Town Women Off the Bottom After Vital Win at Portsmouth Sunday, 8th Feb 2026 16:47 by Matt Makin Ipswich Town Women climbed off the bottom of WSL2 after goals from Rianna Dean and Sophie Peskett saw them to a vital 2-1 victory over Portsmouth at Westleigh Park, which moved them ahead of Pompey on goal difference. Interim-manager David Wright made one change to the side which drew 1-1 at Newcastle last week with Lucy Ashworth-Clifford making her full debut replacing Lucy O’Brien. Natalia Negri continued in goal, screened by a back four of Maria Boswell, Megan Wearing, Paige Peake and Beth Roe. Colette Cavanagh started in midfield alongside Leah Mitchell, with Ashworth-Clifford starting in the 10 behind Natasha Thomas in the striker role, flanked by Rianna Dean and Sophie Peskett. Town’s bench was stacked with fresh faces with new signings Lysianne Proulx, Nelly Las, Princess Ademiluyi and Malaika Meena joining Summer Hughes, Ava Baker, Kenzie Weir, O’Brien and Kit Graham. Laura Hartley, Town’s back-up keeper for the season to date, made way to accommodate new stopper Proulx. The home side started strongly but it was Town who fashioned the first chance on five, Cavanagh picking up a loose clearance from Pompey keeper Jess Gray and shooting from distance, her effort pinging off the bar and out for a goal-kick. Portsmouth then won a corner from a subsequent attack with Negri holding onto the second ball in after the initial delivery was headed away. Town had their first corner on 10, Ashworth-Clifford’s effort punched away by Gray with the home side eventually clearing after a scramble in the box. Three minutes later, Meg Hornby tried to pick out Tia Primmer with a long ball over the top, but there was too much on it. In the 18th minute, Pompey had a second corner, delivered deep to Hannah Coan, who headed wide. A few minutes later, left-back Izzy Collins made a burst down the flank to deliver the ball into the box with the clearance falling to Georgie Freeland, the midfielder’s goalbound effort then cleared off the line. On 22, Portsmouth took a short corner and looked to work the ball into the box on the right with Freeland’s low drive cleared away. Town then looked to break on their right before Dean was brought down. Portsmouth continued to have the better of the ball as the period progressed, but after the half-hour mark Town began to establish themselves more in the game, making a succession of deliveries into the box which the home side needed to deal with. On 37 Town had another corner, Thomas heading over Roe’s delivery. Two minutes later the visitors won a free-kick on the edge of the Portsmouth box after Primmer’s bad challenge earned her a yellow card. From the resulting set piece, Town took the lead. The initial delivery was cleared but only as far as Ashworth-Clifford who put an inviting cross towards goal which Gray couldn’t fully punch away. Dean was on hand to pick up the loose ball and bundle home from close range. In a similar vein to the previous week against Newcastle, the goal energised the Blues who went straight on the attack from the restart, laying siege to the Portsmouth area. On 44 Town had another corner, Roe’s delivery only half-cleared to Cavanagh, who couldn’t get a shot away after holding up the ball with her back to goal. In the final minute of two added on, Cavanagh’s bad foul gave away a free-kick in the middle of the park with the midfielder picking up a booking. The resulting ball into the Town box appeared dangerous but eventually came to nothing before the referee blew up for half-time. The home side had shaded the first 30 minutes of the half, but the same as last week, Town had grown into the game and the goal came from a period of Blues pressure, Dean doing what a good nine does and popping up in the right place to capitalise on Gray not fully dealing with Ashworth-Clifford’s cross to give the visitors the lead. Portsmouth started the second half with a sense of urgency, Hornby striding forward on 47 and forcing Negri to go full stretch to stop her goalbound effort. A few moments later, Hornby made a dangerous attack down the left to win a corner. On 53 Peskett was unleashed down the right but her cross could not pick out a teammate. After a frenetic first 10 minutes, Town managed to assert themselves again. On the hour mark Peskett again burned down the right flank to play in Boswell for a cross, which was then cleared. On 61 Wright made his first change of the game, replacing goalscorer Dean with Kit Graham. At the same time Pompey manager Jay Sadler introduced Angelina Nixon in place of Lucy Shepherd. Graham made an immediate impact with a dangerous ball into the box, which appeared to be handled by Portsmouth skipper Jasmine Bull, but which went unnoticed by the referee. Town then had a succession of corners, the second shanked over by Ashworth- Clifford. In the 67th minute, Wright made further changes with Thomas and Mitchell making way for Ademiluyi and Meena to make their Town debuts. Portsmouth broke from the restart and Nixon played in Freeland, who shot straight at Negri. The Blues went on the attack with Ademiluyi holding up the ball before shooting wide. On 72 Nixon had another effort but again the shot went straight to Negri. A minute later, Sadler made his second change of the game with Freeman making way for Emily Pitman. Further changes came on 78 for both sides, Humphries and Barker leaving the pitch for Jemima Dahou and Niamh Peacock for the home team, and Ashworth-Clifford making way for Baker for the Blues. With 10 minutes remaining, Town doubled their lead and two of the debutants were involved in its creation. Ademiluyi played in Meena on the edge of the box and the on-loan Bristol City midfielder rolled the ball across to Peskett to get in on the right and put the ball past Gray at her near post, to the delight of her teammates. With four minutes remaining, Meena won the ball high up the pitch before bringing Peskett into play, who then found Ademiluyi in an inviting position, the forward seeing her first shot blocked before winning a corner at the second attempt. Town’s first corner was punched out by Gray for a second set piece, which was eventually cleared by the Pompey defence. On 88, Hornby won a free-kick high up the pitch. The short effort was played to Dahou who looped the ball into Town’s box for Collins to head off the post, but the flag went up for offside. With six minutes added on, Portsmouth pushed to get back into the game and salvage something. In the final minute the home side made things nervy for Town, Hornby bundling home at the back post from a corner. From the restart Town advanced and held the ball up in the corner to see out the game for a vital win.
Town’s first league victory since September, at home to Portsmouth, could not have come at a more vital time. The Blues moved level on points with their opponents and above them in the table on goal difference to get off the foot of the table and out the relegation position for the first time since the start of November, seven games ago. Ipswich put in another assured performance in their third game undefeated under interim-manager Wright, taking the lead just before the break after being second-best for the majority of the half and then extending their lead with 10 minutes to go. https://www.twtd.co.uk/images/news/18858_g.jpg January signings also played a key part in the victory, involved in the second goal and Ademiluyi in particular looking a cut above and a real physical presence up top. Ipswich Town return to action in Colchester next Sunday against Sheffield United, hoping to build on their positive run and continue to progress up the table in their bid to avoid relegation, before hosting league leaders Charlton the following Wednesday (18 February). Town: Negri, Boswell (c), Peake, Wearing, Roe, Cavanagh, Mitchell (Meena 67), Peskett, Dean (Graham 61), Ashworth-Clifford (Baker 78), Thomas (Ademiluyi 67). Unused: Proulx, Hughes, Las, Weir, O’Brien Portsmouth: Gray, Bull (c), Humphries (Dahou 78), Coan, Collins, Freeland (Pitman 73), Estcourt, Shepherd (Nixon 61), Barker (Peacock 78), Primmer, Hornby. Unused: Erhabor, Wilding, Milner, Woolley, Rowbotham. Att: 853. Photo: Matchday Images/ITFC Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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