| Ipswich Town 1 v 3 West Ham United FA Premier League Sunday, 25th May 2025 Kick-off 16:00 |  |
Ipswich Town 1-3 West Ham United - Match Report Sunday, 25th May 2025 18:10 Town’s final game of their one-year return to the Premier League ended in their 24th defeat of the campaign as they were beaten 3-1 at Portman Road by West Ham United. James Ward-Prowse gave the Hammers the lead two minutes before half-time following a mix-up in the Blues defence, then Nathan Broadhead levelled seven minutes after the restart but Jarrod Bowen restored the lead only three minutes later and Mohammed Kudus added a third on 87. The Blues initially made two changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Leicester last week with Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead returning to the XI but were forced into a late switch after Alex Palmer was taken ill in the warm-up, manager Kieran McKenna having said there had been illness in the camp at his Friday press conference. Christian Walton started in his place with Cieran Slicker on the bench. Chaplin, making his 150th league appearance for the Blues, was the number 10 with Julio Enciso absent from the squad, again presumably due to illness. Broadhead was to Chaplin’s left with Jack Clarke, who was at Wembley to watch his former club Sunderland promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs yesterday, on the bench. George Hirst again started with Liam Delap on the bench for what’s set to be his final game for the club, as was Massimo Luongo, who McKenna has revealed is set to depart in the close season. Centre-half Cameron Burgess was back on the bench having missed the trip to Leicester with a minor hamstring problem, as was lifelong West Ham fan Sammie Szmodics for the first time in three months after ankle surgery, but ex-Hammers full-back Ben Johnson was not included. Young left-back Somto Boniface was again among the substitutes. West Ham made five changes from the team which lost 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest a week ago with keeper Lukasz Fabianski coming into the side for his final game for the club along with Konstantinos Mavrapanos, Ollie Scarles, Edson Alvarez and Niclas Fullkrug. Ex-Blues left-back Aaron Cresswell, who is leaving the Hammers this summer, Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Rodriguez and Mohamed Kudus all dropped to the bench. Prior to kick-off both teams took a knee to show a commitment to fighting racism to applause but some boos. As the game got under way, the home crowd sung in tribute to departing midfielder Luongo. Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen scuffed the game’s first effort wide of Walton’s left post in the fourth minute. Two minutes later, Bowen crossed from the right, a long ball having flown over Jacob Greaves, but failed to pick out a teammate. However, there was a moment of panic when Tuanzebe passed back to Walton on his right side rather than to his preferred left foot but the keeper scrambled it away. On 10, Greaves flicked Town’s first chance of the game wide with his head from a free-kick out on the right. Two minutes later, Hutchinson played a clever pass out of trouble on the right outside the Town area and found Broadhead midway inside the Blues half, the Wales international nutmegged Jean-Clair Todibo and burst away before slipping over. However, he was still able to feed Hutchinson breaking forward on the right and the England U21 international hit a shot into Fabianski’s arms from an angle. Town began to dominate the ball, the Hammers having started in control, and in the 25th minute, as the home crowd cheered Luongo as he began warming up, a long spell of possession ended with Broadhead curling a shot towards goal and Fabianski, this season’s oldest Premier League player at 40, clawing it away from under the bar. A minute later, skipper Morsy, making his 150th league start for the Blues, shot not too far wide of Fabianski’s right post, then at the other end Niclas Fullkrug poked a toe at a cross from the right with Tuanzebe, playing his 50th Premier League match, in front of him but only diverted the ball to Walton. As the game reached the half hour, VAR checked a challenge on Fullkrug from Dara O’Shea as the two chased down a ball through the middle - with a linesman’s flag surprisingly not raised - but decided there was no case to answer. Five minutes later, Max Kilman was shown the game’s first yellow card for catching Hirst in the back of his head with an elbow on halfway. In the 36th minute, a slick move from the Blues involving Morsy, Chaplin and Broadhead ended with Leif Davis failing to pick out a teammate having been played in on the left. Three minutes later, Bowen and Ward-Prowse exchanged passes on the edge of the Town area, the Hammers captain hitting a shot which Walton batted way. Ward-Prowse’s follow-up was blocked and the Town keeper pounced on the loose ball. Moments afterwards, Hutchinson ran onto a ball over Ollie Scarles on the right and hit a shot which struck the outside of the post. However, the assistant’s flag was raised for offside. As so often after Town been well in a half and had had chances, the opposition went in front, the Hammers taking the lead in the 43rd minute courtesy of a mix-up in the Blues’ defence. Tuanzebe took a throw on the right midway inside the Town half and found Morsy, but the Egypt international’s pass backwards towards Greaves was wayward and seized on by Bowen, who cut to his right to Ward-Prowse, who made no mistake from 10 yards with only Walton to beat. The goal was the last action of a half which was a microcosm of Town’s season as a whole. West Ham had started strongly but without seriously