Tottenham Hotspur 1 Ipswich Town 2: Pink Ed Sheeran kit hits the winning note in front of superstar sponsor to end long wait for first Premier League victory
Ipswich Town fans saw their first Premier League arrive with a 2-1 scoreline at Tottenham Hotspur – with Suffolk superstar Ed Sheeran looking on as his pink kit hit the right note on its first outing.
Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap were both on target in the first half to stun the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Town carried a lead into the interval for the first time this season.
And Kieran McKenna’s side, who had been the last remaining club without a victory in the Premier League this season, this time benefited from VAR, which had seen to conspire against them prior to today, as Dominic Solanke had a goal rightly ruled out for offside and a check on Leif Davis’ handball passed.
Rodrigo Bentancur did pull one back in the 69th minute with a header from a corner to heighten the anxiety in the away end and back in Suffolk, but this time there was to be no late heartbreak as the boys in pink penned their own love letter to their supporters.
The victory, a first in 11 attempts, saw Town climb out of the relegation zone at the expense of Crystal Palace to sign off on the perfect note heading into the November international break, ahead of the little task of hosting a Manchester United side with a new manager at the helm in just under two weeks time.
Tuanzebe makes surprise return
The big news on the teamsheet ahead of kick-off for the away fans was the surprise inclusion of Axel Tuanzebe, having heard pre-match he was not anticipated to be ready to be considered following his washing up laceration injury until after the international break.
The former Manchester United defender, who had started the season so promisingly at full-back
Town, in their pink shirts, started brightly with good work from Omari Hutchinson setting up an opportunity for Sammie Szmodics to get ahead of Pedro Porro to poke a near-post shot that Guglielmo Vicario turned out for a corner.
From the Leif Davis delivery, Dara O’Shea steered a header towards goal but it appeared to deflect wide off a Spurs player with only a goal-kick given.
Still inside the opening three minutes, the hosts went within a whisker of taking the lead when Brennan Johnson, whose dad played in the Premier League for Town last time around, toe-ended just wide of the left-hand post from Heung-Min Son’s deep delivery.
A frantic start continued with Cameron Burgess’ angled header from Davis’ corner coming back off the bar nine minutes in before Spurs broke forward on the counter which ended with Johnson lifting a volley well over from the fringe of the area.
A few minutes later South Korean captain Son, who returned from injury in the Europa League in midweek, wriggled his way inside Ben Johnson before his low shot found Aro Muric behind it.
The Kosovan international was tested further in the 19th minute when having to get down low to his left to keep out England man Dominic Solanke’s fierce effort after he took down a shot smartly on his chest before getting his half volley off.
The keeper who came through the ranks at Manchester City continued to find himself in the thick of the action, having to be alert to get down to a Johnson cross that deflected towards his inside post.
Special opener stuns the hosts
However, it was Town who stunned the hosts with a fantastic bit of improvisation from last season’s top second-tier scorer, Szmondics.
The former Blackburn Rovers man found himself in the right place at the right time as Johnson laid back on the right for Cajuste and the Swedish international’s ball saw Liam Delap get a touch as he put in a strong aerial challenge with Szmodics then executing an overhead effort as the ball fell out of the sky into the bottom right-hand corner.
It was the former Colchester United player’s third goal of the campaign, all having coming away from Portman Road. The bicycle kick was also reminiscent of a Finidi George overhead kick opener on Town’s last Premier League trip to face Tottenham, with it sending George Burley’s side on their way to a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane in a season which had seen them do the double over the north London club, despite a campaign which ended in relegation.
If scoring first a the Etihad Stadium had provoked an angry reaction against the four-in-a-row champions, the away end may have feared the impact of a similar one.
There was signs that was coming with several waves of attacks which followed but, aside from an excellent slide tackle in the box from Johnson, it was the execution from the men in white letting them down as their entries into the Town box certainly weren’t lacked.
Town double lead
It was from another good moment in Johnson’s growing personal display that the Blues stunned the hosts further by doubling their advantage after catching them cold on the break.
