Proving a point can be a satisfying to say the least.
That was exactly what Ipswich Town and their goalscoring heroes did at Portman Road on Saturday against Watford.
Lamented for their lack of firepower this season, the Blues turned in a four-star show to chalk up their first league double of the campaign.
Richard Naylor and Marcus Bent celebrated their returns from injury with cracking goals, while Pablo Counago and Tommy Miller staked claims for regular first-team starts.
The only blip on an otherwise encouraging afternoon was leaking two goals, both of which should have been averted.
Town were simply awesome in front of goal, stinging the Hornets with a flurry of goals and lifting the gloom around Portman Road.
Watford fought back to 2-1 and 3-2 but both times the Blues responded in style, eventually putting the game out of reach.
Counago and Naylor were paired up front in place of Alun Armstrong and Darren Bent, having helped turn the course of the game at Brighton on Tuesday.
And the duo responded with top-drawer goals apiece.
Miller, likewise, was restored to the line-up after being openly frustrated by his lack of first-team chances under Royle.
And it was his majestic 25-yard strike which set the tone for the afternoon after 24 minutes.
Jamie Clapham fed him from the left and Miller took one touch before lashing a venomous shot past Alec Chamberlain.
Naylor grabbed the second goal but the real hero was architect Counago.
He slid in to dispossess Neal Ardley deep in his own half, eventually pumping the ball forward for the injury-plagued striker to latch on to and slot home.
Watford pulled a goal back when Tommy Smith latched on to Heidar Hulguson's nodded pass and despatched his shot past Andy Marshall.
But Counago then turned from provider to poacher, stabbing home from close range after Chamberlain had parried a low shot by Miller.
Watford rallied again, Neil Cox evading the attentions of Marcus Bent to head home a corner by Ardley.
But it was the Ipswich striker who enjoyed the last laugh, twisting past Cox to send a crisp left-foot volley beyond Chamberlain after 87 minutes.
Published Monday, December 16, 2002
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