows another missed opportunity and a season that refuses to catch fire.