Ipswich Town finished their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen, helping them to lift the Innsbruck Cup at the Tivoli Stadion.
Having beaten RB Leipzig earlier in the afternoon, Town knew that avoiding defeat against Ole Werner's men would be enough to see them win the tournament.
Where Town looked slick and sharp in the opening stages of their first game, they were poor against Werder Bremen, who had numerous chances to open the scoring within the first 10 minutes.
The first opportunity came in the fourth minute when Oliver Burke won a corner. The delivery pinged off an Ipswich defender and almost fizzed into the back of the net, but Cieran Slicker was able to get down and make a quick save to prevent it from crossing the line.
They carved the Blues open again with a fantastic piece of play, culminating in a powerful deflected effort from Niklas Schmidt that almost looped into the back of the net. It felt like one-way traffic.
Nobody was surprised to see Werder Bremen take the lead in the 12th minute, but the nature of the goal was particularly unfortunate.
Burke beat Greg Leigh with ease, racing into the box and dinking a cross into the middle. Slicker jumped up to grab it, but it slipped out of his hands and onto the head of Dawid Kownacki, who flicked it in from point-blank range.
The Bundesliga side weren't done there, however, as they came again immediately after. Burke managed to nutmeg Leigh down Ipswich's left side, crossing into the box for Justin Njinmah to turn his shot just past the post.
Town soon started to show signs of improvement, but they struggled to find any space in the final third to capitalise.
One of the better chances came three minutes before half-time when Dikeni Salifou misjudged the flight of a cross from the right, allowing Freddie Ladapo to rush in front of him. However, the striker couldn't make contact and Werder Bremen were able to clear.
In fact, they finished the half as the stronger side. In the final seconds, Nick Woltemade was afforded too much space to take aim from the edge of the area, although his shot was blocked and cleared as far as Jens Stage, who flicked his effort wide of the target.
Town started the second half quickly, with Ladapo picking up the ball down the left side of the box in the 34th minute. He spun around and fizzed a powerful shot towards goal which deflected out for a corner, although they were unable to capitalise as Cameron Burgess headed the delivery well over.
It was clearly a sign of things to come, however, as Ipswich equalised in the 39th minute. A quick throw-in from Janoi Donacien found Ladapo, who managed to turn into the box. His low cross set up Leigh in the middle, allowing him to tap the ball into the net from point-blank range.
Werder Bremen looked to bite back instantly. A quick counter saw them push bodies into the box, although Ipswich were quick to react. However, they could do little to close down Kownacki's backheel flick, relying on Wes Burns to clear it off the line.
Town managed to keep the ball in the final third as the clock ticked towards full-time, with the final whistle kickstarting celebrations from the travelling fans and a rendition of 'Singing the Blues' over the tannoy.
Ipswich XI: 4-2-3-1: Slicker; Donacien, Burgess, Edmundson, Leigh; Evans, Taylor; Burns, Aluko (Ayinde 58'), Edwards (Carr 58'); Ladapo
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