Nick Ames’ match report is here for your entertainment. Ta-ra!

Raul Jimenez’s verdict

A point is really bad for us. We did everything to win the game. We showed again that we can play well after going behind, but we need to score first and not leave it late to score.

I’m really happy to score and help the team but we need to keep more clean sheets to win games.

Both teams will be frustrated they didn’t win; both will also know they could have lost. It was a tale of three penalties, two scored by Raul Jimenez and one by Liam Delap. And we’re about to hear from Raul Jimenez.

90+7 min There’s a VAR check for a possible Fulham penalty after Greaves challenges Muniz and heads the ball onto the body of Woolfenden. Foul? Handball? Neither according to VAR.

90+6 min Jack Taylor’s backpass is so nearly intercepted by the sliding Wilson. He can’t quite reach it and Walton boots clear. Ipswich are hanging on desperately.

90+5 min There’s only one winner now, and it’s not Romania Ipswich.

90+3 min Muniz fresh-airs a scissor kick from Traore’s flat cross. Ipswich break and Pereira is booked for an aggressive tackle on Burns. “You’re not fit to referee,” chant the various Level 1 referees in the crowd.

90+1 min Jimenez sidefooted it high to his right. Walton went the wrong way but would have had no chance anyway.

There are seven minutes of added time.

Fulham broke after that Clarke shot hit the post. Jimenez twisted Davis this way and that before being tripped. It’s a clear penalty, the result of a tired challenge from Davis.

90 min: Penalty to Fulham!

89 min: Jack Clarke hits the post! Davis won the ball high up the field and gave it to Clarke, who rifled a fine low drive from 25 yards. Leno didn’t move and the ball thumped the near post.

Fulham break, and…

88 min: Ipswich subsitution Ali Al-Hamadi replaces Liam Delap, the player of the match for my money.

87 min Antonee Robinson, unusually poor today, mishits a cross behind for a goalkick.

87 min Traore tees up Wilson, whose stinging shot from 25 yards is headed away by Woolfenden.

86 min A Fulham corner is taken short to Pereira, whose cross takes a deflection and loops awkwardly into the six-yard boy. Ipswich scramble the ball clear.

83 min Davis arcs a shot over the bar from the left side of the area. Ipswich are still breaking with purpose when they can. Overall, for all the noise about refereeing, this has been an excellent away performance. Their keeper Christian Walton has had a relatively quiet afternoon so far.

81 min “Liam Delap is indeed seriously impressive,” begins Matt Dony. “The problem is, his name is so indelibly linked to such a specific, ugly, uninspiring style of play. It’s not his fault (or even his father’s, really) but it’s still hard to read ‘Delap’ without adding ‘with a long throw into the box…’”

Each to their own mate. This is the Rory Delap that will live forever in my heart.

80 min: Ipswich substitutions Jack Clarke and Wes Burns replace Nathan Broadhead and Ben Johnson.

79 min: Fulham substitution Adama Traore is on for Sasa Lukic.

79 min: Chance for Fulham! Johnson fouls somebody – I don’t know, okay – and is booked. Wilson’s lovely free-kick is headed fractionally wide by Jimenez, 12 yards out. That’s a pretty good chance, even from that far out.

77 min Liam Delap turns 22 next month. If and when he leaves Ipswich, whether it’s this month or in June 2029, Ipswich will make a huge profit on the £20m they paid him.

76 min Marco Silva looks like the world is against him. The scoreline is harsh on the balance of play, no question, but all of the big decisions have been correct in my neutral opinion. The potential red card for Davis was 50/50 so I can understand his frustration, but to me it was a clear example of Referee’s Call.

74 min “Half time at Fir Park,” reports James Humphries. “After 43 dire minutes, Well now two goals and a man up against Aberdeen following 90 action-packed seconds. I dunno how we’ll throw it away from here, but I have no doubt whatsoever that we will. I think it’s just started snowing, too.”

73 min: Double substitution for Ipswich Kalvin Phillips and Jack Taylor replace Jens Cajuste and Sammie Szmodics.

In other news, Dara O’Shea was booked for dissent just before the Fulham equaliser.

