Aberdeen 1-3 Ipswich Town match report: Jaden Philogene scores twice in Tractor Boys’ friendly victory at Scottish Premiership hosts

Jaden Philogene scored twice as Ipswich Town won 3-1 in their second public pre-season friendly of the summer against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

The Blues winger, returning from a knee injury that ended last season prematurely, netted once in each half from his favoured left-sided role – a position he has previously found difficult to nail down in a Town shirt.

His first was a simple finish after George Hirst and Sammie Szmodics had outnumbered the Dons in their own penalty area following a moment of intense pressure on the home defence.

Philogene’s second was a cool finish through the gloves of Dimitar Mitov after Leif Davis, playing inverted into midfield for much of his time on the pitch, had played him through.

His two goals sandwiched another pre-season strike for Hirst, the Scotland striker finding the net in front of the watching eyes of his international supporters as the Blues put in a strong performance north of the border.

Peter Ambrose was on target for the Scottish side late on after Cedric Kipre’s heroic efforts on the line to deny Nicolas Milanovic were in vain.

Town return to action closer to home on Tuesday evening against fellow Championship side Charlton Athletic at the JobServe Community Stadium in Colchester.

The Suffolk side’s pre-season schedule sees them play four public matches in four different nations, with a Friday evening trip to Aberdeen the latest on the list that also sees a visit to France before the big kick off in two weeks time.

The Dons, returning to their home stadium for the first time since lifting the Scottish Cup in May, proved stern opposition in the opening stages in front of an admirable atmosphere inside Pittodrie.

But after negotiating a 20-minute spell in which Alex Palmer saved well from Alexander Jensen, the Blues came into their own.

High press was a common theme of the first half. Not only was it the source of Philogene’s opening goal, but Hirst went close moments later after Jack Clarke had won the ball high up the pitch.

Town continued to look strong, Hirst getting his latest pre-season goal and Philogene doubling his tally either side of half-time before Kieran McKenna opted to change the entire XI on 67 minutes.

Despite new personnel, the Blues’ level did not appear to drop drastically following the changes, with the only disappointment being the loss of a clean sheet with Ambrose’s consolation.

During last weekend’s friendly in Austria against Blau-Weiß Linz, Town boss McKenna named two separate XIs in each half, which appeared to be a mix and match of expected starters and impact substitutes.

But from the moment team news dropped at Pittodrie, there was a sense that we may have caught a glimpse of the Blues best lineup at this stage of pre-season.

Jacob Greaves and interim captain Dara O’Shea was the chosen partnership at the centre of defence while Jack Clarke, Szmodics, Philogene was the trio behind the striker in the absence of the in-demand Omari Hutchinson.

As became notable last week, Clarke was deployed on the right and Philogene on the left, and both were impactful.

Departed skipper Sam Morsy’s obvious replacement Azor Matusiwa again impressed in midfield, anchoring the back four efficiently to sweep up the Dons threat on the counter-attack.

On evidence from the performance in Scotland, it would not be a surprise to see the side that lines up at Birmingham City in a fortnight’s time look very close to this one.

Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Palmer (Walton 67); Davis (Townsend 67), Greaves (Baggott 67), O’Shea (c) (Kipre 67), Johnson (Woolfenden 67); Taylor (Humphreys 67), Matusiwa (H Clarke 67); Philogene (Broadhead 67), Szmodics (Chaplin 67), J Clarke (Ogbene 67); Hirst (Al-Hamadi 67). Subs: Button, Barbrook.