30 December 2024
Ipswich Town 2 Chelsea 0
Kieran McKenna took his Ipswich team into their final match of the year still looking for their first Premier League win at Portman Road of the season. Chelsea were the visitors looking to bounce back from a surprise defeat against Fulham in their last game, prior to this people were talking about a title challenge from Enzo Maresca’s side.
Anyone who is prone to a footy accumulator would be swerving this game, the odds on the visitors would be poor, on paper this was an easy victory. Sometimes football does not work that way but it takes a brave man to put their hard-earned wages on such an unlikely outcome. For the football romantics, it would be a great end to the year for the Tractor Boys.
Maresca made one surprise in his team selection as he picked Jorgensen in goal ahead of Sanchez. There was no talk of any injuries being behind his decision and the fact that his normal number one was on the bench suggested this was either a matter of rotation or the manager was not happy with his part in their defeat against Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
Either way, his punt backfired early on. Ipswich started in confident mood in front of their own fans and took the game to Chelsea. Hutchinson, playing against his former employers, seemed to have a point to prove. There seemed to be a hunger in the youngster and he was constantly looking for the ball in the early stages.
It was his threaded ball in behind the defence which gave Delap the chance to run onto it. Jorgensen came sprinting off his line to meet him in the box but as the striker took it around him, The Blues’ keeper seemed to take him down. The referee did not hesitate as he pointed to the spot. VAR reviewed it and saw no reason to get involved.
Delap stepped up to take it and struck it firmly in the bottom corner. Although Jorgensen guessed the right way, there was no chance he was keeping it out. Portman Road erupted as the former Man City academy graduate ran away to celebrate. It was the perfect start for McKenna’s side as they looked to upset the odds.
The high tempo the hosts were playing at seemed to unsettle Chelsea. As Cucurella looked to clear deep inside his own half, it was charged down by Hutchinson. The ball ricocheted into the path of Delap, gifting him another chance to score. He struck a venomous shot towards the far corner but Jorgensen redeemed himself with a fine save.
Chelsea realised they were in a game by this stage. A clumsy challenge just outside the box gifted the visitors a free-kick in a very dangerous position. Palmer touched it to Fernandez, who put his foot on the ball for his teammate to strike from a different angle. His effort had Walton beaten but struck the inside of the post and came back out.
As the ball flew back into the danger area, an Ipswich defender looked to clear his lines but just kicked it against Nkunku. Walton reacted well to get back up and save the ball before it arrowed into the back of the net. At this point in the game, you wondered whether this could be the Tractor Boys’ night to finally get that home win.
Walton was making a rare appearance in the first-team and seemed keen to capitalise. The ball was played into Joao Felix, who immediately laid it off into the path of Palmer. His well-struck effort seemed to be heading into the far corner but the Ipswich keeper did brilliantly to turn it over the crossbar. Even the Chelsea played laughed, not able to believe his effort had been saved.
Into the second-half and a terrible pass from Disasi gifted the ball to Delap. As he ran into the box, rather than getting a shot away from a difficult angle, he held play up until support arrived. Laying it off into the path of Hutchinson, he manufactured some space before drilling a shot into the far corner to double the hosts’ lead.
Portman Road was bouncing, even the staunchest Ipswich fan would never have predicted for them to be two goals up against the visitors. This was looking like their best chance of getting that monkey off their back and finally getting their first home win of the Premier League season. However, there was still plenty of time for Maresca’s side to change that.
The two players who were inspiring this performance for McKenna’s side were Delap and Hutchinson. The former picked the ball up in a wide area and ran towards the visitors’ box. From an impossible angle, with confidence sky-high, he unleashed a shot which Jorgensen did well to turn over the crossbar for a corner.
To his credit, even when grilled in interviews, Maresca always played down his side being in a title race. Having seen these last two performances, you wonder whether this was not a manager deflecting attention from his squad, but one who saw them in training every day and knew that they were not capable of sustaining a challenge for the Premier League.
Either way, The Blues offered nothing in an attacking sense in the second-half. Ipswich held on for victory in quite a comfortable manner. Nobody could argue that they did not deserve the three points. For McKenna, he will be hoping that acts as a catalyst for his side to change their fortunes and ensure another season in the top-flight.
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