Ipswich Town have secured promotion to the Championship by winning 13 of their last 14 games. STUART WATSON looks back on some key moments in the campaign.
LEARNING FROM TOUGH MOMENTS
“It looks routine in the end, but it’s been a very, very difficult task,” said Kieran McKenna after promotion was sealed with a 6-0 home win against Exeter.
He’s right. It’s easy to forget, after this remarkable sprint finish, all the character building bumps in the road that came before.
It was clear inside the opening two months of the campaign that this was a much-improved Ipswich side, but a quartet of luckless results left doubts lingering over the team’s ability to win the big games.
Sam Morsy missed a late chance as Town were held to a 1-1 home draw against Bolton on the opening day, there was the travesty of Marcus Harness’ disallowed goal in the 2-2 home draw with Barnsley, a 2-0 lead being let slip at Sheffield Wednesday (Michael Smith’s late leveller looking suspiciously offside) and Christian Walton hitting the bar late on in an arguably-deserved-more 2-1 loss at Plymouth.
On October 15, Lincoln parked the bus at Portman Road and nicked a set-piece goal. Ipswich had 77% possession and 33 shots, but lost 1-0.
Then came that utterly bonkers 4-4 draw at Charlton on October 29. Town went 4-2 up with two goals in stoppage-time, but somehow still drew. McKenna put it down to ‘a lack of control of our emotions’.
Further home frustrations came when leads were let slip against Cheltenham and Fleetwood (both 1-1). Facing a low block was becoming an Achilles heel.
Injuries and illness hit hardest over the winter months. On-field fortune remained in short supply too.
Plymouth, just like Fleetwood, escaped Suffolk with a point courtesy of a deflected late strike from outside the box.
On January 21, there was the farcical fog game when Town lost 2-1 at Oxford.
Come mid-February, Ipswich were nearer to seventh than second in the table and this scribe – as were many – was trying to pick the bones out of a prolonged period of mid-table form.
GRITTY RESULTS ON THE ROAD
This season may have ended in style, but the value of some gritty results on the road shouldn’t be underestimated.
The first of those was a 1-0 midweek win at Burton. McKenna was delighted to see his side stand firm in a game of ‘aggressive chaos’ that night.
Coming-from-behind to win 2-1 at Morecambe and winning 3-2 at Port Vale, after being pegged back to 2-2, also showed character.
For all the talk about Town’s mid-season dip, you have to look back on the post-Christmas draws at Portsmouth and Lincoln - secured by late goals from Conor Chaplin and Cameron Humphreys respectively - as well as the 0-0 at Bristol Rovers on Valentine’s Day, as important points gained in difficult circumstances.
The same can be said of the more recent wind-affected 1-1 draw at Cheltenham.
It’s often said that the sign of a good side is being able to win/draw when not at their very best. Ipswich, with just four defeats to their name all season, have done just that.
ENDING CURSES
Long-suffering fans carried a lot of emotional baggage into season number four of League One football.
One-by-one, McKenna’s men helped banish several ‘curses’ that had created layers to the hurt.
Winning at Accrington – a previously unhappy hunting ground – was one of the first things ticked off.
Beating Portsmouth 3-2 at Portman Road, after twice being pegged back, was a significant moment. Ipswich had finally beaten one of the division’s big clubs in front of a big crowd and not succumbed to the mind games of opposition boss Danny Cowley.
The Friday night 1-0 home win against Derby County, sealed by Wes Burns’ rebound finish, then showed the Blues can triumph in front of the TV cameras.
Going on an FA Cup run also added to the feeling of new beginnings. Side-stepping non-leaguers Bracknell and Buxton, before beating Rotherham and then pushing Premier League side in waiting Burnley all the way over two matches provided a real confidence boost at just the right moment.
BIG INDIVIDUAL MOMENTS
Another game that could have been filed under ‘gritty away result’ was the 1-1 draw at Cambridge.
Instead, I’ve logged it here to shine a light on Christian Walton’s full-stretch penalty save to deny Joe Ironside. That prevented Town, who were at sixes and sevens, from going 2-0 down. Instead, inspired by super sub Kyle Edwards, they were able to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Walton’s penalty save at Bolton, when Town led 1-0, was also a huge moment.
The biggest sliding doors moment of all, however, has to be the home game against Sheffield Wednesday on February 11.
Town could easily have gone 3-0 down when Michael Smith rounded Walton in the latter stages of the first half, but thankfully his touch was too heavy.
Ipswich were on course to be booed off at the break until Nathan Broadhead’s sublime free-kick goal completely changed the complexion of a game that ended 2-2.
Sam Morsy’s drive and finish from outside the box securing a 1-0 win at MK Dons and Broadhead’s cool penalty conversion to seal an angst-ridden 2-1 victory against Port Vale were also significant individual moments.
FOUR MONUMENTAL WINS
Impressive victories against struggling quartet Morecambe, Forest Green, Burton and Accrington suggested that Ipswich, boosted by their four January signings, had gone up a gear.
The promotion push really started to gather momentum, however, with monumental 2-0 away wins.
Wes Burns’ speedy counter run and George Hirst’s expert volley broke the deadlock at Bolton. Walton’s penalty save sapped the life out of the hosts, then Cameron Burgess’ bullet header sealed the three points.
That was the day that truly kick-started this ridiculous run.
It was a similar story at Derby three weeks later. Chaplin’s opener came after one of the best rapid corner counters you’ll see in world football. Hirst’s clincher was an outstanding finish after Burns had once again engaged the after-burners.
While the team focused on one game at a time, supporters couldn’t help but look ahead to quickfire games at Peterborough and Barnsley as the potential defining moment.
When they eventually arrived, Ipswich, quite remarkably, delivered back-to-back 3-0 wins in the space of four days.
Last weekend’s 6-0 home victory against Exeter may have been the day promotion was mathematically sealed, but it was at the UniBol Stadium, Pride Park, London Road and Oakwell where this job truly got done.
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