Delap tries to cut inside Castagne and is kicked on the foot while changing direction. It’s a penalty – softish, but a penalty nonetheless. It came 21 seconds after the kick off, and Craven Cottage is ready to blow.

70 min: Penalty to Ipswich!

68 min Morsy is booked. Raul Jimenez will take the penalty…

66 min: Fulham penalty appeal! Wilson is certain he has been tripped in the area. The referee disagrees and Wilson loses the plot. This will be overturned by VAR; it’s a clear foul by Morsy.

64 min: Double substitution for Fulham Just before that Broadhead shot, Fulham brought on Andreas Pereira and Rodrigo Muniz for Alex Iwobi and Tom Cairney.

64 min: Fine save by Leno! A long ball forward is knocked down by Delap towards Broadhead on the edge of the area. He charges onto the bouncing ball and smashes a shot that is tipped round the post by the diving Leno. Excellent reactions.

63 min: Chance for Fulham! Iwobi moves from left to right to receive the ball and clip a lovely ball to the far post. Smith Rowe gets the wrong side of Szmodics but plants a header wide from eight yards. That was a pretty good chance.

61 min Ipswich managed only one victory first 15 Premier League games; if it stays like this they’ll have won three of out five since then.

Like the song says: Pragmatism not idealism. Will not cry in public. Less chance of relegation.

59 min Iwobi splashes well wide from the left side of the area. A poor idea, badly executed.

58 min The camera cuts to Ben Godfrey in the stands; he is set to join Ipswich on loan from Atalanta.

57 min For all Fulham’s dominance – 72 per cent possession as I type – Christian Walton has had only one save to make. That was from Raul Jimenez’s header in the 21st minute.

56 min “In this continuing age of not knowing what truth is was or who should own it, there was a shocking display of that last night on MotD,” says Ian Copestake. “That headbutt thing, accidental, but in the box, etc. But then it became about the defender having touched the ball (but not first) when the ball touched him off the accidentally butted player. They were all suddenly in agreement about the truth. No penalty as he touched the ball! This is the first question to ask on any date.”

The main argument against a penalty seems to be that we hadn’t seen it before. If you applied that principle elsewhere, the population would consist entirely or virgins and humanity would be hurtling towards extinction.

54 min Walton runs right to the edge of his area to beat Robinson to a long ball. He did well to slow down and ensure he didn’t handle it outside the area.

52 min Ipswich started the second half well but now Fulham re starting to impose themselves. The weather, since you asked, is still utterly disgusting.

49 min “I’m not familiar with that Lukic character but he’s got the air of a good, old fashioned troublemaker,” writes J.R. in Illinois. “I particularly enjoyed the incident 1.5 seconds into the game as you noted. He tried blocking Delap from chasing the ball and Delap obliged in giving Lukic what he richly deserved.

“It’s a shame the darts is over as it’s a beautiful day to stay inside here in flyover country. We’re in the process of getting 4-10 inches of snow and they’ve already let us know they’re not forecasting the temperature to rise above 0° C any time for at least three weeks.

“Apparently they’re naming our winter storms after former UK prime ministers because this one is called Blair. The one I’m really dreading is when Truss comes along.”

No, no, they’re naming them after famous Lionels. The next is one is Storm Messi, then it’ll be Storm de Niceville.

48 min Davis’s precise low cross finds its way to Szmodics, 12 yards out, and he screws a first-time shot off target under pressure from Bassey. It looked like Bassey caught him but there were no appeals for a penalty.

47 min “Hi Rob, and Happy New Year!” begins a peculiarly jaunty Simon McMahon. Ah. “One of the things I enjoy most about the MBM is that it gives me an interest in teams that I otherwise would know nothing about. Like Fulham and Ipswich for example. Or Everton, who I cannot think of now without being reminded of the long suffering Mary Waltz.

“It also allows me to connect with fans of other teams, particularly so called ‘provincial’ sides like, say, Nottingham Forest. Who are of course riding high this season in third place, coincidentally like Dundee United in Scotland, who are at home to Hearts today, after consecutive wins against St. Johnstone, Aberdeen and Dundee over the festive period. It’s like the 1980s all over again. Without Brian Clough and Jim McLean of course, more’s the pity.”

