Page 3 - Josh Carson News Today

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Josh Carson were on target as Towns reserves drew 2-2 at Chelsea this afternoon. Romelu Lukaku and Philipp Prosenik netted for the Premier League side in the behind-closed-doors friendly at their Cobham training ground.

Manager Roy Keane says academy midfielder Billy Clark made a tackle he would have been proud of himself during Wednesday’s

Towns U18s were beaten 2-0 by Charlton Athletic at Playford Road this morning. The Blues ended the game with 10 men after Northern Irish U17 international midfielder Josh Carson was shown a straight red card in the 85th minute for a wild lunge.

Andy Drury replacing the injured Luke Hyam is the only change to Mick McCarthy’s side taking on Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium today. The 21-year-old midfielder suffered a calf injury in the victory over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and didn’t travel with the squad.

Blues boss Paul Jewell says he wants to add another central defender to his squad due to the number of injuries his centre-halves have suffered this season. Ibrahima Sonko is currently sidelined with a hamstring tear, while Damien Delaney recently underwent surgery on a stress fracture to his foot and Ívar Ingimarsson missed much of August and September with a thigh problem.

Loanee defender Darren O’Dea has been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland squad for their friendly against Norway in Dublin on Wednesday. The Celtic man was named in the preliminary squad but Town were in talks with the FAI regarding his inclusion in the final party.

Town’s top-of-the-table U23s face Cardiff City at Portman Road this afternoon with Teddy Bishop returning to action after his hamstring injury (KO 1pm).

New manager Mick McCarthy appears unlikely to make many dramatic changes as he goes into his first game as Blues boss at Birmingham City on Saturday. McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor officially took over at Portman Road yesterday and haven’t had too much time to work with their new players.

Boss Paul Jewell bemoaned his side’s susceptibility on the counter-attack after losing 4-1 at Millwall. The Blues manager hit out at some of his players for failing to do their jobs.

Caretaker-manager Chris Hutchings expects there to be a “few feathers flying” at Portman Road on Saturday as table-propping Town look to win their first home game since March against Sheffield Wednesday, who are one place above them in the Championship. The 55-year-old says both sides are currently fighting for their lives.