FOLLOWING our midweek trip to the farthest north at the Riverside on the banks of the River Tees, it was an early-morning start for our trip to the farthest south at Portman Road on the banks of the River Orwell.

The long journey was made more comfortable as Tyrer’s treated us to their new £half-million luxury double-decker bus. The M6 closure for bridge removal meant a journey across the M62 and down the A1, with a pit stop for an Ed’s big breakfast at Peterborough Services.

Pre-match we congregated in the Station Hotel for our deliberations, well lubricated by the excellent Platform 9 ale.

It’s been another eventful week with the sad news of Stephen Darby’s enforced retirement and the heart-warming confirmation that Eddie Davies had been backing the club right up to the very end. The team news caused a stir when it came through with the exclusion of David Wheater and Mark Beevers and the inclusion of two wide men, Craig Noone and William Buckley, and our Little Messi, Erhun Oztumer.

It looked like we were going on the front foot. We did until a very debatable decision, straight out of the Barry Knight School of Refereeing, thwarted Phil Parkinson’s bold attacking plans. Kayden Jackson flung himself to the floor as Marc Wilson ran alongside him.

The referee bought it and the inevitable red card followed.

Big Wheats came on as Little Messi was sacrificed. We regrouped and battled our way to a well-earned and well-deserved point in the end.

Ben Alnwick produced a magnificent save late on to the applause of both sets of fans. At times, it was difficult to tell who was a man short, before Ipswich were also reduced to 10 men as late substitute and ex-Wanderer Jonathan Walters went off injured.

We’ll happily take a point on the road at any time, so there was plenty to smile about as we faced further road closures on the M62 on the way home, to complete a 17-hour round trip.

We’ve had a decent start and most fans would accept 12 points from the first nine games as better than we expected before the season started.

It looks like a very even Championship this year and we’re looking like we can hold our own but it’s going to be a long, hard battle ahead.