It’s such a shame they didn’t meet in Europe. Imagine the colour of the air had McLean and Clough shared a touchline. There isn’t a hex code around for that shade of blue.

46 min Ipswich begin the second half, and why not.

Fulham substitution Emile Smith Rowe comes on for Issa Diop, which presumably means a return to 4-2-3-1 as below.

Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Lukic, Cairney; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez.

Half-time reading

But will he pick Chris Powell?

45 min On the Ipswich goal, I thought Robinson headed against his own bar but Sky are saying it was Johnson’s effort. The end result is the same.

44 min Iwobi’s cross from the right is headed away to the edge of the area. Wilson meets it with a sweet, technically superb volley that is headed away by Greaves. Turns out it was going wide anyway.

43 min “I hate to say I told you so,” says Richard Hirst, “but…”

Be patient young man, you’re playing well.

42 min Vincent Kompany was criticised last season for refusing to compromise Burnley’s style of play. Kieran McKenna is more of a flexible idealist, and his pragmatism is serving Ipswich extremely well right now. They beat Chelsea with around 24 per cent possession and are leading Fulham with 26 per cent.

40 min “Only ever been to Craven Cottage once,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Late 80s, Boxing Day, supporting the Mighty Shrews while I was in London. Third Division (ask your dad), everyone nicely relaxed after plenty of Christmas beer and spirits. Ground 1/4 full. Rubbish footie but who cares? Shrews take the lead, against the run of play, we jump up and down from our great seats on the halfway line, in the Bobby Moore Stand, enjoying the josh with the good natured Fulham fans.

“Policeman arrives. ‘You will have to go and join the away supporters in the segregated area at the end of the stand.’ Everyone shocked, even the Fulham fans (‘leave ‘em alone, they’re alright’), eventually it came down to me asking:

‘What if I decide not to go and sit in the segregated area?’

‘You may always choose to leave the ground if you wish, sir.’

“A sense of perspective helps in football.”

At the risk of ruining the moment with entirely needless pedantry, it wasn’t quite Boxing Day. Looks like it was 30 December 1989, which brings us back to the present day as that’s the last time Man Utd were flirting with relegation. John McGinlay scored your goal that day; I had no idea he played for Shrewsbury. Or that David Moyes was your centre-half!

39 min Broadhead is booked for a lungint tackle on Cairney. He got the ball but went in recklessly.

Delap held the ball up well on the left side of the area and found Davis. He gave pushed the ball infield to Broadhead, who teased an inviting cross to the far post. Robinson headed against his own crossbar, under considerable pressure from Johnson, and then Bassey made a horrible mess of an attempted clearance. He could only mishit the ball straight to Szmodics, who rifled it through everyone from 10 yards.

36 min Iwobi slides a return to Robinson on the left side of the area. His cutback is cut out well by Johnson, without which Wilson or Jimenez might have had a clear chance.

35 min Harry Wilson has been the brightest and most penetrative attacking player on the field so far. He still feels – and plays like – a 22-year-old, but he turns 28 in March so this is an important stage of his career.

34 min Fulham break and Wilson plays a dangerous crossfield pass that is crucially cut out by Woolfenden, running back towards goal. Without that intervention Fulham would have had an overload in the inside-left channel.

33 min Ipswich have barely crossed the halfway line for 10 minutes but a free-kick in the centre circle gives their defence a bit of a breather. That leads to their first corner of the game, but Davis’s delivery doesn’t beat the front man. Harvard-educated my foot.

28 min It was brilliant play from Wilson, who played a neat one-two with Jimenez just inside the Ipswich half and zoomed through the gap. There was a centre-back coming across, either Woolfenden or Greaves, so the on-field decision won’t be overturned. You can argue it was a clear goalscoring opportunity but not that it was a clear and obvious error.

File under Referee’s Call, also known as FURC sake.if you’re a Fulham fan.

