IPSWICH TOWN
Upton Park
2 - 2 (Byrne 41', Boyce 61')
30 August 1963
Att: 27,599

Standen

Kirkup

Burkett

Peters

Brown

Moore

Brabrook

Boyce

Byrne

Hurst

Scott

The heavy rain that fell until about an hour before kick-off time undoubtedly affected the attendance on our first Friday evening fixture of the season, and it was apparent from the number of " late arrivals " that many did not decide to make their way to the Boleyn Ground until they saw a slight improvement in the weather. This in turn caused some traffic problems, and the visiting Ipswich Town team actually changed in their coach en route to the ground, as it took them about 75 minutes to travel down from Liverpool Street Station.
Such a hurried arrival could well have had an adverse effect on their play, and from the heavy pressure we put on them in the first half we appeared to be well on the way to our second victory of the season. In fact the margin in our favour at half-time was unexpectedly small, as we were worthy of more than a solitary goal. Even that lone tally took us 39 minutes to achieve, though it was well worth waiting for as Johnny Byrne's pile-driver inside the far post came at the end of a beautiful move in which Peter Brabrook and Tony Scott had a leading part. But as we had created several similar opportunities prior to that it was somewhat disappointing to see only this one accepted.                                    
This was to a large extent due to the " defensive wall" erected by the Town, who often had ten of their men in the penalty-area; but despite this we carved several openings with delightful play that should have ended with the desired finish.
The persistency of the visitors in their sporadic raids was eventually rewarded when Billy Baxter headed home the ball after an indirect free-kick four yards from our goal, but when we restored our margin seven minutes later it once more looked heavy odds on an eventual Hammers' victory. Again several players contributed to the move which was finished off by Ron Boyce, and the team-work of our XI was a real delight to watch. Unfortunately our dreams were shattered when Ted Phillips sent in one of the drives which kept him among the leading scorers in past seasons, and we were never quite the same after this second equaliser.
It would be churlish to begrudge the Suffolk club their point, for we really only had ourselves to blame for not making the game safe earlier on, and the "never-say-die" efforts of the opposition were worthy of some reward. It was a disappointment not to win, but it was a reflection of the interest of the exchanges that everyone was on edge until the final whistle of a very interesting match.
The 27,599 attendance was favourably comparable with what we might have expected here had the match been played on a Saturday, and we are sure that it would have topped the 30,000-mark on a less inclement evening.