The right-back managed to control an awkward ball on the touchline and keep it in before finding Hutchinson who did well to hold off Rodrigo Bentancur. The England Under-21 international found Davis in support down the left his perfectly-weighted pass into the box met the run of Szmodics whose cut-back cross was pushed out by Vicario before deflecting off Radu Dragusin ahead of being smashed into the roof of the net by Delap from point-blank range.
With the away fans and their shirt sponsor and designer Ed Sheeran now in dreamland, they were able to enjoy seeing their side go untroubled for the remaining minutes to carry a lead into the break for the first time since promotion.
The storm arrives
McKenna’s side would have been preparing at half-time for the prospect of that angry Spurs reaction that didn’t quite emerge in the first half, and it was soon in full evident force as Muric turn over a powerful shot from Son on 48.
From the resultant corner, the home crowd erupted to celebrate what they thought was a goal back, but Solanke’s celebrations, after turning in a flick on from Bentancur were cut short by the first VAR moment that had gone in Town’s favour all season, as it was rightly ruled out for handball.
Bouyed by that moment – and having seen Solanke fire over after running from deep – the Suffolk side were soon utilising their pace on the break. Hutchinson fired over from the edge of the the box after fantastic pressing work from Delap to create a chance out of what had looked a lost cause.
Just past the hour mark another VAR moment was thrown up when the ball struck Davis’ hand on the left-hand edge of the box. The decision was no handball with his arm having not left his side and debatable whether it was even in the area.
The corner from Porro eventually worked its way over to Son on the far side with the skipper curling over the bar.
Deficit finally halved
Town’s luck eventually ran out in the 69th minute when McKenna was preparing to make his first changes.
With George Hirst and Jack Clarke undressed and ready to replace goalscorers Dealp and Szmodics, another dangerous Porro corner was fired in and this time Bentancur broke free of Tuanzebe to meet it at the near post with a bullet header that left Muric no chance.
Spurs and their fans smelt blood as one of their subs, Timo Werner forced Murcis into a fingertip save as he took no chances with his shot from just outside the area.
Town were still having moments in possession out of their own half and with 12 to go, there was a shout for a penalty when Hirst went down under the challenge of Dragusin which required treatment, but referee Darren England was not interested.
The home fans joined Werner in having their head in their hands after he lifted over the bar from Son’s pull-back.
After Yves Bisouma and James Maddison were sent on to unpick the lock, there were roars of encouragement from the crowd after eight minutes were signalled to be added.
Town get it over the line
There were fears history would repeat itself for the visitors and their supporters after the last two games saw them relinquish leads in added time.
But this performance had felt different, and so it proved to be, despite a defensive mix-up involving the otherwise excellent Burgess letting in Solanke after six of those with Muric making himself the late hero with an outstretched foot deflecting away his near-post shot.
Read more: McKenna hails Town’s maiden win as ‘really significant step forward’
Read more: Szmodics dedicates win to relentless boss and ‘amazing’ fans
The visiting fans held their breathe ahead of a late free kick being headed clear and Muric fell onto a late ball into the box before the excitement in the away end exploded as they celebrated their first three point haul back in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): Vicario; Udogie, Dragusin, Romero, Porro; Sarr (Werner 66’), Bentancur (Bissouma 84’), Kulusevski; Son (c), Solanke, Johnson (Maddison 84’). Subs: Forster, Gray, Bergvall, Spence, Davies, Lankshear.
Booked: Bentancur (78’).
Ipswich Town (3-4-2-1): Muric; Burgess, O’Shea, Tuanzebe; Davis, Cajuste (Luongo 90+2’), Morsy (c), Johnson; Szmodics (J. Clarke (70’), Hutchinson; Delap (Hirst 70’). Subs: Walton, H Clarke, Woolfenden, Burns, Chaplin, Townsend.
Booked: Tuanzebe (21’), Delap (46’), Johnson (66’).
Attendance: 61,505.
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Omari Hutchinson. The boy became a man back in the capital with a controlled and mature performance which showed he has learned a lot from his preceding 10 matches in the big time. His game management on the ball in added time was as key as anything else he did, such as his big contribution to the opening goal.
