LONDON, May 14 - Ipswich Town came from two goals
down to draw 2-2 away to West Ham United and take the upper hand
in their promotion playoff semi-final on Saturday.
West Ham, looking to return to the Premier League after two
seasons out of the top flight, made a storming start to the
first leg at Upton Park with two goals in the opening 13
minutes.
Matthew Etherington raced down the left wing and cut the
ball back, low into the middle past diving keeper Kelvin Davis
and the unmarked Marlon Harewood turned it home after seven
minutes.
Etherington's wing play again provided the punch for West
Ham to go two up in the 13th minute, his low cross deflected at
the near post into the path of Bobby Zamora who shot into the
bottom far corner.
Ipswich pulled one back with an own goal by West Ham keeper
James Walker from a free kick seconds before halftime for a foul
by Tomas Repka on Shefki Kuqi. Tommy Miller's free kick from
just outside the box was deflected by the wall on to the post
and the rebound went in off the grounded Walker's leg.
Davis made a breathtaking save from an Anton Ferdinand
header on the hour to prevent West Ham from regaining a two-goal
lead.
With 16 minutes to go, Kuqi equalised with his 20th goal of
the season, blasting home a high ball from close range with
Walker and Ferdinand getting in each other's way.
The two sides meet again in the second leg at Ipswich's
Portman Road ground on Wednesday. They are vying for a place in
the final against the winners of the tie between Derby County
and Preston North End, whose first leg is on Sunday.