Premier League match report: Ipswich Town 0-2 Everton

The Blues struggled to establish themselves in the game as the Toffees took a the lead through Iliman Ndiaye in the first half. VAR overruled a penalty soon after as Jack Clarke was brought down inside the box, with the visitors doubling the advantage through Michael Keane before the break.

Kieran McKenna's side looked more solid after the interval, but Jordan Pickford was largely untested in the Everton goal as the hosts fell to their fourth defeat of the campaign.

A huge roar greeted the whistle at Portman Road, as it always does, but the stadium fell quiet within the opening 15 seconds as Leif Davis fell to the ground after challenging Ashley Young for the ball.

Jack Clarke curled a shot over the bar early on in the game (Image: Steve Waller)

The left-back was able to continue, with Everton coming forward for their first attack of the game, which led to a corner. Goalkeeper Arijanet Muric dropped the ball as it was delivered into the box, but referee Michael Oliver spotted a foul to bring the move to an end.

Ipswich responded with their first attack of the game. Wes Burns found space down the right to push forward as Liam Delap moved into space, but the winger picked out Jack Clarke with a cutback. The former Sunderland man took aim, but curled his shot well wide of the target in the fifth minute.

Everton almost pounced on an error just two minutes later. Kalvin Phillips’ loose pass rolled into the feet of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who skipped over Luke Woolfenden’s challenge before racing through on goal. He seemed destined to open the scoring, but Muric stood tall to deny him with a good save.

Iliman Ndiaye opened the scoring for Everton (Image: Steve Waller)

The Toffees showed what they had going forward as Iliman Ndiaye raced past Dara O’Shea, playing the ball to Dwight McNeil on the edge of the area. As the attacker was about to take aim, Jack Clarke rushed back to make a crucial tackle, drawing a foul which allowed Town to get up the pitch.

A quick ball up to Davis saw Jordan Pickford caught in two minds in the 10th minute. In the end, the goalkeeper opted to come out for the ball, but he was forced wide to the touchline where James Tarowski cleared strait into the path of Jack Clarke. The hosts played the ball over to the right, where Delap took aim, rolling a tame effort wide of the post.

The visitors looked more composed both on and off the ball in the opening stages. Phillips fouled ex-Leeds United team-mate Jack Harrison on the counter and was lucky to avoid a yellow card for throwing the ball away. The free-kick was played towards Burns in the box, but he gave it away to Ndiaye, who rifled a shot into the top corner to put Everton ahead in the 17th minute.

Michael Oliver overturned a penalty decision after being sent to the VAR monitor (Image: Steve Waller)

It gave them confidence. Calvert-Lewin was presented with a good chance to double the lead soon after when he spun past Cameron Burgess, allowing him to test Muric from close range, where the goalkeeper denied his low shot. Town looked to respond in the 24th minute, where Omari Hutchinson was brought down by Michael Keane for a free-kick, with the Everton centre-back entering the book.

Hutchinson’s strike hit the wall, but the Blues worked it around and back out to him on the right, where he won a corner. Davis’ delivery was cleared, but Jack Clarke found space to weave into the box from the left, where he was kicked by McNeil in the 25th minute.

Oliver initially awarded a penalty, but a lengthy check ensued. In the end, he was sent to the monitor, which was seen at Portman Road for the first time as it raised from the ground in front of the supporters in the Cobbold Stand. In the end, the decision was overturned, with play continuing in Suffolk.

The Toffees extended their lead before the break through Michael Keane (Image: Steve Waller)

The match fell a bit flat after that, but Everton were always a threat from set pieces. Five minutes before the break, McNeil played a short corner to Vitalii Mykolenko, which soon ended up in Town’s box. They tried to get it out but couldn’t track the movement of the ball, allowing Michael Keane to pick it up and smash a left-footed shot into the roof of the net to put his side 2-0 up.

Phillips was presented with a chance to get Ipswich back in the game after Hutchinson was brought down on the edge of the area once again, but he flicked his effort over the crossbar as six minutes of added time were announced.

Kalvin Phillips fired over from a free-kick just before half time (Image: Steve Waller)

Ipswich showed no real improvement in the opening stages of the second half, and were fortunate to not be 3-0 behind when their statuesque defending allowed Calvert-Lewin to turn and aim, firing just wide of the post in the 52nd minute.

A couple of minutes later, O'Shea tried to control a ball over the top to stop an Everton attack. However, his heavy touch saw Ndiaye take control and rush forward, where he tested Muric once again inside the box.

Town struggled to turn the momentum in their favour, even with four changes in the second half. Conor Chaplin's introduction saw Hutchinson switched to the right, where he was able to create a chance for Delap in the 76th minute, although the striker fired over the bar from just inside the penalty area.

Omari Hutchinson switched to the right flank in the second half (Image: Steve Waller)

The former Chelsea man had another sniff of goal a few seconds later, cutting inside from the right before curling a deflected shot narrowly wide of the the post. Everton cleared the resulting corner but the Blues managed to work another chance, with substitute Sammie Szmodics setting up Cameron Burgess to head onto the roof of the net.

Ipswich kept plugging away and looked to strike from a trademark corner routine, which was played short to allow Chaplin to flick the ball at Jordan Pickford - his side's first shot on target. Fellow substitute Jack Taylor followed it up at the death with a low strike that Pickford kept out, with Town falling to a 2-0 defeat on home soil.

Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Muric; O'Shea (H. Clarke 63'), Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Phillips (Taylor 70'); Burns (Chaplin 63'), Hutchinson, J. Clarke (Szmodics 70'); Delap (Hirst 79')

Everton XI: 4-2-3-1: Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko; Gueye, Doucoure; Harrison, McNeil, Ndiaye (Mangala 81'); Calvert-Lewin

Attendance: 29,862 (2,977 away)