This was tense. Hull came to battle hard, defend deep, and hit us on the break if they could. And they did a pretty decent job of it, despite, bizarrely, not actually fashioning an effort on target. So why did it feel so tense then?!

Our goal, the winner as it turned out, came from the unlikeliest source. But Azor Matusiwa’s first for the club was worth the wait. An absolute belter, just like his smile.

This poem even has a small comment on the geo-political state of the world right now. So it seems a Matusiwa smile is needed more than ever!

Ipswich Town 1:0 Hull City, 03/03/2026

A Matusiwa Smile

When The Tigers came to Town
to deep defend and spend a while
wasting, erasing time,
and mounting counters counts as guile.
Then patience is your virtue, and it’s virtually your style.
But it’s worth the wait for the grade-A great
in a Matusiwa smile.

If a brickwall’s standing tall, the sides slide wider than a mile, it
needs a beacon that can weaken knees, and is longer than the Nile.
Don’t be in denial, insist resitance missed is futile.
They’ll kick lumps but you’ll come up trumps
with a Matusiwa smile.

When the pleasure turns to pressure you can measure on a dial,
don’t cough, ‘specially if you’re touching cloth, or back off from the trial.
He’s gravy, stronger than a navy (baby!) and his pearly whites beguile.
But under the lights I know my rights
are a Matusiwa smile.

The world might burn, but when he turns and you turned up at the turnstile -
he plugs the holes of life, though goals aren’t roles within his profile.
But five-foot-great in socks, from outside the box, a driver’s pile!
A win, a din, and a toothy grin
makes it all worthwhile.

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