The Blues were the better side throughout the 90 minutes, getting a well-deserved goal through Jack Taylor just before half time to seal the win. They could’ve been more comfortable, but will be encouraged by a strong performance.
The early stages of the game were incredibly comfortable, with Ipswich enjoying spells in possession and predominantly playing in the opposition’s half. However, they threatened to really threaten. Liam Delap and Luke Woolfenden were played into good areas, but neither of them managed to connect with the ball.
As the rain hammered down, the pitch began to cut up badly. It saw Sam Morsy mis-timed a slide tackle, catching Tom Bischof while avoiding a yellow card. In the 20th minute, Conor Chaplin tried to play Delap through on goal again, but he was beaten to the ball by Oliver Baumann.
The goalkeeper was left red-faced as he was caught high up the pitch when Hoffenheim gave away the ball. Leif Davis attempted to capitalise on the open goal but hit the side netting from a tight angle just before the half-hour mark.
The Blues kept pushing, with Morsy taking aim from distance nine minutes before the break, narrowly curling over the bar. Four minutes later, new signing Ben Johnson fizzed a shot across the face of goal from outside the box. It was clear they needed to push forward more.
