16 January 2025
Ipswich Town 0 Brighton 2
Ipswich Town were still brimming with confidence following their first home victory when they dispatched Chelsea at Portman Road. Brighton visited for this midweek fixture, hoping to rediscover some form themselves. After a superb start to the season, they had struggled to turn performances into victories of late.
New signing Jadon Philogene had not been signed in time to make a debut in this one. Despite this, Kieran McKenna would have seen this as a winnable game for his side. In the early stages of the contest, both teams started to create chances. However, neither side could find the target often enough to break the deadlock.
The Tractor Boys seem to have improved their transitions from defence to attack. Earlier in the season this was often laboured and they proved less effective as a result. Just in a matter of ten or so passes, the ball was at the feet of Delap in a dangerous position. He cut onto his right foot and looked to find the far corner but his effort was too close to Verbruggen, who made a routine save.
Hutchinson was the next player to try his luck from distance. His effort asked a lot more of Verbruggen but he got down well into the corner of the goal to turn it behind. Portman Road was a wall of noise, it is such an intimidating atmosphere when McKenna’s side are putting the visitors under the microscope. They have just struggled to replicate this on a more regular basis.
There was nothing that could separate the two teams before the interval. It would be over to the respective managers to give inspirational speeches to drive their sides onto victory. The Seagulls were at risk of going into the weekend in the bottom half of the table, a far cry from the European football people were asking Hurzeler if they could achieve only a month or so ago.
Ipswich seem to be adapting to their surroundings in the top-flight. If you compare the styles of the side who played their first five games in the Premier League season to their last five, they look like completely different propositions. While everyone has predicted all of the sides who came up to go straight back down, the Tractor Boys are making us start to question that.
As Hurzeler’s side tried to put some pressure on the hosts high up the pitch, Joao Pedro charged down Walton, before the keeper played an ice-cold pass to his defender instead of clearing it downfield. The Brighton attacker wiped out the keeper and was shown a yellow card but the Ipswich players and fans wanted him to see red.
There was nothing Joao Pedro could do about the collision and there was no intent to hurt his opponent. It was purely his momentum that took him into Walton as he only ever had his eyes on the ball. Albeit a little jaded, the Ipswich keeper was able to continue. The concussion protocols in football seem to be like, if you can stand, you can play.
The hosts went long from a throw-in, which was flicked on at the near post. It dropped to Burns in the box but he dragged his shot wide of the far post. You started to worry for McKenna’s side as they spurned a number of half chances. Brighton have more quality at their disposal and offer the danger of being able to show a clinical edge in front of goal.
Some lacklustre defending from the hosts saw the ball squared into the box. O’Reilly unselfishly laid it off to Mitoma, who slotted home to silence Portman Road. There was always a danger that The Seagulls were capable of this and the Tractor Boys had paid the ultimate price. There was plenty of time left in the game for them to change this however.
A poor clearance from the hosts almost cost them dearly. As Brighton passed it around, Joao Pedro found himself with his back to goal on the edge of the box. He spun on a sixpence to get a shot away that looked destined for the back of the net. The only thing that was better than it was the save made by Walton to keep his side in this game.
The visitors won a free-kick in a dangerous position wide of the penalty area. It was drilled in low and flicked on by Welbeck. It fell to Rutter who poked it home to seal the win for The Seagulls. Ipswich Town heads dropped as it went in, knowing that there too little time for them to turn this game around. It had been an evenly contested match, Brighton were just more clinical in front of goal.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side came away with all the points to move into ninth place in the Premier League table. This defeat will have hurt Kieran McKenna’s side. As a result, they dropped back into the bottom three in their bid to secure safety. There is no such thing as an easy game at this level and Ipswich will have to perform some form of great escape if they want to stay in the top-flight.
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