Asked if he felt his side were now certain of a play-off place given that they are now 12 points

General — October 13, 2010 at 4:54

Asked if he felt his side were now certain of a play-off place, given that they are now 12 points clear of the side in seventh place – Norwich – Pardew replied: “We are not safe yet but we have got ourselves into a fantastic position.”Although Norwich began brightly, they soon had to give best to a side which restricted them to just one real chance in this match. That came seven minutes into the second half when a cross by Phil Mulryne offered Steen Nedergaard a clear header which he directed tamely into the goalkeeper’s arms. For Norwich, it summed up a night of unremitting frustration.Norwich City (4-4-2): Green; Nedergaard, Kenton, Mackay, Drury; Rivers, Mulryne, Holt, Easton (Russell, 82); Abbey, McVeigh (Nielsen, 75). Substitutes not used: Crichton (gk), Roberts, Bromby.Reading (4-4-1-1): Hahnemann; Murty, Mackie, Williams (Viveash, 37), Shorey; Chadwick, Sidwell, Harper, Tyson (Salako, 78); Hughes; Forster (Henderson, 90).

Substitutes not used: Ashdown (gk), Watson.Referee: S Baines (Derbyshire).. Just as it seemed promotion-chasing Wolves had claimed the three points that would have given the look of real permanence to their place in the top six, they were set back on their heels by a late Ipswich equaliser that just about keeps the Suffolk side in the hunt for a play-off place. Once fourth from bottom, they have now lost only twice in their last 13 First Division games.Had they beaten Wolves at home two weeks ago, Royle’s team would themselves have secured a top-six place, which gave them particular reason to seek to avenge a 4-2 defeat.However, they seldom looked like troubling the home side until the closing stages as the only thing lacking from a vibrant Wolves performance was a convincing finish.Even though they had to replace the injury-prone George Ndah, one of the scorers at Portman Road, with a long-term absentee, Nathan Blake, who lacked match fitness after a four-month lay-off, Wolves’ movement and passing were impressively slick. However, Blake, Kenny Miller, Colin Cameron and Mark Kennedy all wasted chances to make their dominance count.Within three minutes of the restart, however, Wolves were in front, Ince demonstrating that at least he could finish, controlling his former Manchester United team-mate Denis Irwin’s pass from the right before smashing the ball past Andy Marshall from 12 yards.As an attacking force, Ipswich had been almost anonymous, but Naylor stunned the home side after only two minutes on the field when he headed home from his fellow substitute Martin Reuser’s free-kick. Indeed, they might have stolen victory had Wolves’ keeper Matt Murray not scrambled away another Reuser strike in stoppage time.Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-4-2): Murray; Irwin, Butler, Lescott, L Naylor; Newton, Ince, Cameron, Kennedy; K Miller (Sturridge, 80), Blake (Proudlock, 63).

Substitutes not used: Oakes (gk), Clyde, Rae.Ipswich Town (3-4-1-2): Marshall; Holland, Gaardsoe, Makin; Wilnis (R Naylor, 82), T Miller, Wright, Richards; Magilton (Bowditch, h-t); Bent, Ambrose (Reuser, 80). Substitutes not used: Pullen (gk), Abidallah.Referee: M Jones (Chester).. Sven Goran Eriksson has revealed that Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and David Beckham are the irreplaceable spine of his England team and will not be dropped under almost any circumstances. He is determined to build strong foundations for his team, irrespective of dips in form, as he looks to take England to the Euro 2004 finals.England’s next qualifiers are in Liechtenstein on 29 March and at home to Turkey on 2 April and they have also added a friendly international against Serbia and Montenegro on 3 June at Leicester, before the home qualifier against Slovakia on 11 June at Middlesbrough.”In every great team you need to have a base,” Eriksson said. “You can’t change 11 players every time you come to pick a squad because then you will have no continuity.