Ten-man Ipswich Town denied first Premier League victory by stoppage-time equaliser from Leicester City substitute Jordan Ayew after Leif Davis stunning volley
Ipswich Town were denied a first Premier League victory with a stoppage-time equaliser as the Blues drew 1-1 with Leicester City at Portman Road.
Jordan Ayew’s 94th-minute goal marked a late blow for Town, whose winless start to the season continues after 10 matches.
It looked as though Leif Davis’s excellent volley on his 100th Town appearance would be the difference as he fired home early in the second half, but a sending off to Kalvin Phillips allowed the Foxes a route back into the contest.
Late drama had become commonplace between the two sides last season, but it was the Foxes on the end of jubilation on this occasion to leave Town in the bottom three.
Town made four changes from last weekend’s defeat at Brentford, with Kieran McKenna able to recall on the services of captain Sam Morsy and record signing Omari Hutchinson.
Ben Johnson also returned as Jens Cajuste dropped out along with the suspended Harry Clarke and injured Chiedozie Ogbene.
Liam Delap replaced George Hirst up front, with Massimo Luongo back from an ankle problem to be named among the substitutes.
Despite injury concerns, Abdul Fatawu was passed fit to start for Leicester as Steve Cooper made two changes from their last league outing against Nottingham Forest last Friday.
James Justin and Caleb Okoli dropped out of the Foxes defence, with Victor Kristiansen and Jannik Vestergaard both returning in their place.
The first key moment of the game was a big one and went the way of the visitors. Jamie Vardy utilised his trademark pace to meet Wilfred Ndidi’s threaded ball through and, after thinking of shooting, cut it back for the Stephy Mavididi who completely scuffed the effort when he looked likely to score.
Fatawu saw a curling effort towards the far corner clawed away for a first save of the match by Aro Muric before the Suffolk side had a spell of their own.
Hutchinson dispossessed Vestergaard high up the field and crossed for Sammie Szmodics, who headed over the top of the crossbar.
Delap was getting himself up for the action as Conor Chaplin drilled just wide of the near post with a low strike after drifting centrally from the right.
Then came Leicester. Facundo Buonanotte danced his way through the Town defence on the edge of the area, eventually the deflected shot was one-handedly slapped away by Muric.
Phillips and Dara O’Shea both had shots blocked in one move as a Blues corner routine was well-worked, moments before Buonanotte was booked for delaying the restart.
Hutchinson was looking extremely lively playing on the right and was at the heart of most of Town’s attacks. He and Chaplin couldn’t capitalise on some excellent work from Delap to turn his man in midfield and send the Blues on their way.
As the half-hour mark ticked over, McKenna’s men were on top. O’Shea missed a glaring opportunity at the back post when he got his header all wrong after being left unmarked from a corner.
Chaplin was next to try his luck, shooting wide on one occasion before going even closer on the next when looking to fire one into the top corner, missing by a mere matter of inches.
The Blues were well in the ascendancy as the half neared its conclusion in front of a raucous home crowd, with Johnson looking to place a first-time strike into the top corner. His accurate connection ensured Mads Hermansen needed to deal with it.
Phillips was booked for a late challenge on Buonanotte in what was the final action of a promising Town half without any goals to show for it.
But the Blues would have a goal to show for their efforts 10 minutes after the break in spectacular style. Ricardo Pereira misread the flight of Morsy’s diagonal ball to Davis, allowing the full-back to volley home.
The excellent first-time finish clipped the post on its way beyond the reach of Hermansen before Davis was joined by his teammates in celebration, Portman Road having erupted as the net rippled.
Despite falling behind, Mavididi showed his frustrations by throwing the ball away, which earned him a booking from referee Tim Robinson.
Looking to break at pace, Vardy found Harry Winks on the edge of the area. After having plenty of time to pick his spot, Muric parried clear the midfielder’s strike on goal.
McKenna turned to his bench for the first time to replace Szmodics and Delap with Jack Clarke and former Foxes striker Hirst.
With 76 minutes on the clock, there was a flashpoint. Davis’s free-kick was whipped towards O’Shea, whose header was blocked before Hirst could not follow up the loose ball.
Chaplin appealed for a penalty in the aftermath, but Phillips was shown a second yellow card moments later for a foul on Pereira.
Hutchinson and Chaplin were replaced by Wes Burns and Cajuste for the final 10 minutes, then Muric gathered Fatawu’s cross which had been aimed towards Kristiansen.
Chaplin, Muric, Cajuste and Hirst were all shown yellow cards within a few minutes of each other for various infringements as Town looked to preserve their lead.
Cameron Burgess came to the Blues’ rescue with a sensational piece of defending with 87 minutes on the clock. On his 100th start for the club, the Australia international cleared off the line after Ayew’s clipped effort had beaten Muric and looked as though it had found the net following a surging run from Buonanotte.
Muric denied Buonanotte from a powerful shot in the first of eight added minutes, but Town would eventually fall to the Foxes pressure four minutes into stoppage time.
Ayew had only been on the field a matter of minutes but his neat one-two with Vardy created the opening, slotting into the net to equalise at the death.
The goalscorer saw a shot blocked afterwards as the visitors piled on the pressure in search of a winner, but the spoils were shared in Suffolk to leave Town inside the relegation zone.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Muric; Davis, Burgess, O’Shea, Johnson; Phillips, Morsy (c); Szmodics (J. Clarke 74), Chaplin (Cajuste 80), Hutchinson (Burns 80); Delap (Hirst 74). Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Townsend, Luongo, Broadhead.
Booked: Phillips (2), Chaplin, Muric, Cajuste, Hirst.
Sent Off: Phillips.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1):Hermansen; Kristiansen (Ayew 86), Vestergaard, Faes, Pereira (El Khannouss 80); Winks, Ndidi (Soumare 71); Mavididi (McAteer 71), Buonanotte, Fatawu; Vardy (c). Subs: Ward, Justin, Coady, Okoli, Skipp.
Booked: Buonanotte, Mavididi.
Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).
Attendance: 29,874 (2,991 Leicester).
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Omari Hutchinson.The Blues’ £20m signing from Chelsea started on the right for the first time this season and showed exactly the quality he can produce in wide areas. Was involved in so much going forwards, particularly in the first half, giving Leicester left-back Kristiansen a tough time.