threatening but the Blues had grown into the game and as the half-hour approached were on top but without making that superiority tell, Fabianski having been forced into one impressive save from Broadhead. However, a mistake at the back of the type which has been common over the course of the campaign gifted the Hammers the lead two minutes before the break. Seven minutes after the restart, the Blues levelled with the 300th goal under manager McKenna. Greaves picked up a long ball on halfway, played it forward to Cajuste, who moved it on to Broadhead, who turned, wafted past the not overly committed Todibo before smashing a powerful strike past Fabianski to the keeper’s left. Broadhead’s second goal of the season and first at Portman Road in more than a year was celebrated wildly by a North Stand crowd which had witnessed only six goals at their end in the Premier League this season. Parity lasted only three minutes, Bowen, making his 300th appearance for the Hammers, played a one-two with Aaron Wan-Bissaka to bring the ball in from the right before slamming a powerful shot past Walton. Town looked to get back on terms again quickly, West Ham failing to clear their lines after a free-kick on the left and Morsy hitting a low shot which Fabianski held down to his right. On 66, Greaves won a free-kick on the left after getting round the outside of Todibo on the byline. Davis sent in a low ball to the edge of the six-yard box to Chaplin but the forward mis-kicked and scuffed across the face. Town made their first changes of the afternoon in the 70th minute, Hirst making way for Delap and Chaplin for Clarke with the Town crowd giving warm ovations to all four. Broadhead moved into the number 10 role. The subs almost made an immediate mark, Clarke crossing low from the left towards Delap but just too far in front of the former Manchester City man. On 73, West Ham switched Scarles and Fullkrug for Coufal and Kudus. Town made another double change in the 78th minute, Jack Taylor taking over from Cajuste, who has enjoyed a very successful loan spell with the Blues from Serie A champions, and Broadhead, Town’s brightest performer on the day, making way for Szmodics against the club he supports. West Ham made another double change in the 80th minute, with the game now having very much an end-of-season feel, Lucas Paqueta and Guido Rodriguez replacing Edson Alvarez and Ward-Prowse. Two minutes later, after Delap had been booked for a trademark shove on Konstantinos Mavrapanos, Clarke, who had caused the Hammers’ defence more than a few problems after coming on, curled a shot not too far past Fabianski’s left post having cut in from the left. The Hammers sealed the three points in the 87th minute, sub Kudus curling a shot beyond Walton from the edge of the area. Ahead of the restart, Town swapped skipper Morsy for Luongo, the Australian, such a key member of the team which won back-to-back promotions, receiving a huge ovation from the Blues support and the captain’s armband from his long-time midfield partner for his final minutes in a Town shirt. Seconds later, Town went very close to their second goal of the afternoon. Clarke again did well on the left before crossing low towards the far post where Hutchinson was able to divert on target but somehow Kilman slid in to block. With the game in the second of seven additional minutes, West Ham brought on Cresswell for his final appearance after 11 years, the left-back replacing Todibo and receiving a warm reception from both sets of fans. In the sixth minute of injury time, Szmodics won the ball midway inside the West Ham half, then fed Delap, who looked to be trying too hard to go out with a bang and scuffed his shot across the face of goal. That was the last action of a match which was all too typical of Town’s season back in the top flight with 14 home defeats overall and nine on the bounce new club records. The Blues, who finish 19th and have taken no points at home in 2025, had more than held their own in the first half and the Hammers only went in front as a result of the mix-up between Morsy and Greaves, the sort of mistake which has happened all too often this season and gets clinically punished in the Premier League. Broadhead, one of a number of players who will feel he only showed his attributes fleetingly in the top flight, got Town back on terms but the Blues again quickly gave a goal away at a time when the momentum appeared to be with them. Kudus’s third came at a time Town were seeing most of the ball and were looking for a second goal but as has been the case so often this season without finding it. Following the whistle, the Blues players and staff made their way back down the tunnel before returning for the end-of-season lap of appreciation joined by their children. Fans and players applauded one another as they made their way around the pitch. A disappointing season but one which has ended with the club’s fans and players firmly united ahead of next season’s Championship promotion push. Town: Walton, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c) (Luongo 88), Cajuste (Taylor 78), Hutchinson, Chaplin (Clarke 70), Broadhead (Szmodics 78), Hirst (Delap 70). Unused: Slicker, Woolfenden, Burgess, Boniface. West Ham: Fabianski, Ward-Prowse (Rodriguez 80), Fullkrug (Kudus 73), Mavropanos, Alvarez (Paqueta 80), Bowen (c), Todibo (Cresswell 92), Kilman, Soucek, Wan-Bissaka, Scarles (Coufal 73). Unused: Areola, Guilherme, Ings, Irving. Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex). VAR official: Matt Donohue. Att: 29,771 (West Ham: 2,991).
Photo: Action Images via Reuters Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 298 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
