10 November 2024
Tottenham 1 Ipswich Town 2
Angle Postecoglou once said in an interview ‘I always win trophies in my second season’. If ever there was a club who could put that comment to the test, it would be Tottenham. They welcomed winless Ipswich Town to North London, on paper it seemed it should be a routine win for Spurs. Having impressed with a win against Aston Villa last weekend, they then suffered a heavy defeat against Galatasaray.
The visitors almost opened the scoring early on. Some terrible defending by Dragusin saw him gift the ball to the Tractor Boys, before Cajuste ran clear with it. He slotted it in behind the Spurs’ defence for Szmodics but his effort was blocked at the near post by Vicario. Early warning for the hosts that McKenna’s side were not to be taken lightly.
Tottenham went up the other end and should have taken the lead. A superb cross from Udogie saw a run from Johnson allow him to attack the near post. Muric had gone walkabout but the Welshman could not direct his effort towards the empty goal. As it went wide of the target, the Tottenham forward stood there with his head in his hands, wondering how he did not score.
Szmodics then caused some issues down the left and put a dangerous cross into the box. Fortunately Udogie was there to head behind or Ipswich would have taken the lead. From the resulting corner, Burgess won the header from deep behind the far post, his effort came off the crossbar and back into play. Vicario never comes off his line for crosses, but you do wonder how he gets lobbed on it.
It was end to end stuff at this stage. A ball was played into Solanke, who controlled it well on his chest on the edge of the box. He took it past his man and got a strong shot away but Muric reacted well to tip it behind for a corner. That was the kind of centre forward play that made Tottenham break the bank for the former Bournemouth player.
Cajuste was brought into the team due to the suspension being served by Phillips. The midfielder was the standout player in this game for the visitors. He crossed into the box, with Delap flicking it on at the near post. As the Tottenham defenders hesitated rather than reacting, Szmodics hit an overhead kick into the bottom corner of the goal.
Then came a moment in play that summed up a football club. Muric, who always seems to have a howler in his locker, misplaced a pass straight to the hosts. Tottenham played some quick one-touch passes before squaring it into the box. It was hacked clear by Ipswich out towards the touchline. Johnson pulled down out of the air superbly for the visitors.
Some quick passing found Hutchinson and he ran at the Tottenham midfield. The ball was worked out wide to Davis, who played it into the path of Szmodics. His cross from the byline was palmed out by Vicario, before Dragusin sent it back towards his own goal. Delap was on hand to smash the ball into the back of the net on the line. Probably the easiest goal he will ever score.
As the teams headed off at the interval, the home fans booed their side off. They were not happy with what they had seen from their team. From an Ipswich perspective, it was probably the best half of football they have displayed since their return to the top-flight. The big question now was whether they could hold onto their lead to grab their first win of the season.
After the break, Tottenham seemed to have the bit between their teeth a little more. Bentancur worked the ball to Son, he cut inside onto his right foot before side-stepping another defender and getting a shot away. It was a well struck effort but Muric was equal to it as he tipped it over the bar for a corner. More positive signs for the home fans to get behind.
At times the visitors defending seemed somewhat desperate. Muric was not dealing with crosses and his defenders were having to bail him out. As a cross came into the box, it was flicked on at the near post and Solanke swept it into the back of the net. The fact that the striker did not celebrate made you question whether VAR was going to find something to flag up.
Sure enough, after a long wait, it was deemed that the ball struck the hand of the striker before heading into the back of the net. There was little complaint from Solanke and the Tractor Boys kept their two-goal lead. That said, they would need to show some better defending if they were going to hold out for victory in the capital.
Porro then put a dangerous ball into the box but it was headed behind by O’Shea. As the corner came in, Bentancur had a free header and it arrowed its way into the net with Muric unable to do anything about it. The pressure was well and truly on now as Tottenham had the momentum to get something from this game.
Ipswich offered very little in an attacking sense in the second-half and were mainly camped out in their own half. Another quality cross came into the box and found Solanke at the near post. He looked to slot it past Muric but the Tractor Boys’ keeper made himself big and managed to block it with an outstretched leg.
Ipswich Town held on for their first win in the Premier League since their return. The three points meant that they were also no longer in the relegation zone. For Postecoglou, it was another performance from his team that pushed him closer to opiate use to take the edge off being Tottenham manager. This was a huge win for the visitors, Ed Sheeran may even write a song about it.
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