That was a car crash. Now a right 'Royals' one after last night…

Just when Alf thought it was safe to look upwards, Town produced a second-half horror show that will have sent shivers down the backs of everyone at IP1.

Reading did no-one any favours either last night.

Out-gunned, out-fought and worryingly out-thought, Ipswich capitulated into a sorry clueless heap… against the side bottom of the table.

Add the fact that Town don’t seem to have a second-half in them and it’s time to step up to the plate marked ‘trouble’.

On paper ‘Peterborough (a)’ looked the easier of the four games away from the comforts of Portman Road.

Wrong.

As Town head north for Sheffield Wednesday and Scunthorpe, Messrs Clegg and Evans will be two very anxious passengers onboard Keane’s bandwagon.

Hands up, Alf didn’t see the carnage coming.

When the whistle blew for half-time, Town were in the driving seat, 1-0 up – Posh looked woefully out-numbered in the middle of the park and everything was right with the near 3,000 travelling Town fans.

Boisterous and making a rare appearance on a terrace, the Town faithful were in good voice and spirits.

Rather ominously a couple of flares had been smuggled into the ground, sparking general confusion in the stewards ranks leaving the barely audible tannoy announcer to launch ‘Operation Foxtrot’.

Presumably that was Peterborough code for ‘****!’

If only they’d realised that it was the away fan’s cry for help. HMS ITFC was heading for the rocks.

And it all started so well.

Daryl Murphy fired Town into the lead with his third goal in three games. Town dominated the home side and had the midfield all to themselves.

Town missed their usual set of chances to seal the game – but that’s par for the course following Ipswich. Alf, the fans and team were in the comfort zone.

That was until late in the half when Posh manager Gannon changed to packing the midfield and taking off the local pin-up boy, Mackail-Smith.

Tactical nous? Or he remembered that Town don’t do second halves?

Either way, fortune favours the brave and tactically Town were out-done.

Still come the half-time whistle the only two things were at the back of Alf’s mind were – Town always need a second and where are the toilets?

He did not see the on-coming tree.

What followed was a car crash of a second-half.

As eye-witness to the accident, Alf didn’t have the perfect view. Row A in a corner of a ground steeped in post-war heritage.

Lucky Alf, I hear some of you say. To watch the full horror of it all unfurling would have needed one cushion and a sofa to hide behind.

Come the second-half and the home side started with a large flea in their ear. Town’s boat immediately began to creak.

Posh won a free-kick and Dickinson curled the ball round the Town wall to draw level.

From that moment Town switched the sat-nav off, found a gear marked ‘clueless’ and went into their shells, leaving the home side the freedom and space to run the game.

Frecklington shot Posh into a deserved lead, whilst Lee-Barrett in the Town goal kept Town, in theory at least, in the game.

In reality this was text-book capitulation.

Town’s response failed to register. Keane made changes with no impact. Posh answered with a third.

Alf and the faithful watched stunned.

Someone in the know said to Alf the other day that you get the smell of a side in relegation trouble.

Certainly QPR had a whiff about them.

Well on that performance, Alf’s mob need to change their pants, socks and bath with a good soap twice a day.

We’re in trouble. Deal with it.