| Ipswich Town 3 v 1 Norwich City EFL Championship Sunday, 5th October 2025 Kick-off 12:00 |  |
Ipswich Town 3-1 Norwich City - Match Report Sunday, 5th Oct 2025 14:08 Town’s long wait for a derby victory finally came to an end as goals from Cedric Kipre, Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke saw the Blues beat Norwich City 3-1 at Portman Road. Kipre gave Town the lead in the 32nd minute with his first for the club, but Oscar Schwartau levelled for the Canaries three minutes later, only for Philogene to smash home one of the greatest ever East Anglian derby goals just before half-time. Town had plenty of chances to seal their win after the break with Clarke finally bringing the 16-year wait for derby glory to an end when he netted the third 13 minutes from time. The Blues made six changes from the team which drew 1-1 at Bristol City on Tuesday, returning to the XI which began the 2-1 victory over Portsmouth at home eight days ago. Kipre came back at centre-half with Jens Cajuste in midfield and Sindre Walle Egeli, Sammie Szmodics and Kasey McAteer the three behind striker George Hirst. Jacob Greaves, former Canary Marcelino Nunez, Kasey McAteer, Clarke, Chuba Akpom and Ivan Azon all dropped to the bench. Norwich made one change from the team which lost 1-0 at home to West Brom on Wednesday with Mirko Topic coming in for Emiliano Marcondes, who was among the subs. Skipper and one-time Town target Kenny McLean was OK to start despite concerns over his fitness, while ex-Blues youngster Liam Gibbs was on the bench. The Blues made a surprisingly nervy start, struggling to pass through the Canaries’ press, skipper Dara O’Shea twice passing the ball out of play when trying to find Darnell Furlong on the right, then Jaden Philogene taking it over the line on the other side. On six, Cajuste was caught in possession on halfway leading to a quick Norwich break but Kipre covered the through ball and played back to Alex Palmer. Town began to gain some composure and in the 10th minute Leif Davis did well to win a corner on the left from a Cajuste pass. That led to a long Furlong throw on the right, which was cleared but the Blues kept the ball and Hirst threaded in Szmodics, however, visitors keeper Vladan Kovacevic was off his line quickly to claim. On 13, Davis strode out from the back and again sought to play in Szmodics but Jose Cordoba got across to cut it out. Four minutes later, Davis got himself into a dangerous area in the middle and fed Walle Egeli to his right, the Norwegian moving it on to Szmodics on the right, but the Irish international’s cross was too deep for even Philogene coming in at the back post. Canaries frontman Josh Sargent had his first sight of goal in the 18th minute, but looped a knockdown on the left of the box well over, much to the delight of the North Stand support behind the goal. Town had the ball in the net in the 22nd minute. Walle Egeli’s ball over the top having caught out Harry Darling, allowing Hirst to get in behind him. The bounce held up the ball’s progress, Darling going to ground as the pair tussled and Philogene slamming into the net past the advanced Kovacevic, but with referee Thomas Kirk having blown his whistle. Hirst protested vehemently that he had done nothing wrong and it seemed harsh to penalise him and not Darling for a pull earlier in the incident. Norwich were next to threaten, Cajuste getting caught midway inside the Blues’ half, allowing Schwartau to break into the box on the left and forcing Palmer to bat behind, the first save either keeper had made. On 28, with Town again briefly getting up a head of steam, Walle Egeli did well on the right and sent over a cross. Hirst rose highest but his downward header was easy for Kovacevic. But, as in the early stages, the Blues were continuing to play themselves into trouble in their own final third as they tried to pass out from the back. As the game reached the half-hour mark, Hirst was played in behind on the right, but his cross was too close to the keeper as Szmodics arrived at the near post. In the 32nd minute, Walle Egeli curled over a cross from the right, keeper Kovacevic made a mess of dealing with it and the ball scuffed off his fist and out for a corner on the left. And from the flag-kick, he was made to pay. The ball was sent in deep, skipper O’Shea nodded down and Kipre took a touch before smashing into the roof of the net to send Portman Road wild. But the Frenchman’s first goal for Town on only his second league start didn’t give the Blues the lead for long. Only three minutes later, the Canaries won a corner on the right, the ball was half-cleared to the edge of the box and Schwartau struck a low shot which deflected off Azor Matusiwa and past Palmer to his right to get the Norwich fans at the other end off their feet and cheering. Darling was shown the game’s first yellow card in the 38th minute for pulling back Davis on the Town left just outside the Blues’ area. A minute later, Cajuste played Hirst in on goal, the Scotland international taking the ball a little wide to the right but still managing to hit a shot across Kovacevic, who got a touch on its way past the post. Town kept the Canaries pinned back in their area, winning a long throw on the right and then another corner on the left, from which Kovacevic handed them another opening. After the flag-kick had been cleared to the right, Walle Egeli crossed back in from the right, the keeper flapped at it and it fell to Philogene at a tight angle on the left. The former England U21 international cut back but Kellen Fisher got his body in the way. The claims for a penalty all came from the fans and referee Kirk showed no interest. Norwich were next to threaten, the Blues once again playing themselves into trouble and Sargent shooting weakly to Palmer. Soon after, Ante Crnac drove low and wide from just outside the box. However, the increasing nerves on the terraces were settled significantly in the final scheduled minute when Philogene restored Town’s lead with one of the greatest ever derby goals. Pelle Mattsson failed to deal with a routine pass to him midway inside the Norwich half, Philogene latching onto it, turning away from the Dane and taking a stride forward before hammering an unstoppable strike which didn’t deviate before kissing the underside of the bar and hitting the net to send Portman Road into raptures once again. There was little further action after Philogene’s fifth goal in his last three home games and the Blues were cheered and applauded off the field by their delighted