Perhaps it is appropriate Ipswich should meet their match against a team sharing similar ideals to their own.

As careful exponents of the passing game will testify, George Burley's sides have done much to embrace the romantic notion of Total Football.

But, against a well-organised, well-drilled Dutch team, the footballing team of the English First Division came painfully unstuck.

Although FC Twente are far removed from their more famous adversaries in Holland, Ajax, their slick passing game was more than enough to punish the Blues.

Quite what Burley will have learned from this exercise is hard to tell.

In the context of this season's league campaign, they are unlikely to come up against a side as accomplished - or playing in the same manner - as this.

Playing with three central midfielders, the impressive Arjan van der Laan was at the hub of every Twente move and he was behind the door for the visitors opener.

His corner kick, after 24 minutes, was headed beyond Richard Wright by striker Jan Hesselink.

A goal down and the damage was done. The second - courtesy of a perfectly-executed pass behind the defence by van der Laan - completed the move of the match.

Former Aberdeen striker Scot Booth, recently signed from Borussia Dortmund, impudently headed past Wright and the game was up.

It might seem bizarre that Ipswich's first pre-season defeat should come against a side in the same mould as themselves.

But the real surprise was the reaction of the players to their first serious test.

The passing game was dispensed with and Blues resorted to long, hopeful punts into their opponents' half.

Whether Burley intends to mix and match his team's style remains to be seen. Their best chances came from direct balls but David Johnson spurned a string of opportunities.

He has an uncanny ability to home in on partner Jamie Scowcroft's flick-ons but his record of finishing does much to blight his reputation.

Triallist Romeo Wouden - touted as the Flying Dutchman when he arrived from Sparta Rotterdam - never got going on the wing.

Frozen out of play on the left he hardly got a touch of the ball and Burley put him out of his misery by hauling him off at half time.

Such was the disappointment with his performance, the joke at the time was the substitution was made to give Wouden time to change and get on the coach back to his native Holland with the FC Twente squad.

Richard Naylor, on as a 68th substitute for Fabian Wilnis, scored Town's consolation, stabbing the ball home from a rebound after his initial effort was blocked.

Not the ideal result, but Burley can console himself with the fact that, these days, the Dutch masters are reserved for friendlies.

Ipswich: Wright R, Wilnis (Naylor 68), Clapham, Thetis, Venus, Stockwell, Holland, Johnson (Axeldal 82), Scowcroft , Wright J, Wouden (Brown h/t).

Fabian Wilnis in Ipswich's clash with Dutch team FC Twente

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