Premier League match report: Ipswich Town 2-2 Aston Villa

The striker struck from close range early on before the visitors responded with goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins. However, Delap's second goal turned the tide, with the Blues pushing for a late winner that just eluded them, although they were deservedly applauded off the pitch for a strong showing against a Champions League side.

Aston Villa tried to set the tempo early on by dominating possession, but a wild shot from Youri Tielemans was the closest they came. They tried to pounce on Arijanet Muric’s loose pass out from the back soon after, but Ipswich quickly got back into shape.

Delap fired the Blues ahead early on (Image: Steve Waller)

Town were comfortable out of possession at this point, and it showed when they regained the ball and pushed up through the left. In the eighth minute, Omari Hutchinson tried to spin into space but couldn’t find space to take aim or set up a team-mate.

It ended up back at Sam Morsy, whose deflected effort wasn’t cleared by the visitors, allowing Jack Clarke to find Delap with a cutback. He didn’t make proper contact with his shot, but got enough on it to force the ball into the net off the gloves of Emiliano Martinez, putting the Blues ahead from close range.

Villa tried to fight back quickly, with two opportunities to put pressure on from the restart. The equaliser came in the 16th minute as Jacob Greaves’ clearance was played straight to Rogers inside the box. He exchanged passes with Watkins, dragging away the Ipswich bodies in the box before firing low into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.

Goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins saw the visitors take a 2-1 lead into the break (Image: Steve Waller)

The game soon opened up. In the 19th minute, Morsy was able to win possession in the centre of the park as Delap picked out Leif Davis on the left. The defender’s pinpoint cross found Clarke in the middle, but he headed just over the crossbar.

Villa reverted to their initial gameplan of sitting on the ball and waiting for an opening to arise. With Watkins’ excellent movement, they can come quite often. The striker found a pocket of space in between Dara O’Shea and Axel Tuanzebe, allowing him to peel off and direct Leon Bailey’s excellent cross into the net to put Unai Emery’s side ahead on 32 minutes.

A couple of minutes later, a free-kick from Davis was cleared by Amadou Onana into the path of Kalvin Phillips, who took aim with a powerful strike from distance. It looked destined to hit the top left corner, but Martinez pulled off a stunning save to deny him.

Kalvin Phillips came close to scoring at the end of the first half (Image: PA)

The Argentine international wasn’t done there as Davis worked the ball up the pitch with a brilliant through ball that Clarke dummied, allowing Delap to run clean through on goal. The striker took aim in a one-on-one position but was denied by the legs of the Villa shot-stopper, who was congratulated by his team-mates.

It felt like the momentum was with Ipswich up until the break, although a double booking for Morsy and Delap frustrated the home fans.

A bright start to the second half encouraged Ipswich, who got into good areas without testing Martinez. A quick pass from Davis sent Clarke away down the left, where his low cross was cut out by Carlos.

Delap's second goal got Ipswich back on level terms (Image: Steve Waller)

Phillips' resulting corner was caught by the goalkeeper before the ball was played up the pitch, where former Aston Villa defender Tuanzebe was forced to bring down Tielemans to prevent an overload, picking up Town's third booking of the afternoon.

Villa's defensive resilience became an issue, even though they were happy to sit off their opponents and try to find a third on the counter. A quick ball out to Davis presented him to chance to shoot just before the 70th minute, but it was from a tight angle, flashing it well wide of the goal.

Delap was much more clinical, and he was the man who got Town level with his brace, picking up Hutchinson's through ball and bursting down the left. He cut inside before turning back out, sending Carlos stumbling the other way before slotting the ball under Martinez to make it 2-2 in the 72nd minute.

Town are now unbeaten in four Premier League matches (Image: Steve Waller)

The crowd erupted and, from that moment on, the momentum changed. A sumptuous pass from substitute Jack Taylor played Clarke into space, which allowed him to pick out Wes Burns. The Welsh winger had time to pick his spot but was denied by Pau Torres' block at the last second.

The game ramped up to a hectic finale, and after a period where Aston Villa looked the most likely side to grab a winner, Ipswich piled on the pressure with a late surge, winning two corners. In the end, they couldn't capitalise, and while the wait for a win goes on, they more than deserved their point from a tough encounter against quality opposition.

Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Muric; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy (Luongo 90+1'), Phillips (Taylor 69'); Ogbene (Burns 69'), Hutchinson, J. Clarke (Szmodics 90+1'); Delap (Hirst 90+1')

Aston Villa: 4-2-3-1: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne (Maatsen 84'); Onana, Tielemans (Barkley 84'); Bailey (Philogene 64'), Rogers (Duran 64'), Ramsey; Watkins (Buendia 84')

Attendance: 29,943 (2,983 away)