25 min During that brief flurry a few minutes ago, Harry Wilson tried to run through Woolfenden in the area, with the ball looping up to hit his outstretched arm. There was no appeals for a penalty and no suggestion of VAR involvement, presumably for two reasons: his proximity to Wilson and the fact there was at least one ricochet.

23 min “Fitba update,” begins James Humphries. “Hibs and Rangers get a point each for a very, very silly 3-3, and in the (1430 kickoff for no reason I can tell?) game at Fir Park, mighty Well prepare for our party trick of handing three points to any team in a slump. Weather update: effing baltic.”

I lived in Orkney for five and a half years so your bones have my sympathy on a day like today.

22 min Iwobi shapes to cross, beats his man instead and whips a shot that deflects behind for a corner. This is Fulham’s best spell of pressure, by a distance.

21 min: Good save by Walton! A Fulham free-kick is half cleared and curled back into the area by Cairney. Jimenez meets it with a downward header that is well saved by Walton, plunging to his right. The header was fairly central but he had to change direction and then get down quickly. Jimenez may feel he shouldn’t have given Walton a chance.

18 min Delap holds the ball up nicely, gets it back and marches towards the edge of the Fulham area with purpose. Diop relieves him of the ball with a well-timed tackle.

16 min Lots of endeavour and purposeful passing, particularly from Fulham, but no real chances for either side yet. No imaginary ones either.

13 min The Fulham supporters break into applause in tribute to Zach Little, a 13-year-old fan who died tragically last week.

9 min Morsy clips the free-kick beyond the far post towards Davis, whose volley back across is cut out. Ipswich regain possession and Davis curls a gorgeous cross that just evades the lunging Szmodics in front of goal. Davis’s left foot has been to Harvard.

8 min Delap turns Lukic 25 yards from goal and is pulled back. Sam Morsy is over the ball…

6 min Fulham are dominating possession. They’re a nice team to watch: fluent and methodical with intelligent movement off the ball.

4 min Timothy Castagne wins the ball high up the field, a perfect excuse to dust off an old favourite.

2 min Both teams have started with a back three as expected. Szmodics is playing as the right-sided No10 for Ipswich with Broadhead on the left.

1 min Fulham, in white, kick off from left to right. Ipswich are wearing their pink change strip due to a clash between football tradition and commercial imperatives. After approximately 1.5 seconds, Delap runs straight into Lukic off the ball and sends him flying. I suspect he knew what he was doing but it wasn’t bad enough for VAR to get involved.

There are no issues with an icy pitch but it still looks like a miserable day at Craven Cottage; the TV cameras are dotted with rainy freckles.

A reminder of the teams

Fulham (possible 3-4-2-1) Leno; Diop, Andersen, Bassey; Castagne, Cairney, Lukic, Robinson; Wilson, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Substitutes: Benda, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Pereira, King, Smith Rowe, Traore, Godo, Muniz.

Ipswich (possible 3-4-2-1) Walton, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Johnson, Morsy, Cajuste, Davis; Szmodics, Broadhead; Delap.
Substitutes: Muric, H Clarke, Burgess, Townsend, Phillips, Taylor, Burns, J Clarke, Al-Hamadi.

Referee Darren Bond.

Kieran McKenna has confirmed that Omari Hutchinson injured his groin during the win over Chelsea. Conor Chaplin is also unavailable so Sam Szmodics or Nathan Broadhead will play as the right-sided No10.

“This is a tasty-looking match,” says Jeremy Boyce, “should win v must win. Fulham can coat-tail Villa and City with three points today, while for all their recent heroics, the Tractors are still in deep doo-doo.

“Win today and they leapfrog Wolves and Everton out of the drop zone. Lose today and that will add to the pressure on their future programme. Players on both sides making waves with their great performances (Robinson/Delap), may the better team win! (Or possibly settle for a point.)”

“It’s all very well talking about Fulham’s aspirations,” says Richard Hirst, “but this is Fulham we’re talking about.

“Record this season:
Versus top five W3 D2 L0 Pts 11
Versus bottom five W1 D3 L1 Pts 6

“How Fulhamish is that? And where are Ipswich in the table? So what is the likely outcome?”

You’re a big man, and you’re in good shape