Joe Day's impressive keeping ensures AFC Wimbledon hold Ipswich Town

AFC Wimbledon 0 Ipswich Town 0

AFC Wimbledon were happy to settle for a point against promotion-chasing Ipswich after a largely bloodless encounter at Kingsmeadow,

The Dons saw far less of the ball than the visitors and put together few moments of genuine danger – they did not manage a single shot on target over 90 minutes - but they defended well when they had to, with keeper Joe Day a reassuring presence throughout.

It means that Glyn Hodges’ men have still only won once in 2020 but it is another point which keeps them ahead of the bottom three by six points – Tranmere, the team immediately below them in the drop zone, also being held to a goalless draw in their home match with Bristol Rovers.

In an eminently forgettable first half, the Dons had to make do with scraps of possession, with Ipswich looking the slightly better side.

Even with the extra time on the ball, the visitors did not make especially good use of it and it was not until the very end of the opening 45 minutes that they came close to breaking the deadlock.

Emyr Huws blasted just wide from a tapped free-kick from distance, then James Norwood crashed a shot against the underside of the bar from the ensuing corner.

Day, whose handling in the air was a feature of the match, made a fine diving save early in the second half to keep out a powerful shot from inside the area by Norwood, as the Tractor Boys cranked up the menace, and the keeper was called into action again to deny the Town striker after Callum Reilly had given the ball away in a dangerous position.

It took a long time for home fans to have much to cheer – a blocked Mitch Pinnock volley stirring some noise in the 75th minute after Shane McLoughlin;s cross from the right had been knocked back into the danger zone by Paul Osew, who put in a good shift down the left flank.

Tony Hartigan got his angles all wrong with another half-chance that came Wimbledon’s way, but it continued to look like a game Ipswich might steal, and only flying dive to his left by Day prevented sub Will Keane from finding the net with a sharp volley on the turn.

Day made another save to keep out a free-kick from sub Freddie Sears late on and he did most to ensure the Dons would come away with a point.

Line up: Day – O’Neill, Thomas, McDonald – McLoughlin, Hartigan, Sanders (Rudoni 86, Reilly (Wagstaff 70), Osew – Pinnock, Pigott. Subs not used: Trott, Roscow, Lamy, Guinness-Walker, Wood