Match Report: Ipswich Town 0-0 Watford

Tom Cleverley extended his impressive record as Watford's interim head coach to five games without defeat after his team managed to hold the title-contenders Ipswich Town to a goalless stalemate.

The guests prevented the top goal scorers of the Sky Bet Championship from scoring on their own turf at Portman Road, which prevented the Tractor Boys from becoming the leaders of the league.

At the conclusion of each half, Watford had to be very careful not to concede, but they also had periods of dominance. Cleverley's squad demonstrated once more that they have the ability to play at the same level as the league's top-performing teams.

Cleverley has won only one match and drawn four so far. In the last game, Watford came close to a spectacular win when Edo Kayembe almost scored from a long-range shot during added time.

Cleverley decided to switch up his team after their previous match where they tied 0-0 against Preston North End. He made two changes, including Mattie Pollock in the defense instead of Francisco Sierralta.

Giorgi Chakvetadze started in the match, which resulted in Emmanuel Dennis being substituted to the bench.

Yaser Asprilla made an impressive effort to score at the seven-minute mark by noticing that Ipswich goalie Vaclav Hladky was away from his position. However, his shot from slightly inside the middle of the field missed the target by a wide margin.

On the opposing side, Wesley Hoedt executed a crucial slide tackle and dispossessed Omari Hutchinson just as he was about to take a shot.

Harry Clarke did some impressive work which led to Kieffer Moore's flick to Nathan Broadhead. Broadhead then hit a powerful shot that made Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann dive low to make a save.

Chakvetadze, who played his first match since contributing to Georgia's qualification for Euro 2024, had a strong start to the game and advanced confidently with the ball.

He managed to locate Vakoun Bayo, however, Cameron Burgess deflected the shot from the Ivorian player and resulted in going behind.

Hutchinson was displaying just as much energy for the home team. He managed to dart around a few obstacles with a skillful dribble, making his way into the penalty area. Despite his best efforts, the Watford defense managed to hold their ground and prevent a score.

Ipswich had a great opportunity on the 27th minute due to a slip-up by Ryan Porteous. This mistake allowed Kayden Jackson to dash down the right wing and potentially score.

Jackson passed the ball to Moore who immediately took a shot and missed the goal by a narrow margin.

Chakvetadze managed to steal the ball from Sam Morsy on the opposite side of the field. Following this, Lewis received the ball and sent a cross towards the goal, which was eventually caught by Hladký.

Broadhead had a chance to take a shot from the edge of the field, but unfortunately, he shot directly at Bachmann. There were many opportunities throughout the game for Broadhead to score.

A little while later, he moved nearer to the goal when he hit a low shot that grazed and got past the Watford goalie, hitting the upright.

The ball had countless possible directions to go towards, but the Hornets managed to make it through as it moved along the edge of the goal and far from any source of harm.

Ipswich team was doing well and Jack Taylor had a chance to shoot, but his shot hit Broadhead before reaching the goal.

Morsy swiftly took a free-kick and shot the ball towards the group of players, but Bachmann managed to save it.

As the game neared its halfway mark, the opposing team continued to make efforts to score. Bachmann skillfully blocked a powerful header from Moore, who is known for his strong headers, after receiving a well-placed cross from Clarke.

Watford managed to survive the difficult period of the game to reach halftime without conceding any goals. In the second half, the match turned into an exciting back-and-forth as both teams took opportunities to launch attacks.

Morsy missed the goal by a significant margin when he received a poorly executed pass from Bayo. Then, Asprilla's powerful kick caught Hladký off guard, making him drop the ball even though the shot was directed towards him.

Chakvetadze missed the target by kicking the ball high, causing Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna to decide to replace three players at once.

Ipswich couldn't regain control over the match again, like they had at the end of the first half, thanks to Watford's strong possession. However, they still needed Pollock to make a great block to prevent Hutchinson from scoring.

As Cleverley made his first substitution by bringing on Chakvetadze, Ismaël Koné was also brought in. The Canadian player got an opportunity to create an impact after a brief corner but unfortunately ran out of play.

Lewis made Hladký have to use his hands to keep the ball from going into the goal from his shot. Koné was unable to get control of the ball after the rebound and make a goal.

Ipswich has gained a reputation for scoring goals late in games this season. As the normal match time was coming to an end, Ipswich started to gain momentum. Ryan Andrews cleared a potential goal from a scrum in front of the net, while the firm and dependable Pollock halted a shot from Massimo Luongo.

Afterwards, Bayo made an offensive substitution, bringing in Dennis. However, Pollock was forced to make a defensive play once again, sliding in to deflect Ali Al-Hamadi's shot out of bounds.

Tom Ince came on to replace Asprilla during the 4 minutes of stoppage time. Leif Davis attempted a free kick but it went out of play and didn't cause any danger. The Ipswich fans were becoming increasingly worried.

As Watford worked hard to prevent the home team from scoring, the away team came close to winning in a very thrilling situation.

Kayembe made a powerful and long hit from far away which unintentionally curved towards Hladký's goal. The goalie had to hastily move backward and use his hands to prevent the ball from going in.

Although it wasn't the perfect outcome, the Hornets can still find encouragement in the fact that they are one of only two teams to prevent Ipswich from scoring on their home turf this year.