support. Despite the lead, it had been a mixed bag from Town, who had struggled to work their way out from the back, conceding possession to the Norwich press all too frequently, but fortunately without being made to pay. Having got ahead, conceding so soon afterwards was a blow and the Blues were looking nervy at the back before Philogene’s brilliant goal changed the mood. Town started the second half in the manner of much of the first, playing themselves into problems of their own making. On 48, Cajuste won the ball back on the edge of his own area following such an incident with the Blues breaking forward and creating a great chance to add to their lead. Walle Egeli played in Szmodics on the right and the ex-Colchester man cut across for Hirst in space, but the Town number nine scuffed his first-time effort to Kovacevic’s left with the keeper claiming with greater ease than ought to have been the case. Norwich began to see most of the ball and on 53 Topic shot only just wide of Palmer’s right post with the keeper happy to watch it fly past his woodwork. Town continued to play themselves into trouble against the intense Canaries’ press, which was leaving them open on the occasions the Blues did get through them, Palmer conceding a corner having been charged down on the edge of his six-yard box. The Blues dealt with the set piece but moments later Palmer clearing long was cheered by the home support. Kovacevic was forced into another save in the 57th minute, Szmodics having got in behind Cordoba but not managing to get enough on his shot. Walle Egeli strode forward but smashed against a defender, then just after the hour Davis played in Hirst on the left but the striker’s low cut-back failed to find a teammate. Town kept the ball in the final third, Walle Egeli seeing another effort blocked, then Philogene flicking a ball up before volleying only just over the bar. On 62, with the Canaries having kept the ball in and around the Town area, Jack Stacey shot from the edge of the box and the excellent Kipre got his head in the way, the ball briefly pole-axing him. While the Frenchman was undergoing treatment, Matej Jurasek replaced Canaries goalscorer Schwartau. In the 68th minute, Matusiwa superbly played in Szmodics on the right, the forward cutting across towards Hirst and Walle Egeli, the ball eventually ending up with Philogene at the back of the box from where he teed-up Cajuste, whose deflected shot looped up for Kovacevic. Five minutes later, Hirst did well to win a header from a Norwich corner on the left, but looped it up into the air off the top off the bar at the opposite post and over for another corner. Town were eventually forced to defend four flag-kicks in a row - Philogene and Canaries skipper McLean pucking up yellow cards for scuffling - before both teams made subs. Norwich swapped Fisher and Topic for Mahovo and Makama, while Clarke, Azon and Canaries old boy Nunez, to huge cheers from his new fans came on for the Blues for Walle Egeli, Hirst and Cajuste. Philogene moved to the right with Clarke on the left. And three minutes after coming on, Clarke made it 3-1 to the Blues. Azon was played in on goal by another of the subs Nunez, breaking in from the left and shot across and past Kovacevic but off the post. The loose ball beat Szmodics but Clarke was on hand to tap home his fourth goal in his five games. Portman Road erupted with the long-awaited derby victory now all but in their grasp. Town continued to push for goals, Azon flicking a near-post header from a corner on the right only just across the face and wide. On 82, Mattsson was booked for a foul on Clarke but Nunez, scorer of the winner for the Norfolk side from a free-kick the last time the teams met, hit his set piece into the wall. But the third goal appeared to have knocked the fight out of the Canaries with the Blues dominant, winning corners regularly and looking for further goals. With four minutes remaining, Akpom replaced Szmodics in the number 10 role. As the game moved into its final scheduled minute, Crnac broke into the Town area on the left with the game otherwise having been wholly in the other half of the field but made a mess of his strike, the Town support making their amusement known as the fourth official indicated an additional five minutes. After Kipre was announced as the sponsors’ Man of the Match to cheers and applause, Akpom took the ball into the box on the right and shot when he might have cut it back, Kovacevic saving. Huge cheers greeted the final whistle, the Blues’ hoodoo against the Canaries having finally been brought to an end. In the on-pitch celebrations, Nunez was pushed forward by his teammates to take the lead and grabbed a blue and white corner flag before running across the front of the North Stand and being handed a banner of a tweet from a Norwich fan following the last Carrow Road derby urging the Canaries to build a statue of the Chilean. Few Town fans left the ground with the singing and celebrations continuing for some time, while the Norwich players made their way over to their travelling support, many of whom barracked them and manager Liam Manning. The Blues, who are up to ninth, two points from the play-offs and five off the top two with a game in hand, had to work hard for their first derby victory since April 2009 - with the man in charge on that occasion Jim Magilton watching from the stands - 6,013 days ago with the visitors’ press in particular causing Town problems throughout. Philogene’s stunning goal, which will go down in derby folklore as one of the best strikes ever, was a huge moment in the game with the Blues looking nervy at that stage after the equaliser. After the break, Town began to find more and more holes in the Canaries’ backline and should have scored their third on a number of occasions before Clarke cemented the win, manager Kieran McKenna’s 50th at Portman Road. But the performance was never the main thing today. It was about exorcising a ghost and restoring the rightful order of things with the Blues once again the Pride of Anglia. Town: Palmer, Furlong, O’Shea (c), Kipre, Davis, Matusiwa, Cajuste (Nunez 75), Walle Egeli (Clarke 74), Szmodics (Akpom 86), Philogene, Hirst (Azon 74). Unused: Walton, Greaves, Young, Taylor, McAteer. Norwich: Kovacevic, Stacey, Darling, Mattsson, Sargent, Crnac, Topic (Makama 74), McLean (c), Schwartau (Jurasek 63), Cordoba, Fisher (Mahovo 74). Unused: Grimshaw, Medic, Gibbs, Marcondes, Wright, Schlupp. Referee: Thomas Kirk (Cheshire). Att: 29,809.
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