Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland - Match Report Saturday, 13th Jan 2024 19:42 Stand-in skipper Conor Chaplin headed the winner in the 75th minute as Town came from a goal down to beat Sunderland 2-1 at Portman Road. Jack Clarke gave the Black Cats the lead on 26 but Kayden Jackson levelled seven minutes later as the Blues grew into the game and then deservedly claimed the three points via Chaplin’s header 15 minutes from time. New loan signing Lewis Travis was handed his Town debut as manager Kieran McKenna made seven changes from the team which beat AFC Wimbledon 3-1 in the FA Cup last week and three from the side which drew 0-0 at Stoke in the last Championship fixture on New Year’s Day. Vaclav Hladky was in goal with Davis at left-back, Harry Clarke right-back and Luke Woolfenden and George Edmundson at the heart of the defence. Travis was joined in central midfield by Jack Taylor with skipper Sam Morsy suspended and Massimo Luongo absent from the 20-man squad due to what McKenna described as an innocuous ankle injury picked up in training on Thursday. Chaplin captained in the three with former Sunderland loanee Nathan Broadhead on his left and Wes Burns on the right behind Kayden Jackson. Town’s other January signing, Jeremy Sarmiento, was on the bench. The Wearsiders made one change from the team which lost 3-0 at home to Newcastle in the FA Cup last week and beat Preston 2-0 on New Year’s Day with Abdoullah Ba replacing Nazariy Rusyn. Town, who had dropped to third following Southampton’s 4-0 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday earlier in the afternoon, saw most of the ball in opening few minutes but rarely venturing into the opposition territory and causing no danger with Sunderland happy to sit in their half. And it was the Black Cats who struck the first shot of the game in the fifth minute, Alex Pritchard blazing over from outside the area to the right. Sunderland went closer a minute later after Harry Clarke lost out to Aji Alese on the visitors’ left from where the ball was cut back to Jobe Bellingham, whose shot was saved by Hladky with the Blues eventually, after some hesitation, getting the ball away. Town created their first chance in the eighth minute, Burns sending over a dangerous low cross from the right, but just too far in front of the sliding Jackson. The Blues were having plenty of the ball but still largely deep in their own half with Sunderland allowing them to keep it in those areas. But on the quarter hour Jackson won the ball as Sunderland sought to bring it out from the edge of their area. Chaplin played it wide to Burns, whose low cross found Taylor, but the former Peterborough midfielder’s shot was blocked. The loose ball ran to Chaplin, whose effort was crowded out, then from the floor the stand-in skipper had another go before the ball ran back out to Burns. The Welshman’s ball into the box was smashed against a Sunderland player by a teammate but eventually the danger was cleared. Four minutes later, Davis took a throw-in on the left to Broadhead, who played on to Chaplin in the area, the former Pompey man laying it off first time to Jackson, whose effort looked to scuff wide off a defender but referee Sam Allison gave a goalkick, much to Chaplin’s annoyance. Harry Clarke was shown the game’s first yellow card in the 24th minute for a foul on Bellingham just over halfway with the Town man aggrieved, with reason as he appeared to have got a touch on the ball. Following the free-kick, Sunderland forced Hladky into his first serious save of the game, the ball having been played to Jack Clarke on their left from where he hit a low shot which the Czech keeper did well to divert over the bar with his feet. But in the aftermath of the resultant corner, in the 26th minute, the Wearsiders went in front. Ba dribbled his way in from the right along the edge of the penalty area and laid it off to Clarke, who smashed an unstoppable strike past Hladky. Two minutes after going behind, the Blues went close to levelling. Harry Clarke was played in on the right of the box and struck a low shot from a tight angle which Anthony Patterson in the Sunderland goal turned just past the post with his fingertips. And in the 33rd minute, with Portman Road having become a little flat and Sunderland voices most audible, Town did get back on terms. Woolfenden picked up a long clearance on halfway following a Town attack and gave it to Travis, who played a quick forward pass which caught Pierre Ekwah, diverting it between the two centre-halves and putting Jackson through on goal in the area, and the striker made no mistake to claim his third goal of the season. Having equalised, Town went looking to get in front and in the 40th minute, after some less than decisive Sunderland defending, Jackson well wide shot on the turn under pressure from a Burns pass from eight yards. That was the last chance of an entertaining half with the scoreline not an unfair reflection, although the Blues will feel they had controlled more of the game, while both keepers had made one significant save in addition to the goals they had conceded. Town struck the first shot of the second half less than a minute after the restart, Harry Clarke bringing it inside from the right and feeding Davis, who slammed a powerful effort towards goal. Patterson batted it into the air but the home side were unable to make anything from the loose ball. The Blues were awarded their first free-kick of the game in the 49th minute when Jack Clarke felled Travis on the edge of the Town box. Two minutes later, Taylor was booked for a foul on Clarke just outside the Town area, to the left. Pritchard’s free-kick flew well over. On 54, Edmundson joined him for a foul on Ba, who also had his name added to the book for waving an imaginary card in referee Allison’s direction. Two minutes later, Jackson ended up on the floor after being caught in the face by a Luke O’Nien elbow. As had been the case with a similar incident in the first half, referee Allison missed it and did nothing despite protests from the striker and Chaplin. Just ahead of the hour, Burns was booked for a foul on Dan Neil, then, with Town stepping up the tempo, Chaplin hit a powerful strike against O’Nien after a cross from the left had been diverted out to him. With the noise around Portman Road growing, Sunderland repeatedly struggled to clear their lines and on 63 Harry Clarke played a one-two with Chaplin and broke into the right of the box but Patterson did well to save his shot down to his right. The Black Cats made their first chance in the 65th minute, Adil Aouchiche replacing Ba, and a minute later the sub was given a golden opportunity to put his side back in front. Hladky’s pass out of the box was half-blocked by Bellingham and it fell to Jack Clarke, who played it to Aouchiche with the goal gaping but somehow the Frenchman put it wide of the post. Town could count themselves very fortunate. Town made their first changes on 68, Sarmiento, making his home debut, Dom Ball and Omari Hutchinson replacing Jackson, Travis, who could be pleased with his debut, and Burns. Hutchinson quickly made an impact, receiving the ball from Chaplin on the right of the area and hitting a shot which deflected out for a corner. Following the flag-kick, Hutchinson lost out on the right of the box but Sarmiento picked it up and returned the ball to the on-loan Chelsea man, whose shot was saved. The substitutions had seen the Blues put the visitors under increasing pressure and in the 75th minute, they went in front. Davis, who had been fouled by Aouchiche, whipped over a free-kick from the left and an unmarked Chaplin powered a header past Patterson from eight yards out towards the near post and into the top corner of the net to send Portman Road into raptures. Perhaps Sunderland felt the diminutive frontman was little threat in the air but he has shown on a number of occasions throughout his time at Town that he has an unerring ability to win the ball from set pieces despite his lack of height. Four minutes after the goal, there was a scare for the Blues when Alese sent a low ball across the area from the left but fortunately no one was able to get the final touch. And in the 81st minute, Town came within a whisker of a third goal. Chaplin flicked a Davis cross from the left beyond the far post with his shoulder and Woolfenden, from a tight angle, smashed it against the woodwork and across goal. Sunderland were fortunate not to find themselves two behind, then on 83 Trai Hume was perhaps a little lucky not to see his second red card of the season against Town for a wild lunge on Sarmiento on halfway, which left both of them requiring treatment. Referee Allison decided a yellow card was sufficient and moments later Pritchard was replaced by Rusyn. On 85, Town were denied what looked the most obvious of penalties. O’Nien completely missed the ball and sent Hutchinson, who was looking to shoot, straight up in the air inside the box. The loose ball fell to Chaplin, whose shot deflected wide off Dan Ballard. Even O’Nien seemed to be expecting a spot-kick but referee Allison, who had had a less than impressive evening for a Premier League official, either believed there had been no foul or deemed Town to have gained an advantage, although he made no signal to suggest the latter. Sarmiento was booked for taking his protests too far, before Town swapped Broadhead for Marcus Harness, while the Wearsiders switched Bellingham for Mason Burstow. With the game now in the fourth of five additional minutes, Axel Tuanzebe replaced Chaplin, who was given a standing ovation as he left the field following an outstanding performance and another vital goal. Town were looking more likely to score a third than Sunderland a second in the final moments but nevertheless there was still a little nervousness around the ground until Allison blew his whistle for the final time, prompting a huge cheer around Portman Road. The Blues had been well worth their win having been much the better side in the second half and having had chances to win more comfortably, most notably Woolfenden’s effort off the post. Town, bedding in an unfamiliar central midfield, had grown into the first half but in the second they were very much better than the visitors, although had to survive one of the misses of the season before Chaplin’s excellent header which proved to be the winner. The win, the Blues’ first in the league since December 12th at Watford, sees Town move back ahead of Southampton and into second behind Leicester, who they visit a week on Monday, with the Foxes now seven points points ahead following their 3-1 defeat at Coventry earlier today. Town: Hladky, Clarke, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Davis, Travis (Ball 68), Taylor, Burns (Hutchinson 68), Chaplin (c) (Tuanzebe 94), Broadhead (Harness 89), Jackson (Sarmiento 68). Unused: Walton, Humphreys, Aluko, Ladapo. Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O’Nien (c), Alese, Neil, Ekwah, Pritchard (Rusyn 84), Bellingham (Burstow 89), Clarke, Ba (Aouchiche 65). Unused: Bishop, Seelt, Triantis, Matete, Bennette, Hemir. Referee: Sam Allison (Wiltshire). Att: 29,291 (Sunderland: 1,965).
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